Suggested by @AlphaOne2 for this list.

Admittedly, I was a bit concerned in the earlier hours of Dusk. I was enjoying the game, but it would’ve been hard to say much about the early game aside from “It’s like Quake.” That’s just not an interesting review. However, some divergences started about halfway through the first episode, and it improved from there, although it still stuck fairly close to Quake.

First, let’s take a look at the arsenal. The shotgun, super shotgun, riveter, and mortar are pretty much identical to four of the guns from Quake. I’m not gonna fault the game for having a shotgun (Especially when I can dual-wield them), as that’s in pretty much every shooter, but I would’ve appreciated some alterations from the other three guns’ Quake counterparts. Looking at the rest of our loadout, we have a pistol (Which can also be dual-wielded), an assault rifle, a sniper rifle, and a crossbow. Most of these are pretty by-the-books, but I do think the crossbow is rather unique and fun to use. It’s a fairly powerful weapon that passes through enemies, allowing for multiple kills at once if you can line enemies up. However, it also has a bit of kickback, which can be used to gain extra heights from jumps, meaning you can make a few skips if you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of ammo. This is a pretty cool alternative function. Overall, the guns are fairly fun to use, but I wish they were a little more original.

Although, I guess the game also lets you just pick up random stuff and throw it at enemies. I think the best comparison is something like in Half-Life 2 with the gravity gun. You know, you can use objects as a projectile or shield. However, throwing stuff is just… really strong. Why does the barrel do more damage than a shotgun? I dunno, but at the very least it led to me trying to use whatever items I could find. It certainly had an impact on gameplay, but I wish they pushed this a little more. Most items just do the same thing, aside from explosive barrels, which, well, explode, and crystals that cause enemies to attack each other. Throwing barrels and rocks can be fun in moderation, but it’s not particularly gripping gameplay in large chunks. It’s also worth noting that some of the more creative uses of items in Half-Life 2 (Carrying health items, building bridges to advance, etc…) aren’t here in philosophy or in form, likely because they would be a little harder to integrate into a boomer shooter’s level design without making significant changes. Maybe that’s for the better since that kind of stuff would slow down gameplay, but a little more variety of objects and maybe a weapon specialized to object interaction could’ve been great without sacrificing speed.

Even disregarding the previous paragraph, the map design was probably the biggest issue for me in the opening hours. It’s initially very flat, and I mean that literally. Most shootouts would take place in either a cramped building or a flat plain, so verticality wasn’t taken advantage of at all. As the game goes on, the level design becomes far more interesting. The fans that shoot you up into the air were a fun addition that keep things quick, wide-open arenas have many layers but aren’t a hassle to traverse, and levels will usually wrap around themselves to reduce excess backtracking. Later on, even more unique level design elements are introduced, and the game has a greater sense of variety without sacrificing the core appeal of ”HUGGH”-ing everywhere and shooting. The level design pretty much always fits the atmosphere; High-energy levels are wide open and play rock music, while unnerving levels are dark and cramped. The game does use the basic three keys approach that Doom and Quake use, but I really don’t think that’s an issue at all.

The enemy design is pretty good. They’re all distinct and fit the high-speed gameplay. Most enemies are aggressive, but you can always deal with them if you’re skilled enough. “Just keep moving” is the name of the game here, as is in most good boomer shooters. The best examples of this are the wendigo, grand wizard, and cart dog. You just can’t deal with these guys while still in 9 out of 10 cases, which is just how I like it. There are also bosses here. They’re mostly good, but not particularly great. Most of the boss arenas are pretty basic and the most unique one was just filled with bottomless pits, which was annoying. The final boss was the best in this regard though, as the arena is more interesting and there’s more strategy to the fight. The game also does that “The boss is a normal enemy but big!” cliché a few times (Although it also makes a boss a normal enemy but small, which I thought was funny). It’s neat that most bosses can be skipped, but I don’t think it’s a compliment to say the best thing about something is that it’s optional.

One thing I really liked here was that there is a sense of progression here between levels and episodes. You start in this rural area and fight occult enemies, but at the end of the first episode you discover that this rural town is being watched by a high-tech organization. After that, you go into an alternate dimension, where the final episode takes place. It strikes a good balance between keeping momentum in both the story and gameplay. The theming is pretty varied here, but it also feels like this variety is cohesive in how it progresses.

Before I begin wrapping this up, I want to talk briefly about difficulty. In games where you can save whenever, I always impose a limit in terms of how many times I can save. With boomer shooters, I always allow myself a single mid-level save, as well as one before bosses in most cases. There’s something to be said about how easy it is to save scum in games like this, but I never felt the desire to do this, as even at its hardest this game rarely felt cheap. I played on the normal difficulty, and while I felt that health resources were always well-balanced, I consistently had tons of ammo. Maybe it’s just because I consistently would break crates for ammo, look for secrets, and use melee when possible, but I still think there’s a lot of value in being strapped for ammo when it comes to shooters. The game leaned into this a little bit in the third chapter where you start off with very few guns, but I still think ammo should’ve been a little scarcer.

Visually, this game is certainly trying to evoke the low-poly era of games. It looks good enough, but not particularly great to be honest. I do like the creature designs, but the animations aren’t super impressive. While the lighting can be striking occasionally, it also can be jarring when an object suddenly shifts from glowing blue to glowing green. However, I really like the sound design. Not necessarily the music, although the music was good. No, it’s the sound effects that are great. I really love when you must listen in games, and Dusk is a good example. There is a visual tell for Wendigos, but the audio tell will almost always come first. Same with the Mamas, which are probably the most dangerous normal enemies. I will never hear squeaky wheels again without having a fight or flight reaction. Pretty much every dangerous enemy has a distinct sound, which I love.

Overall, it was a fun boomer shooter. It’s derivative of Quake, but there’s enough different here that there’s instances where I’d want to play Dusk instead of Quake and vice versa. The creators have hinted at the possibility of an extra episode, and considering the game improved as it went on, a new episode or sequel could be great. I know New Blood went on to publish Ultrakill though, which is another game I’m playing because of the suggestion list, so I’m looking forward to that. Anyway, Dusk a fun game, and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys Quake or Doom. 7/10, but I could raise it to an 8.