You simply take control of a lanky, bald, almost uncomfortably skeletal young man in his dilapidated house, with nothing to do but crawl into bed and sleep. Reminiscent of other puzzle-platformers like Limbo and INSIDE, DARQ is a thoroughly enigmatic adventure that starts with no preamble or introduction of any kind. The only thing this experience has that my own nighttime imaginings do not is one heck of a landscape-altering gimmick and a variety of puzzles that are reasonably diverting and yet begin to wear out their welcome despite the brief 2-3 hour runtime. That’s exactly how I felt while playing this game. There’s a degree of lucidity to my dreams that lets me relish them as I sleep even the bad ones don’t end with a sudden lurch and a case of the cold sweats, but rather a sense of wonder and appreciation of the absurdities my subconscious mind has conjured up. By that I don’t mean the scariest, but rather the one that most feels like a real nightmare, from its surreal presentation to ever-changing environments to largely nonsensical story – and yes, a few chilling moments of horror. Unfold Game Studios’ DARQ is probably the most nightmarish adventure game I’ve ever played. We reviewed the game on PS5 with a code provided by the publisher.Note: Since time of writing, two free DLC levels have been released, The Tower and the Crypt, offering new settings, puzzles, mechanics, and a solid 1-2 hours of additional gameplay. The inclusion of the DLC makes the Complete Edition the best way to play, and if you enjoy a mind-bending and physics-twisting puzzler, you’ll love everything DARQ has to offer.ĭARQ: Complete Edition Review: GameSpew’s ScoreĭARQ: Complete Edition is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Switch. It uses clever puzzles and a fantastic atmosphere to draw you in, then challenges you just the right amount to keep you invested. Hopefully a future patch will address this.ĭARQ may be short, but it’s the perfect length to ensure it never outstays its welcome. Nothing too immersion-breaking, but it’s a shame it isn’t silky-smooth. Unfortunately, even on ‘performance’ mode, I encountered a few framerate hiccups and stuttering. On PS5, DARQ: Complete Edition allows you to choose to favour performance or visuals. It uses light and shadows to great effect, creating a gorgeous yet morbid atmosphere. This isn’t a game about combat, so getting past foes means taking your time, sneaking or hiding in darkness or recesses.Īlong with those enemies, DARQ‘s beautiful presentation helps to invoke a nightmarish feeling. From a bandaged woman in a wheelchair to a man with a tuba for a face, DARQ relishes in the macabre and does a fantastic job of unsettling you at every turn. Thankfully, you never have too many items in your inventory, and everything you pick up has a purpose.Įlevating DARQ from a simple puzzle game to a horrifying romp are the grotesque enemies that stalk its levels. Then again, this is a surrealist dream world where not everything makes sense. Some items are also used in non-logical ways a small watch in your inventory can be placed to become a rather sizeable bridge, for example. Some of DARQ‘s puzzles are beyond fiendish, such as a maze puzzle that needs to be completed in a short amount of time while the camera rotates around the room. It’s mind-bending at times, but once you get your head around the weird and wonderful ways that DARQ works, its puzzles are a joy to solve. Solutions to puzzles often require you to rotate rooms, making ceiling hatches become doors that Lloyd can climb through, or making a new pathway appear entirely. Both of these mechanics together mean that what looks like a small area can open up, with multiple dimensions to explore. He can also switch between planes at times though DARQ is 2.5D, some levels contain switches that when flipped, will send Lloyd backwards or forwards, into the foreground or background. That is to say he can walk off the edge of a room, or up a wall, with the world rotating around him. Though it makes sense to complete the main game first, as earlier levels ease you into the mechanics you’ll be using throughout.ĭARQ‘s unique mechanic is that Lloyd can manipulate the laws of physics. They’re separate from the main game, so you can jump into them at any point. The Complete Edition also bundles in two DLC levels, however The Tower and The Crypt. With seven of them forming the game’s main campaign, DARQ likely won’t take you more than two or three hours to complete. If you like your puzzle games with a good helping of the macabre, then consider DARQ to be on your must-play list.Ĭasting you as Lloyd, a strange, lanky boy who seems to have a habit of having lucid nightmares, it’s your job to guide him safely through them.
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