DARQ: Ultimate Edition Review | TheXboxHub

DARQ is a surreal puzzle-solving recreation that follows Lloyd, a boy who finds himself trapped in a lucid nightmare.

What instantly stands out about DARQ is the visible and atmospheric design. The fashion is paying homage to video games like Limbo, Inside, and Little Nightmares. The monochromatic colour scheme and moody lighting does an important job in setting the tone and temper of the sport. The eerie palette, mixed with the unbelievable enemy and world design, make for a suspenseful recreation.

The gameplay is constructed on physics based mostly puzzle-solving which lets you manipulate the orientation of the world by strolling alongside partitions and putting small objects in massive methods. The puzzles are pretty intuitive to determine. So long as you proceed exploring, the solutions to all of them will ultimately work themselves out for you.

There’s one exception, which I gained’t spoil, however it’s necessary to do not forget that you do have the power to crouch stroll and sneak. I say this as a result of the sport doesn’t actually level it out to you, and there’s no want to make use of it till you’re a number of ranges into the sport. It doesn’t assist that the conventional stroll animation retains Lloyd hunched over like he’s in his stealth stroll, so it’s arduous to even notice you’re altering something the primary time you utilize it.

However past that, the puzzles are usually constructed round discovering objects and utilizing them in the correct spot. It’s a bit like a degree and click on journey, simply with out the pointing and clicking.

There are seven ranges to play by, every with their very own theme. One takes place on a prepare, one other in a theatre, and so forth. The sport depends on atmospheric storytelling and one thing I want I’d’ve recognized going into it’s that there’s a hidden journal web page in every degree which reveals extra about DARQ’s backstory. I didn’t discover any of those my first time taking part in by the sport, and I solely realized they existed as I bought to the top of the principle story with just one achievement.

As I discussed earlier, the enemy and world design are nice and the abominations that hang-out Lloyd’s nightmares positively promote the horror of DARQ. I’m additionally glad that there isn’t any fight within the recreation. All through, Lloyd stays defenseless and should keep away from the risks. It retains the tone and story in line with how you might be imagined to really feel. Powerless and determined to discover a method out of the darkish.

All that being mentioned, it’s not an ideal recreation. It’s essential to keep in mind that you may sneak, however it isn’t talked about in any respect. This problem is compounded as a result of sneaking isn’t wanted till you’ve already accomplished portion of the sport.

It is a extra forgivable problem although as a result of DARQ: Final Version doesn’t actually clarify any of its mechanics. You’re like a new child studying to stroll in essentially the most terrifying circumstances potential. The dearth of a tutorial simply bolsters the immersion on the planet. It’s a little bit of a catch-22, the place they may both make a tutorial and damage the immersion, or go away you to your personal gadgets.

That being mentioned, there are two areas the place DARQ does undergo. Its extremely primary enemy habits and total size. Whereas I feel the enemy and character design match nice into the world of DARQ, their habits is simply too simplistic. Most enemies you encounter will patrol a hall that Lloyd must move to unravel a puzzle. Their patrol path is fastened and their motion on it, gradual. This forces you to attend for them to slowly shamble throughout the display screen, earlier than hopping into the apparent hiding spot, after which ready for them to stroll by once more.

It’s annoying when a degree makes you do that a number of instances in the identical spot, particularly when there isn’t any issue in it. It’s simply tedious and takes up additional time. It’s not the top of the world, however it stands out, particularly contemplating my second essential problem – the brief play time.

I managed to get by the principle story present in DARQ: Final Version in about an hour and a half. When a recreation is that brief, on a regular basis you spend standing and ready feels a lot longer. Granted, there are a further two ranges with this being the Final Version, however even then you definitely shouldn’t count on to get various hours out of this recreation.

A further word to contemplate, I do know some folks actually wrestle with leap scares and can need to know if they need to be anxious about them going right into a recreation like DARQ. There are some minor “leap scares” current all through a playthrough, however a few of them are telegraphed in a reasonably apparent method. During which case, I’m not even positive I may name them leap scares. So until you may have a crippling phobia and might’t deal with any leap scares in any respect, I wouldn’t let these fears dissuade you from selecting up a replica.

Total, DARQ is a good puzzle recreation that has an extremely well-built environment. The few shortcomings don’t overrule the positives, and if you’re searching for a brief and creepy recreation to play, then DARQ: Final Version is a good match.

DARQ: Final Version is on the Xbox Retailer