DUSK

when you quaff some beer shoot some dudes with a crossbow bolt through a wall get jump scared by a Wendigo do a flip in mid air throw the soap to insta-kill a boss and then smoke your cigar makes you feel worthy

DUSK is a fantastic old-school shooter which was made by FPS-enthusiasts, to FPS-enthusiasts. It's the full package: - Insanely fast, frantic combat - you'll be bunnyhopping with breakneck speed! Quake would be proud - Innovative level design with plenty of secrets to find - Fluid and responsive controls - just perfect! - Every weapon is great and usable in certain situations - Horror atmosphere - when you are not killing hordes of enemies, you are busy crapping your pants - Great sound design - all weapons has that UMPH effect, every monster is recognizable - Fantastic soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult - half the OST is really creepy, unnerving atmospheric stuff like Trent Reznor's work with Quake, the other half is kick-ass metal music similar to Sonic Mayhem's Quake 2 soundtrack or Painkiller's OST, with a hint of Mick Gordon's djenty destruction. Fucking dope! - No hitscanning enemies! - I know, right? - Memes and humour - Boss fights - Soap David Szymanski knows very well how to make a good first person shooter. He is not just riding the old-school wave and crap out some half-assed rip-off. DUSK is a masterpiece and an instant classic. So, I think you should buy this game. Like, right now.

I'm still a little undecided on where I stand with Dusk. When you look at the individual ingredients, there's really great stuff here. The movement and the gunplay feels excellent. The music and the overall sound design is amazing. Several levels have memorable moments, either visually or because of a gameplay mechanic. The very-low-poly art style, I don't know.. sometimes it does feel like a deliberate choice and it works well; other times it comes across as low-effort. The main thing I find lacking is world building. On the one hand, all the different levels in the game work well on their own; they each have something unique. On the other hand, they're so distinct it makes it hard to suspend your disbelief that these levels should exist in the same world. Whenever a new enemy type is first introduced, they'll fit in with the theme of that level.. and then they reappear in later levels with a different theme, eventually resulting in this nonsensical mishmash of enemies: soldiers running among mages, welders, scientists, horror creatures, etc. Gameplay-wise, who cares; it all fits together.. but it breaks the game's atmosphere. There's the ominous voice and the red messages on the walls, trying to tie the levels together and alluding the game is building towards something, but this just didn't work for me. So overall, I definitely had fun in the moment-to-moment gameplay, but then I look back and can't help but think I would've liked it so much better if there was more up-front world design to tie all these moments together into a cohesive whole.

You would be forgiven for thinking Dusk is just another retro-themed indie FPS. Mistaken, but forgiven. After all, the low poly models, with bilinear texture filtering turned off by default, and the vaguely Quake-like atmosphere all give off the impression that this game is simply another Boomer shooter aimed for maximum nostalgia. But Dusk is so much more than that. For one, Dusk may very well have the best movement mechanics I've ever experienced in an FPS. Not only does it feel buttery smooth, but the amount of tricks it lets you pull off add up to an incredibly visceral (and fun) experience. I can't think of another FPS that allows you to perform backflips off of jump pads with duel wielding shotguns. The amount of player control is simply stunning, and it puts many AAA titles to shame in this regard. When combined with the excellent weapon variety, top notch level design (with secrets galore), and incredible soundtrack, Dusk becomes much more than another 'retro' shooter. Essential for any FPS fan.

I went in expecting something an attempt to remake Quake. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out Dusk is entirely its own thing that while referencing countless other games (Doom, Heretic, Hexen, Blood, Quake, Arx Fatalis, Thief, Duke Nukem and supposedly those I can't recognise) keeps its very own atmosphere and distinct art style. What surprised me, however, was its level design. Its intricately hidden secrets that make you feel clever for discovering them. It way-above average freedom of movement (allowing you to, for instance, to stack boxes or break windows to surpass the locked door without the need for key). It seems that levels were designed with conscious decision to allow the player to use what would be considered exploits by many other games to their advantage. It's never required, though, except for some secrets and bonus items, or if you just want to have fun sequence breaking. Also, somehow, despite the artstile being far from realistic, the game manages to create the actual feeling of horror, especially in the later part. I would also like to note the soundtrack being a masterpiece. It also switches dynamically to adapt to situation. I hope that people who want to dismiss this game the way I initially did would give it a chance. They, just like me, would be surprised more than once.