I know these choose-your-own-adventure games are boring to some, and hell you could argue they aren’t even really games, but I feel compelled to play them all anyway. As Dusk Falls is another decent addition to the genre, focusing on the fallout of a robbery gone wrong in a sleepy Arizona town. You play as a few different characters first through the night of the robbery, and then trying to move on with the rest of their lives. There’s loads of different paths you could end up on- some story beats that seemed obvious, perhaps even unavoidable in my play through actually appear to be ones that only a minority of players ended up choosing. More than many other games of this type Im interested in replaying some sections just to see what else could happen, because the story seems like it could really change a lot with some different choices. But we’ll see! Also of note, a lot of threads are left hanging, clearly Interior Night is planning on a sequel. Sure, put it on Game Pass and I’ll be back.

A solid choice based narrative game that at times is incredibly interesting, engaging, with a great art style but other times, the game is the exact opposite.

As Dusk Falls tells the story of a family trip gone awry and the grey areas that lead up to this situation. The choose your own nature of it isn't that different but the choices you make in the game do feel like they hold weight and can wildly change the story and events that will follow.

I also like that the game is willing to explore the events before and after, especially the after. You get a really good idea as to how your choices have effected the characters when you can see them over a decade after the main portion of the game.

The flashbacks and flash forwards though aren't all great so they at times feel like padding more so than anything worthwhile.

The art style is also very hit or miss, as is the voice acting. Sometimes, these are great, other times, they are a bad distraction.

Overall, As Dusk Falls is an inconsistent but enjoyable game. If you like these kinds of games, there are a ton of choices to explore and a lot that change things up so you'll get a lot of play out of this if you want to check out every option and how it changes things.

One of the only games I've played, then went back and played it all over again (on the hardest difficulty getting 100%). Everything about this game is just pinnacle of game design. The structure of never cutting is awesome. The combat feels so good. The axe coming back into your hand is one of the best feeling things ever. Each realm is amazing. The story is perfect. The graphics are still some of the best I've seen. The valkyries are such a fun challenge that are so tough, but fun to over come. The metroidvania design is amazing, especially how the map and realms change over time. However, some enemy variety can be weak. In spite of this, one of the best games ever.

I think this game sacrifices whatever unique style it had (have not played the others) to earn some Mainstream cred. It's got the Last of Us dynamic fit with somber dad and bratty kid, but the story works fairly well I will admit. The pacing helped a lot--I can't remember a section that dragged too long, either in cutscene or in gameplay. The father and son dynamic develops very naturally. It keeps the story moving forward, even through the oddly shoehorned open-world/multi-world design, which I didn't appreciate. If it wanted to be serious and bring the camera down so it's less of a gamey game and more of a Work of Art, a linear design (which the game admittedly has for most of it) is all you need to push people along. The bosses are mildly repetitive and the puzzles so easy/simple I wonder why they need to be there, but the axe mechanic is so satisfying I sat through a number of more meh stuff enjoying the feeling of swinging the axe.