DARQ: Complete Edition

DARQ was definitely a very unique adventure. A short one, too, but I rather have two enjoyable hours with a game than an endless grind that I cannot wait to get over with. And the 2 hours and 15 minutes I had with DARQ were absolutely worth it! First and foremost, the visual style and atmosphere of the game are perfect for the dream world it creates. It reminded me a bit of Tim Burtons work and ranged from creepy to downright scary at times. The puzzles however I really loved. No, they weren't too hard, but got me thinking and often employing some dream-like element of the world you were currently in. The only thing I didn't care about were the stealth elements. Each enemy you had to sneak past had a rather simple pattern and as soon as you figure that out, it's just a game of stop-and-go. But overall a really nice game. Looking at my Galaxy stats, I only got 8% of achievements, including dream journal pages, so I might jump back into this at some point again. :)

This game disappointed me. I thought if nothing else the art style and design would carry me through the experience- expecting it to be like Little Nightmares which I found to be simplistic in mechanics but moody and interesting in artistic design which mostly carries the experience and keeps it interesting. This game is nothing like Little Nightmares. Little Nightmares uses its design to create a world that feels lived in and unique- despite its sinister feel and menacing atmosphere. Even with no acted out story you feel like a journey is taking place. In Darq you get none of that. The artistic design is one note, and falls completely flat past it's main character. The world is uninteresting and dull, and the monsters within it feel like they could have been bought in an asset store. Just completely devoid of any interesting characteristics or menace. The game pretends it's telling a story, but it never does. Even in world there is no story here. Supposedly you are playing a character who is just having lucid dreams. There is nothing in the game that expresses this, you only know this because all the press releases and text in GOG tell you that's what is happening. Mostly what happens in game is you keep showing up to a dingy apartment and you click on the bed to go to the next "chapter" which is really a puzzle. Because that is all each "chapter" is. A single simple puzzle. The puzzles aren't very clever either. They don't teach you any mechanics in the game- you just figure out you have them- but the game is simplistic so it's fine. You just hit one button and something happens. It's very simple. The puzzles are overall very simple slider puzzles and none are noteworthy at all. Then the last 30 seconds the game pretends it had a story the whole time. It might even think it is artsy, but it's just bad. Lastly the game took 2 hours on my first try. This is a super short, bad puzzle simplistic attempt at being artsy and scary. Highly disappointing. NOT RECOMMENDED.

Finished the game + The Tower DLC (without looking for the secret journal) in about 2.5 hours. A good 2.5 hours. I give this game four stars for a good reason. If you're expecting a lengthy game, you'll be disappointed. If you are into games like Little Nightmares, Inside, Limbo, just like me, then I believe you're most likely going to enjoy Darq. Not to say that Darq is a clone of those games or such, since this game is quite a unique addition to those games which have its own world, mechanic, and personality, while having the kind of ambience that those games are known for, or at least in my experience. I don't know if there's a clearer story in the secret journal entries, but I would really appreciate it more if this game at least gave me a clue about the basic story, and probably the secret journals can give a more in depth story. At this point I think that for most people $20 might be a bit steep for the length of this game, even with the free additional The Tower DLC, and even though I enjoyed it (I bought it at 50% discount). But at the same time it's not really that steep for me to not buy it at full price. So there you have it. As an addition to this review, to the devs: I appreciate the way you decline the "exclusivity deal". And just want to let you know that I also bought this game on Steam. Going to keep a close eye on your future games and Darq's continuation.

Fun title and very atmospheric. A bit short

I downloaded this game from torrent.it was so good i finished it in one go.then i buyed it. Interesting puzzles, amaizing atmosphere and horror elements that will really scare anyone.10/10