Developer Weird Beluga’s debut title, Duskfade, offers a delightful 20-hour adventure that skillfully blends inspirations from beloved platformers and action-adventure games. The result is a game that, while not reinventing the genre, delivers a polished and engaging experience with stunning locales and charming characters.
Duskfade casts players as Zirian, a young boy on a quest to rescue his sister, who has been trapped within a colossal clock tower that mysteriously appeared in his home village, Tick Town. The narrative, reminiscent of classic Disney tales, follows Zirian as he navigates this whimsical world filled with "cloudies," an adorable race of cloud-like creatures, and battles "inkies," which serve as the game's equivalent to the Heartless from Kingdom Hearts. While the plot and dialogue may lean towards a younger audience, with occasional nods to pop culture that might elicit a chuckle from older players, the core gameplay loop draws heavily from the action-adventure genre.
Engaging Combat and Challenging Bosses
The combat system in Duskfade echoes the frenetic action of the Kingdom Hearts series. Players wield a sword, similar to Sora's Keyblade, against a variety of enemies. However, the combat can feel somewhat unrefined, with target lock-on occasionally proving more of a hindrance than a help, often devolving into a rapid cycle of dodging and attacking. Boss fights, on the other hand, offer a welcome change of pace, presenting more intricate mechanics and unique challenges. Encounters might involve outsmarting a boss that floods the arena with lava or using its own energy beams against it by making it destroy its power sources.
Satisfying Movement and Exploration
Where Duskfade truly shines is in its movement mechanics. Zirian's ability to double jump, dodge in mid-air, and gain a small height boost by attacking while airborne allows for incredibly satisfying traversal across vast distances. This aerial maneuverability, combined with environmental aids like water spurts and bouncy plants, creates an engaging system for reaching difficult-to-access collectibles. The game also features unlockable abilities, including a grappling hook and the unique use of a sundial for grinding on rails, which open up new areas and encourage backtracking to uncover all secrets.
Minor Inconveniences and Overall Enjoyment
Despite its many strengths, Duskfade is not without its minor frustrations. The basic in-game currency has a cap of 9,999, which can be reached quickly if players are thorough in smashing destructible objects. This limitation forces players to return to the hub world to spend currency, which can be inconvenient due to the sparse placement of portals. The limited number of fast-travel points can lead to lengthy walks when backtracking to regions with new abilities, detracting slightly from the otherwise smooth flow of exploration.
Nevertheless, these small annoyances do little to diminish the overall quality of Duskfade. The game maintains a forgiving nature with frequent checkpoints and generous respawn points, ensuring that player progress is rarely set back significantly. It offers a wholesome, at times challenging, and rewarding experience that expertly captures a sense of nostalgia. Duskfade stands as a strong debut for Weird Beluga, demonstrating their capacity to contribute a substantial and well-crafted title to a genre that is often challenging for independent developers. For those awaiting future installments in major action-adventure series, Duskfade provides an excellent and worthwhile diversion.