Duskfade

Initially I had a lot of fun, but as the game progressed and it introduced more irritating enemies into the already lackluster combat system my enjoyment fell off sharply. The Academy doesn't help with this, as it introduces your heavy attack and another poorly designed enemy and then asks you to sometimes have fun platforming but mostly enter square rooms and engage in the absolutely terrible combat system. By the time I unlocked the teleporter in the Great Library, I decided I had enough. It's not that the combat is hard, it's just very poorly executed. Breaking boxes in the environment has more feedback than hitting enemies. Each enemy encounter has no real design to it as they simply spawn varying types of enemies in a room and then have them all come at you. By the time I was fighting Sadness it felt like an exercise in tedium. I had no amount of fun during that fight. My only thought during it as the enemy health bar shrank was "Okay can we be done with this?" Next thing I know, I'm yet again in another arena fighting the same 5 enemies that are randomly spawned in and I had that nagging feeling that I'm just having my time wasted. It's not that I'm dying, I'm just sighing. An audible groan escapes each time I walk into another enemy encounter. Additionally, the Academy was the most monotonous level. Sure it looks pretty, but good lord, nothing but the same corridors and square rooms. I was hopeful that exiting the Academy would mean a change of scenery at least, but the Great Library just keeps up that same aesthetic and feels fundamentally the same. I got the impression at that point that the game was sort of phoning it in, so I'm done for now. Maybe I'll revisit it when I'm in a better mood.

Treat this as first impressions rather than full review, but be noted that I'm considering refunding. Well, from what I’ve played, Duskfade is (almost) exactly what was advertised. If you’ve ever played a 3D action platformer like Jak and Daxter, Ratchet&Clank, Kao the Kangaroo, or maybe Super Mario Sunshine, then Duskfade is exactly that kind of game. Add to that a lot of charm and whimsy taken almost straight from the first Kingdom Hearts and you have Duskfade: a platformer action-adventure that is very reminiscent of those games. It even has “almost Heartless” enemies from Kingdom Hearts, except they’re purple-black instead of black-purple. Duskfade game is colorful. Very colorful. It’s visually gorgeous, with plenty of stunning vistas, a charming world, and some genuinely interesting and varied environments. The soundtrack is good, the sound design is nice, and the enemy variety is surprisingly decent as well. Presentation is easily one of the game’s strongest points. Unfortunately, beneath all that pretty presentation, I feel like there’s a pretty mediocre game. The platforming is... fine. Like, its ok, just ok. There’s nothing particularly challenging about it, and after a while it started to feel like I was doing the same things over and over again. For a game so heavily built around platforming and exploration, the actual level design is surprisingly bland. There are plenty of collectibles scattered around, including some that are nicely hidden, but getting from one place to another rarely requires much thought or dexterity. Combat is also... fine. It’s slightly floaty and there’s very little feedback when either you or an enemy takes damage, so attacks don’t have much impact behind them. The lock-on also feels weird and unreliable; sometimes it felt like it targeted whatever it wanted. It’s not bad enough to ruin the game, and the decent enemy variety helps, but the combat never feels particularly satisfying either. The exception is the boss fights, which are easily the most challenging and engaging parts of the game. They actually require you to learn attack patterns, pay attention to what the boss is doing, and wait for an opening rather than just mindlessly attacking. I was initially a little worried about your flying robotic companion. I thought this was going to be one of those characters who talks constantly, comments on everything you do, or spoils puzzle solutions before you’ve even had a chance to figure them out. Thankfully, no. It mostly just floats alongside you and helps you in combat. The story doesn't help much either. It's generic and pretty weakly written, and so far there hasn't been much here that has made me particularly invested in what is happening. So Duskfade is a bit of a strange one. It looks fantastic, has a charming world, varied environments, a good soundtrack and sound design, decent enemy variety, okay combat, and some genuinely good boss fights. But underneath all of that, the platforming is extremely easy, the level design is bland, the combat lacks impact, the lock-on can be frustrating, and the story is generic and weakly written. It’s not a bad game. I’m having a decent enough time with it. But for something that so successfully captures the look and atmosphere of those classic 3D action-platformers, I wish it had captured more of what made actually playing them so memorable.

