As time goes on, technologies are becoming cheaper and more accessible. Until recently, someone doubted the success Little nightmares, and now many studios are preparing their clones of this game. However, back in 2019, she managed to come out DARQ, which, after a series of patches and changes, finally turned into a truly polished project.
Los Angeles-based small studio Unfold Gameswithout any experience behind her, she was burning with the idea of creating a dream project. It was planned not only an interesting platformer with puzzles, but also a story in which the rules of the game are constantly changing, where the next step forward could change a lot. Ambitious plans, but what finally saw the light of day?
Waking dreams
Literally from the first minute of the game, they make it clear that we will have to figure it out on our own. Without any prefaces, cutscenes, tutorials or even background music, we find ourselves in the middle of a spacious apartment. The main character, a pale young man named Lloyd, every night in his dreams finds himself in bizarre worlds – on the verge of fantasy and reality. The problem is that every dream is a danger to Lloyd, because there are puzzles and monsters waiting for him there, who want him dead.
On this, at least some intelligible information about the plot and tasks ends. The comparison with Little Nightmares is no coincidence. In the game there is no text, dialogues, as well as an understanding of what is happening, but you seriously think about it only after the final credits.
Wrong turn
Falling into his own dreams, Lloyd must find a way out of the location, which has several puzzles, quest items, and monsters. The guy knows how to walk on any flat surface, be it walls or ceilings.
For obvious reasons, the logic of sleep works with all objects. They can increase or decrease, as well as be used in completely unobvious places. A wristwatch can become a bridge over an abyss, and a letter from a sign will work instead of a lever for a knife switch. In a world living according to Dali’s laws, everything depends only on the ability to use your imagination.
Each new level provides a new condition for interacting with the world. At certain moments, Lloyd will need to twist rooms in different directions, and then entire locations in order to see the universe from a new perspective. The puzzles are perfectly balanced in terms of both quantity and quality. Each riddle is unique, quite difficult, sometimes limited in time, but never causes the desire to quit the game or spy on the passage if something does not work out.
