Darq

Our dreams are undoubtedly a strange world, and in their strangeness they can carry many hidden meanings and ambiguous messages that we ourselves may not know. I mean… Why would Jack Krauser follow me around the neighborhood in broad daylight with his mutated arm? what am I living?! What meaning could this dream have? Oh… Sorry, I didn’t come here to chat about my strange dreams, but to talk about the hero of our story today, the boy “Lloyd”, who became aware of the fact that he was dreaming, but unfortunately Not His dreams turn out to be terrible nightmares and he is unable to escape or stop them! So the door to escape is closed in his face and he has no choice but to face all his fears. Will he survive this dangerous confrontation unscathed? Or will his nightmares haunt him forever?

When will this nightmare end?

To be honest, I don’t have a solid background for the story at all.

The game begins completely ambiguous, without any introductions, that is, it follows the narrative style only through its world, which in fact is not the first to do this, as we have previously looked at similar games such as Inside, for example, but are not limited to this. However, the question is: did Darq apply this suggestion correctly? In short… yes! The game world is truly wonderful and gives you a strong feeling that the game is trying to tell you something, from the bleak atmosphere and strange ideas to the terrifying creatures and even the tools you will use on the journey are no less strange. For example, someone using a watch to build a bridge to cross to the other side. ? Or an amputated leg to get the elevator running again? I’ll leave the rest to your imagination, but I think you largely get the idea. The world offers us many different clues so that we can imagine the story in our own way: Is it all really just a long nightmare? Did Lloyd dream that he went to bed every night and entered this terrible world thinking he was dreaming? I mean… I had had a somewhat similar dream before when I had a fever when I was young, although I can’t remember many details, but it makes me sure that this theory isn’t impossible! Or did the boy have a terrible accident that brought him to the brink of death and what he is going through is nothing but a near death experience, or as it is known as (NDE) as he remembers different periods of his life on one ugly way? But wait…why couldn’t the author just be a lazy person who didn’t want to bother writing a real story and leave it to the players to just imagine it however they wanted?! I mean… I don’t want to make accusations, but it doesn’t seem impossible. Regardless of what story you have come up with, there is no denying that the game world is truly exciting and thrilling and that no little effort went into its creation! But let’s not forget that it is ultimately a “game” and the world alone is not enough to experience it. Yes, gentlemen, it’s time to talk about the game system!

What do you want?

Darq is a puzzle game first and horror second.

You will have to solve many puzzles if you want to progress through it, and sometimes also escape and hide from the monsters within it. Let’s start our conversation about puzzles here, and I have to say that the game exceeded my expectations in this regard. ! The puzzles here are wonderful and perfectly balanced. They are neither so easy that you will be bored nor so difficult that you will cry. Not to mention that they are very different in their ideas and content. Some of them will depend on the strength of your memory and your quick wit, while others will require a lot of concentration and sometimes even everything. Masculine! The navigation in the game world alone is very clever and was used extensively, as “Lloyd” has the ability to walk across walls and ceilings and temporarily change the features of the environment! (It’s his dreams and rules, so please don’t ask.) These skills will play an important role in running and hiding from monsters in the game, which we’ll talk about next. The truth is that there is not much about it that can be talked about, since this detail is rather marginal and does not constitute a part. A big part of the game, but it still exists and we need to talk about it. There are only two types of hiding methods here: the first is to hide and wait for the monster to move away from you, and the second is to approach them quietly and without making any noise, otherwise they will attack to you. While I have no problem with the second method, the first method seemed boring to me, as the monsters are slow and take their time walking before moving away, allowing you to pass without them noticing you. Luckily, this part didn’t come up very often, but it bothered me so much that I mentioned it as a negative, which I did. In my opinion, it’s worth acknowledging. The details of the escape take up the least space here, and I won’t talk about them as there’s little to discuss other than that they were entertaining and I really enjoyed them.

It won’t take long to talk about the game’s tunes since there are hardly any. With the exception of the melody you’ll hear when you start the game or the ending melody, there are no real tracks. In fact, this wasn’t the case. It doesn’t bother me at all. Rather, I think it’s a successful decision on the part of the developers, as this matter has given the world a character. In addition, it has helped to make colliding with monsters within the game world a more frightening experience, as when you encounter them or they attack you, a group of high-intensity sound effects are activated that will create a lot of commotion and tension after this deadly silence, and some may associate this style with horror with the famous name jump scares, which is something I personally don’t mind. While I don’t think it’s my favorite type of horror, I think it’s presented brilliantly here so I have no objections at all.

Please leave me alone!

Finally, the complete edition contains two additional sections: “The Tower” and “The Crypt,” each of which has its own ideas and unique atmosphere.

Still, this game is very short as you can complete it in just three hours! It may take longer if you want to collect the hidden scrolls within the stages, but it won’t significantly extend the life of the game. In fact, I hesitated before speaking negatively about this matter. I mean that there are those who see it The short lifespan is seen in a positive light, which is not surprising for those who want to get a quick and not time-consuming experience, but in the end the official price of this game is $20, and you might want to wait for a discount so you can forget about buying it at a better price, but the most important question remains: is this game worth trying? Well, if you are looking for an experience that is essentially similar to games like Limbo, Inside and Little Nightmares, but with its own unique ideas that ensure it is one of those unique experiences, then this is it without a doubt value! Darq is definitely a unique and wonderful experience, but it’s like eating a tub of ice cream on a hot summer day and drinking it quickly because you want more of it but unfortunately you can’t, but that may be part of it Charms from as well.

The game was reviewed in the Switch version provided by the game publisher.