Long story short, the game does exactly what it says on the tin. It's a bunch of inspirations from Kingdom Hearts and the Holy PS2 Trinity combined very competently. The inspirations from Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy are probably the most apparent in the platforming. The moment I could long jump off of a roll I knew I was in for peak. The game also manages to sneak in references that feel like genuine love letters to its inspirations, rather than nostalgia bait. I have some small nit picks, specifically with verticality. It feels like Zirian's jumps are just a bit too short sometimes, and I often find myself doing simple techs to do high jumps consistently. Additionally, ledge grabs are dedicated to the classic "worn off white scratched ledge". This has been a staple in games for some time now, though it feels jarring in this game, where the platforming is otherwise very free form. It was makes the aforementioned verticality issue worse. Not enough to ruin the otherwise polished experience, but something I'd be glad to see improved in an update or sequel.

Fun game with nice gameplay, feels like playing good old Jak and Daxter 👍👍

I had to take a moment to collect my thoughts for this game. Overall, the nicest thing I can say about it is "It's playable". Combat is flat. Why can't I just spam magic? Why even after fully upgrading the mana bar, I can still only fire off 2 shotgun blasts? I'm not sure what the thought process is here. Every fight is just whacking them with your sword, dodging, whack, dodge and the occasional magic attack because your spells take so much MP to cast. The boss fights are even worse. You have to do some dumb platforming thing at certain HP thresholds and if you aren't fast enough you legit start dying. If you die, you gotta do it all over again. Why? Some of the fights had potential to be fun (like Solitude), but it's just ruined every time I have to break away from combat to do some dumb platform thing. That's the entire combat experience. Unlike other games where combat evolves as you play, this game is just dodge, slash, dodge, slash the entire time. I honestly avoided fighting whenever the game didn't keep me prisoner and force me to fight in certain sections. You get no reward for fighting except dissatisfaction. I wish they would have given us a map of some sort. The world and areas, while pretty, look and feel the same. So it's easy to get lost, or think you're exploring an area only to find out it was the right way the whole time. You should also be able to fast travel to the beginning, middle, or end of the areas for collectibles. It's crazy you don't unlock fast travel till the very end of the game. Money is also pointless. They should have just made only the gears the currency for upgrades. You hit the cap of 9999 so fast and you have nothing to spend it on. Then you go through the levels and feel bad because you're collecting all this cash and it feels like a waste. Money should have been to be able to fast travel or get hints where certain collectibles are, or lore for the game or something interesting, but we have the coins to collect card artwork. I mean, I guess. I hated how childlike and idiotic the cast felt. Gaming is for all ages, but this story and pacing just felt insulting. I can understand the direction and intent behind the writing, but it's written for children under the age of 7. It's hard to enjoy or even care about the cast when the player figures out the plot the minute the villain makes their debut. If I can figure it out, why can't Zarian? Him being an idiot has to be a bit. The entire final boss fight I face palmed so hard. Homie had to have it spelled out for him. There was never a sense of urgency because he was too carefree. I felt like I was watching a Disney Adult trying to recreate their childhood with a whimsical adventure and ignoring the actual gravity of the situation. 0/10 Please try again. I was excited for the game, but it's a nothing burger. This is a just my experience with the game, I hope you have a better journey than I did. Also, no shade to the devs. Creating something is hard, and seeing it through is even harder. Nothing but love and respect to them. Keep making games, just because this one didn't sit right with me means nothing. I'm a nobody. The game has great reviews and you deserve it. Thank you and have a good one.

I’m really enjoying Duskfade so far. I haven’t finished the story yet, so I can’t really judge the whole thing or say how good the ending is, but honestly, I’m having a lot of fun with it. The combat is a 10/10 for me. It’s fast, smooth, and just really fun to play. I honestly didn’t expect the combat to have this much depth from a platformer, and it’s probably my favorite part of the game so far. The biggest thing I love about Duskfade is how much it reminds me of the PS2 games I grew up with. I get so much Ratchet & Clank, Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper, and Kingdom Hearts from it. But it doesn’t feel like a copy of any of them. It takes that old-school feeling and does its own thing with it. The game is also really beautiful. There’s something about the art style and the world that just feels like a classic adventure game, but with modern graphics. As for the story, I’m still playing through it, so I don’t want to say too much. From what I’ve seen so far, though, it definitely feels like there’s a lot more going on emotionally than I expected. I’m really curious to see where it goes, especially with the themes around family, loss, and grief. Duskfade is exactly the kind of game I’ve been missing. It feels like someone took the best parts of the PS2 era and made a new game with them. If you grew up playing Ratchet & Clank, Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper, or Kingdom Hearts, I really think you should give this game a shot.

very lazy pc port, little to no graphic or accessibility settings, cut scenes locked to 30fps. cant even choose an upscaler. "native, balance or performance"....of what? who knows?! its upscaling with something . its a mystery what tho. baffling lack of effort the game is likely fine, but I'm so tiered of games getting insanely lazy pc ports with little to no basic graphical and accessibility settings.