Do you like soft, subtle, creepy horror that seeps into your skin the longer you’re exposed to it? Do you like experimental puzzle games that stimulate your brain and challenge your senses? Do you enjoy 2D side scrollers, but completely sucked at the platforming? If you said yes to any of the above then I’ve got the game for you! DARQ: Complete Edition, by developer Unfold Games and publisher Feardemic, is the result of a passionate one-night stand between Little Nightmares and the entire Silent Hill series. An abstract adventure where you manipulate the world by literally flipping it sideways, upside-down, and all around while searching for keys and lost puzzle pieces to unlock the doorway back to reality and escape your own mind.
Story
Developer Unfold Games uses DARQ: Complete Edition to tell an abstract tale of a person plagued by horrible night terrors. Each level begins with you approaching your bed and, as you fall asleep, you immediately have an out-of-body experience that transports you to another deadly horrorscape that Freddie Kruger would be proud to call home. In these hallowed halls you meet the animated concept art from the cancelled horror game, P.T. There’s Blind John Cena who can’t see you, but can still totally end your life if he gets his hands on you. Then you have The Part of John Wick That Died When They Killed His Dog who spends his evenings off-camera shooting at you right when you think you’re about to beat a level. And let’s not forget everyone’s favorite: Grandma. Out of the retirement home and right into your nightmares. When you hear Grandma’s wheelchair squeaking towards you, know that she’s coming to take more than just your nose. As you run, hide, and outsmart your way past these and other naked, undulating motifs, you will slowly gather all the pieces necessary to exit this terrible dream plain and, hopefully, cure yourself of that which ails your mind.
Gameplay & Mechanics
DARQ: Complete Edition is a 2D game whose sole purpose is to cause as much vertigo a 2D game can possibly cause. Is there a flat wall blocking your path? With the press of a button the entire level literally rotates so that wall is now a floor. Approaching a ledge that looks to lead to an endless abyss? Just step off like a suicidal maniac and watch as the world twists to make that dead fall a long hallway forward. In DARQ: Complete Edition, the mechanics ARE the puzzles. Each level you will need to twist and turn the world around you like an inverted Rubik’s Cube in your hunt for increasingly macabre “keys” to completing levels. Some things you can expect to hunt for are decapitated heads that, when in pain, scream loud enough to power mechanical doors, and other severed, crawling, squirming, undulating limbs used to grip levers, power machines, and other mundane tasks that make my skin itch just thinking about it.
With all this going on, the game is very forgiving; allowing you to continuously repeat puzzles until you get them correct, and if you die, you respawn a few feet away with all the progress you made up until that point, which takes most of the risk out of exploring the dark shadows of this game. While there are a small collection of enemies in every level, there is no combat in DARQ: Complete Edition. If they find you, you’re dead.
Aesthetics & Sound
The positively creeptastic setting behind DARQ: Complete Edition is an absolute perfect embodiment of what this game is. Unfold Games made sure that behind every dark corner, within every shadow, there could be something ready to jump out and snatch your life away. The level designs feel like you are in the imagination of a madman. From twisting ceilings into floors to pulling on levers that propel you up and down in an almost 3D space, the world here barely makes enough sense for you to know something has gone terribly wrong. The quiet and foreboding ambience of DARQ: Complete Edition lends itself to this sense of imminent dread as you feel the weight of the wind, the crackling of thunder, the squeaking of chains, and the fetid breath of those meaning to do you harm. I loved everything about DARQ: Complete Edition and Unfold Games did an amazing job putting this world together.
Summary
Overall, DARQ: Complete Edition does a great job with its atmosphere and level design. While the puzzles are fun, there are zero tutorials on how to get started and relies heavily on gamers experimenting with different techniques to figure things out. This isn’t innately bad and lends itself well to a puzzle game, but could pose some accessibility issues to those who might not be as experienced with the gaming medium. There also seemed to be a lack of progressive building upon skills mastered within DARQ: Complete Edition. Among the several different levels, only Stage Rotation and Lever Jumping were repeatedly needed to solve puzzles. There were some levels that featured unique mechanics that were only viable for that specific stage. I would have loved to see all the skills I’ve used put to a final test at the peak of this adventure, but aside from a very climatic and heart-pounding sequence, I found myself mainly using Stage Rotation to get through this final sequence. DARQ: Complete Edition was a uniquely enthralling experience that I cannot recommend enough. Make sure you leave the lights on for this one.
7.5/10
Check Out the DARQ: Complete Edition Trailer:
For more information, please visit: https://www.feardemic-games.com/darq
Nintendo Switch Review
As the (self-proclaimed) King of Casuals, I'm always seeking out new titles to play and experience across all platforms. Eventually, I have ambitions to take the many different styles of this medium to create titles that will wow the masses in fresh, innovative ways.
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