DUSK: A Fresh Successor

I’ll break the surprise: DUSK is the most refreshing FPS game I’ve played. It does so much with a little tool set. DUSK creates an immersive world, narrative, and setting without investing much other than visual story-telling and the odd few voice lines or context of enemies you fight. You find yourself in the basement of cultist dwellers and have to fight your way out, only to fight your way much deeper into the madness.

I was not especially enjoying episode 1. It’s a solid game, but the setting went from farm, to farm lands, to other rural areas. The game isn’t boring in these areas: You get to experience the weapons, which I’ll cover in a bit more depth later, the world and the baseline for the cult that you’re up against, and the game feel, and the game feels good. Doom/Quake style mach speed running, quick peeking around corners, and full control of your characters. You can dodge any shot because each one is a projectile, not hitscan, even if a few of the spread shots from the scarecrow or early bosses are a bit more difficult to dodge. It’s a great basis for a game, but it wasn’t that mind-blowing experience that internet forums and online talk had made the game out to be. I wasn’t sated yet.

Enter Episode 2. Specifically E2M2. There’s a point in which you have to dive deep down into the ruins of this level. “DON’T TRUST YOUR EYES” was written in blood on the wall. Without spoiling what is maybe my favourite encounter and what really brought me into the game, you encounter the Wendigo enemy down here. There was a big shift from high octane action to mastercraft horror and genuine fear. More than anything, it really shows that DUSK has more surprises than just the standard FPS affair. Lighting was utilized to make it a scarier experience, and despite being a one man army, you feel stripped of your resources and thrown to the… wendigos. It’s a real game changer.

But that doesn’t happen once. From that point on, each level really felt like something entirely different in some way or another. The first time my flashlight broke I felt absolutely crippled. Other very reality warping things happen as you go further through the cult’s bases. It’s all presented in a this old 3d polygon style but somehow it still took my breath away in a way not unlike Titanfall 2’s surprises. The difference is that each of these surprises still flesh out the narrative of the cultists and what the Intruder (that’s you) really is. Visual and tactile storytelling is really something else.

Finally, it’s important to note how well the weapons strike a balance with one another. No weapon outclasses another. I still went back to my regular shotgun sometimes instead of the Super Shotgun, weapons that share the same ammo-type. The only catch-all weapon is the Assault Rifle, and even then, it doesn’t really excel at any one thing, just good at being consistent damage. There were pros and cons to every other weapon, and even the forgotten melee weapon you start with gets a change in the third act to become useful again.

Dusk is really incredible. Everyone said that it’s a great game if you’re a fan of classic FPS, and that stands up. It might be the best classic FPS. However, I want to extend that further: I think DUSK is worth playing if you’re a fan of any FPS. Maybe it’s even worth trying if you want to give the FPS genre a try for the first time. Give it a shot.

Great write up. I finished it early this year and was blown away - loved every minute. I like that each of the 3 episodes felt distinct, but I also felt like things were escalating and building towards something. It was constantly surprising me and demonstrating things I didn't expect the game to be capable. It is very clearly an homage to the granddaddy OGs of FPS, but it really finds its own way and has its own identity.

Good write up also.

I too enjoyed Dusk. Some areas more than others (I didn't like the sideways gravity one too much) But over all it presented it's self well in it's format, and was a nice little break from more modern fps's

It was a good game. The final boss was kind of goofy to me though. I played it just before the start of this year. I was hyped for Doom Eternal so I was seeking out a bunch of retro-style fps games and DUSK was one of them. Unfortunately, although I still think Eternal is a good game overall, the excitement wasn't quite warranted as I found it to be a bit disappointing. DUSK is still supposed to come out on the Switch. I don't think I'll get it on there, but it's cool that that's happening. My PC sucks for gaming, so I was happy it played it well.

If you liked Dusk, Amid Evil (from the same publisher, New Blood) is also a very good retro FPS that I highly recommend. Fantastic set of weapons in that game.

Thanks for the comments and reading. I really liked the final boss of DUSK but I spoiled it by looking up a solution after a first attempt went horribly wrong. Amid Evil is another game I really want to try: The presentation looks amazing. Trying out some of the New Blood demos now. Ultrakill was awesome but the systems it's asking me to learn are a bit too stressful so I have to pass on the game, which is a shame.