Concise
Game Critique - Dusk

Developer:
David Szymanski
Publisher: New Blood Interactive
Released: December 10, 2018 (Windows)
Played on: Windows
Played for: 12h (played through once on normal
difficulty)
Dusk is a lovingly crafted throwback to the bloody and
fast-paced first-person shooters of the 90s.
The game starts with three hooded, chainsaw-wielding
figures yelling "Kill the intruder!" That's you. Armed
with two sickles, you've got to defend yourself. Soon
enough you get your first pistol, then another (so you
can dual wield them), then a shotgun, then another (so
you can dual wield them, too). Most of the weapons feel
very familiar (in addition to your pistol and your
shotgun you get a hunting rifle, a grenade launcher and
a crossbow to name a few), but they look, sound and feel
so good that the thought of needing something more
unique never crossed my mind. The weapon variety is
great, and the game has just enough ammo lying around
that you need to think about which weapon to use, and
maybe save those powerful shots for powerful foes.There is a good amount of
enemy variety as well, with one particular enemy
type in there that almost gave me a heart attack
or two.
The level design is
extremely varied and skillfully crafted. You'll go from
creepy corn fields to deep dark mines, from sinister
cultist hideouts to well armed military bases, each with
a number of secrets to find. The atmosphere is
thoroughly ominous from beginning to end, which makes
you ready to blast whatever comes at you to bits at a
moments notice. Colored keys that the player needs to
find in order to progress in a level are very much a
thing as well, and most of the time the need to find a
particular one nicely nudges the player toward the right
direction. Some of the later levels introduce slightly
mind-bending bits, reminiscent of the works of M.C.
Escher, into the mix. Some
of these areas feel quite brilliant, others less so, but
it's an interesting touch for sure, and it adds to the
mystical weirdness that the game is clearly going for.
Dusk wears its
inspirations on its sleeve, and it does so
to great effect. The DOS-looking start
screen, the episodic nature that harkens
back to the shareware era, the low-poly
art style — everything
feels authentic, and the way the game
combines mechanics and features from
classic FPS games feels great. The
movement and certain items and weapons
made me think of Doom, Blood and
Heretic, the physics-based object
manipulation is very Half-Life, and the
heavy metal soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult
is like a mix of old and new Doom, with
some Hexen and Quake thrown in there for
good measure. The presence of Duke Nukem
can be felt as well, with many hidden
jokes and fun attention to detail. It would be a disservice
to call Dusk just a great blend of the classics,
however. It is that, but in doing that,
it has become its own beast. And what a beast it
is.
Apart
from the occasional physics object glitch, I
encountered no bugs, and the game ran smoothly
(above 100 frames per second) the whole way
through. The game has a couple of sections with
too many enemies coming at the player at the
same time for my liking, and the attacks of a
few specific enemy types felt slightly
irritating to dodge, but take these complaints
with a grain of salt — I might just be
bad at the game. The story is mostly told
through short snippets of dialogue and writings
on walls, which fits an action-heavy game like
this well enough. It isn't the most compelling
story in the world, but its dark, culty
mysteries kept me intrigued and made me want to
know more.
Unfortunately I couldn't really check out the
multiplayer (as no-one else was playing), but
based on the campaign, and a few rounds of the
Endless Mode, I believe it would be a fun time.
Dusk is to 90s FPS what Shovel Knight is to NES era
platformers: it isn't exactly like those games, but it
looks and feels like how I remember those
games. Fans of old school first-person shooters will
find a lot to like here, and even if you're into more
modern games, if you liked the recent Doom, Wolfenstein,
or Shadow Warrior reboots, you should probably give this
one a go.
   
4/5
Something below is calling us.
Get Dusk:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/519860/DUSK/
Jay
Marksman, February 02, 2018
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