With this version, I'm going on a spooky journey in the realm of dreams. It invites us to an extraordinary adventure with its art style and spooky atmosphere reminiscent of Tim Burton's movies. The Switch version of the spooky puzzle / platform game, previously released on PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One, will allow you to experience the adventure anywhere.
Our main goal in DARQ: Complete Edition, which is in the dreams of a boy named Lloyd, is to make Lloyd awaken. Lloyd, who is in a state of dream awareness called "Lucid dream", has to reach his bed to get out of his dreams, but every time he lies down, he reaches the deeper points of the dream. While trying to reach our bed thanks to the puzzles we solved by defying gravity in the beginning, in the following sections, we are trying to wake up by activating strange mechanisms and hiding from dangerous beings.
Pros
+ Spooky atmosphere
+ Creative puzzles
+ I loved your art style
+ Non-boring gameplay
+ Interesting enemy designs
Cons
-Could be a little longer
- Poor in terms of story
Normally I would talk about the story longer, but DARQ: Complete Edition does not have a very long story nor does it tell much. As we go into the depths of the dream, things get more eerie, we see minor changes in our house, the inhabitants of the dream become more awkward and dangerous.
It is possible to complete the main story within an average of 5 hours. The DLC packs "The Tower" and "The Crypt" added later to the game come with DARQ: Complete Edition. With DLC packs that do not have a huge impact on the story, it is possible to find all the hidden things in close to 10 hours.
System requirements
MINIMUM:
Operating System: Windows 7/8/10, 64-bits
Processor: Intel Core i3-530
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 260 / ATI Radeon HD 4870
Storage: 3 GB available space
SUGGESTED:
Operating System: Windows 7/8/10, 64-bits
Processor: Intel Core i7
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 660 / ATI Radeon HD 7850
Storage: 3 GB available space
Additional Notes: X-Box One / X-Box 360 / Logitech F310
Please Don't Blast Dynamite In The Moving Train
According to the story, we are trying to get rid of the lucid dream state we are stuck in with our astral body in the depths of our dreams. To achieve this, we have to go to our bed, but there are a lot of obstacles in our way. The puzzles of the game are really interesting and you have to find the solution yourself as there is no educational part.
In the main story, there are puzzles of the type that we are used to, such as opening all locks by pressing the keys on the ground, catching the platform without falling with the right timing, and opening the doors by adjusting the path of the electricity. There are also puzzles in which we try to make the dynamite explode by changing the gravity, arrange the mysterious key in accordance with a clue that we do not even realize there is a clue, and fight against time to stop an enemy coming towards us. With the DLC packages, the diversity increases with the puzzles that we solve by changing the location and can only be done using our head.
The puzzles are well balanced in difficulty. Someone who has played puzzle / platformer type games before will quickly grab the main idea. This doesn't mean the puzzles are simple, though. There were times when I couldn't solve some puzzles because I was thinking one way, and when I finally found it, I said “it was too simple”. In addition, there was a puzzle in which the camera showed the enemy coming on me, which I had a lot of difficulty, and this had a great effect on my joycon drift problem. It was annoying to have to wait until he died when he realized he was screwing the puzzle.
We die when caught by enemies in the game. The game does not impose such a big penalty that we die for death. Even when the Checkpoint system threw the furthest away - I played the game without any trouble since I lost a maximum of 1 minute.
The atmosphere of the game is very successful. Our adventure, which started in the building, continues in various areas such as the subway station, the city center and a moving train. Each region has its own system and puzzles specific to the episode. The successful sounds that complement the atmosphere are by Bjørn Jacobsen, who worked on Hitman and Cyberpunk 2077.
There is a spooky atmosphere in the game but it is not a scary game. The environment, sounds and especially the designs of other beings are good enough to disturb you, but it was a little disappointing for me to choose jumpscare to scare you. The use of Jumpscare is not too much, but it draws attention when the game is short. There is also a puzzle that causes us to die if we cannot solve it in time. It is very well thought out, but it is not fun when there is a drift problem in joycons.
Result
With the main game and DLC packs, the game has a gameplay time of close to 10 hours. Dark: Complete Edition is a good game with quality puzzles reminiscent of Inside and Little Nightmares. The atmosphere is pretty good, but I wish the story would take a slightly more detailed way, a way that made the actor feel a little closer to the character.
The Nintendo Switch version of the game looks pretty good both on the dock and in handheld mode. It is a fact that the best platform for those who want to play these types of puzzle games outside and solve a puzzle or two while waiting for something is the Switch. However, some of the scenes in the play can jump from your place unintentionally and cause you to attract attention. The selling price of the game for Nintendo Switch is set at $ 20.
If you want to solve creative puzzles and experience a different adventure in a spooky atmosphere, I can recommend DARQ: Complete Edition with peace of mind.
