Duskfade Review - A PS2-Era Platformer With Kingdom Hearts Vibes

Barely Magic Mike
4 hours ago
5 min read

“There has never been a better time to be a 3D platformer fan” is something I would say if I were reviewing games in the mid-2000s when Sony used to care about Ratchet, Jak, and Sly, Nintendo released a new 3D Mario every 3-5 years, and Xbox… well, between Blinx, Voodoo Vince, and Kameo, you could at least tell they were trying. Then the genre fell out of fashion for some reason as publishers decided games weren't gritty and gray enough. These were dark times for 3D platformer fans.

But in the modern world where indie developers are making everything imaginable, the genre has seen a massive resurgence, albeit with sort of mixed but leaning positive results. I haven't found many titles I'd consider modern classics outside of Sony's Astro Bot and Panik Arcade’s Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom, but Duskfade is one I've had my eye on for a while because at least on the surface, it looks incredibly promising. Gorgeous art direction, fluid animation driving its protagonist Zirian’s movement, and a whimsical, time-altering theme that could solidify its identity into something special. So did it meet these lofty expectations? Let's talk about it.

First - the obvious. Duskfade is gorgeous. The artists who made it clearly worked overtime, as every environment looks resolutely stunning and full of color. The animation work is also tremendous and makes this look and feel like the work of a major developer and not a small studio releasing their first title. If you had any skepticism that Duskfade would maintain the visual promise of its beautiful trailer throughout the full game, make no mistake that your expectations will be met. This is guaranteed to be one of my favorite-looking indie games this year, and the year is far from over. Okay, enough gushing about that.

You'll play as Zirian, whose world has been upended by a disturbance in the fabric of time itself. His sister is also missing, so Zirian teams up with his new sidekick Cuckoo to traverse through the realms of the Master Clockmakers, uncover their ancient secrets, and rescue his sis.

There may be some younger audiences who get more out of this story than I did, but I would not come into it expecting much. The writing across Duskfade’s plot was uniformly weak, and the characters lack character aside from obvious tropes - the young, naive hero, the wise old grandpa, and a sidekick who could, frankly, use a good kick in the side. I found Cuckoo to be really annoying - rarely contributing much in the way of interesting banter, and more just whining and being pointlessly grumpy in a way that left me wanting to mute her. In any case, I'm probably not the core audience for this story, but as somebody who's enjoyed plenty of whimsical, Pixar-like tales as an adult, Duskfade simply does not have that special sauce, instead coming off more like store-brand ketchup. While the game’s world is a genuinely interesting one and the cute cloud people everywhere quipping at Zirian and Cuckoo have some charm, the presentation is doing serious heavy-lifting in places where the writing can't keep up.

Gameplay thankfully fared better, but even that depends on where you focus. You'll traverse through relatively linear levels in Zirian's world, which have some room for exploration but otherwise feel pretty guided. There's even a bell you can ring in certain spots that points you in the direction of your goal, though the choices around its placement are hilariously ironic, because I already knew exactly where to go most times I came upon it, and the few times I wasn't quite sure where my main path was, the bell was nowhere to be found. As funny as I found that, it's very inconsequential and bound to help somebody at some point. Moving on.

As you progress, you'll encounter a mix of platforming obstacles and combat arenas, occasionally broken up by a boss fight. For the most part, I really enjoyed the combat. Its mix of dodges, light attacks, heavy attacks, and special moves feels satisfying to pull off, and the fluid animation driving each encounter makes hits land harder and feel just right. I did feel like the build-up of abilities is a tad too slow, as it's pretty silly to not unlock your heavy attack until a few hours into the game, but overall the combat is frantic and fun, and the purchasable abilities add a tangible build-up of power as you make your way through the game. It's unfortunate that one element is so heavily lacking, and that's the game's enemy lock-on function. As it is now, lock-on was so feisty and sticky that I often decided not to use it, lest it get stuck on a fast-moving enemy that forces my gaze away from a much more imminent threat. I hope this is a quick fix once the game releases, because it's currently just annoying enough to not be worth using much.

level design could have used a bit more attention

The platforming is where my thoughts on Duskfade get less enthusiastic. Zirian's moveset includes double jumping, dashing, grappling, wall-jumping, and more, and pulling off these moves feels smooth and satisfying. But the level design never manages to keep up, continuing to throw the exact same obstacles at you repeatedly, rarely chaining them or reimagining them in any way that could remotely resemble an interesting challenge. It's sadly some of the blandest, most forgettable level design I've seen in a platformer for quite some time, and considerably drags the game down by refusing to introduce anything new or interesting for long stretches. The only exception there is the boss fights, which are fun and use both your platforming and combat abilities in relatively creative ways. After enduring the same obstacles over and over again, the boss fights at least served to wake me up a bit.

Alright, back to the positives now - Duskfade’s stellar visual presentation is rounded out by high-quality (if less head-turning) sound design, with nice musical tracks backing the gameplay and a respectable emphasis on making combat sound effects feel nice and crunchy. Together, the visuals and sound do so much to create a whimsical world for the player to live in. It's just a shame the story and level design struggle to match that level of quality.

My overall feelings on Duskfade are that it's pretty good, but I can't help but wish I liked it more than I actually did. The developers have done a fantastic job bringing to life a world that, frankly, could put most others in its genre to shame. It's constantly screenshot-worthy and the sort of game that will be top of mind in the “best visuals” category of our end-of-year awards. And despite looking so great, it runs reasonably well on Steam Deck and Steam Machine, albeit with some compromises you'll want to make in the settings to have a smooth experience. But while the combat keeps pace with the presentation nicely enough, there simply needed to be more variety and more challenge to the platforming to keep it interesting, and the story is bland enough to deflate the interesting lore that this gorgeous world deserves to have, but sadly lacks. I think plenty of people will get on with Duskfade, especially younger ones who want something pretty and fun without much challenge, but veteran 3D platformer fans might be better off waiting for a sale. Duskfade gets the bronze genie lamp of approval.

Good: