A true authentic sequel to the first Quake…

Even though one of my friends gifted me DUSK quite a while ago, I was kinda of hesitant to play it because even though I am a big fan of boomer shooters, for me they were always associated with Doom Engine and Build Engine games – I mostly played stuff like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D in my childhood and barely touched the first full-fledged 3D games like Quake and Unreal, so the latter ones are not considered to be “that boomer” in my head, if that makes sense. Anyway, after going on a rampage of beating one boomer shooter after another a few weeks ago, I’ve now finally decided to give DUSK a chance and had tons of fun!

Graphics. Raw low-poly minimalistic 3D like in the late 90s games. Both stylish and practical. Enemies and pickups are easy to read, while each location has its own fairly unique atmosphere. I think the only minor complaint would be that weapons are too low-detailed (even Quake I guns were not that low-poly) but it was likely an intentional style choice, so I cannot really complain much here.

Story. It is… interesting. I did not expect much so I was pleasantly surprised to hear some actual voices lines (even though not from the protagonist) and learn the game’s lore. The first Quake was an interesting mix of industrial sci-fi and dark fantasy setting, and I think DUSK is certainly inspired by this approach. While it does not have any sci-fi elements, it gradually progresses from some western-ish setting to brutalist industrial to full-fledged dark fantasy. I think it is a much more authentic blend for an eerie fast-paced Quake’s original idea successor, than the general sci-fi alien shooter we got in Quake II.

Music and Sounds. Music is just a banger. Each level has its own track and while the game mostly keeps the style of mixing electronics, synths, and metal, all songs are different and unique in their own way. There are even fully ambient tracks for more horror-styled creepy levels and these are amazing too. Overall, the soundtrack is majestic and you will certainly remember a few songs and will likely relisten to them after beating the game. As for the sounds though, while each enemy does have a good and unique sound so you can understand what you are going to face in a moment, I felt that the guns somewhat lacked the impact with the shooting sounds. The gun animations are also pretty basic and while I, again, understand that it was an intentional style choice, I feel more work could be done for weapon impact.

Gameplay. Amazing, especially if you are a fan of Quake games. While the game is built on Unity and obviously does not have all the specifics of id Tech, so the movement is much easier to perform here, it is compensated by fast enemies with diverse attacks, which does require you to not only run around quickly but also shoot precisely and promptly swap to proper weapons simultaneously. So, even though you can easily learn strafe jumping and bunny hopping in DUSK, you will have to master mixing them with gunplay, otherwise standing in place is almost always death. Level design is great: not only the levels look unique, they also provide you with various combat scenarios and leave some room for freestyle with rocket jumps and 360 no scope backflip sniper rifle kills (and for exploration and secret hunting, of course).

Speaking about the enemies, as you have already probably understood, they are pretty diverse and unique with their attacks. There are also no true hitscan foes, which lets you avoid the damage even from the rifle and shotgun bearing ones, if you move quickly. On top of that, the game gradually introduces new variations and types with new levels and some of the enemies are unique and exclusive (or mostly exclusive) for their episode. As for the weapons, while there are no truly unique unorthodox ones here, all of them are useful for different situations even on the higher difficulties. Pistols become submachine guns with a haste powerup, one-barrel shotguns are good alternative for a mid-distance combat instead of the rifle, crossbow is great for killing rows of enemies or dangerous foes through the walls to avoid damage, sniper rifle is useful for long distances and buffy enemies in cramped spaces where you cannot really use rockets, and by the third episode (or in the special secrets in the first and the second) you get a special sword which can deflect enemy projectiles and one hit kill them, provided you have enough health and armor (which is called morale here). I think the only disappointment is that, just like in Quake II, rockets and grenades have ridiculously small area of damage, so you cannot just spam them to the feet of an incoming horde.

I played DUSK on Cero Miedo and beat it in around 10 hours. I don’t know why the game tries to warn you that this difficulty is not for the first playthrough (and why this message keeps popping up when I’ve already finished the game) because unless you finished the level or made an unfortunate quicksave with low health and ammo, this difficulty makes you master movement and aiming and utilize the design of each location for your advantage. As for the max difficulty – DUSKMARE – it is kind of lame in the sense that it does not provide any unique or ultimate challenge like Nightmare or Ultra-Nightmare in old and new Doom games respectively, and just makes all enemy damage instakill you. Sure, this difficulty does require mastery in movement and level knowledge but restarting the entire level at the end of it just because you were unfortunate to catch one bullet from the other side of the map is not a very joyful experience.

Apart from the difficulties, the game also provides optional challenges like Completionist, Par-time beater, and Pacifist for those who want more. The game also has a survival mode, which is interesting but only provides 3 relatively small maps and no leaderboard to compete. However, a much bigger disappointment for me personally is that even though DUSK was one of the first boomer shooters released in the new era, it did not gather a large fan-base and despite the game providing modding tools, in 6 years there were barely any levels and mods released for it, and it does not seem we are going to get DUSK II any time soon… So I guess, we can only wait for a Quake reboot or another indie developer releasing a tribute game to that legendary series.

Conclusion. DUSK is a great game which takes huge inspiration from Quake I yet possesses a lot of unique and creative features that make it memorable in its own way. If you are fan of boomer shooter and specifically Quake – this is a must buy! You will certainly have fun beating the main game and if it is not enough to satisfy your boomer needs – you can go for beating all challenges and sickle-starting all 3 episodes on DUSKMARE with no saves.

P.S. I am also seriously thinking about beating all the optional challenges and the entire game on max difficulty despite there being no achievements for it. And this only happens if I do really like the game and ready to grind it just for the sake of having fun grinding it for myself with no public award. UPD: I did it. All medals on each level + all par times beaten + DUSKMARE run, sickle start, all kills, all secrets, no soap. This game is amazing! I really wish we got a sequel or a new episode!


P.P.S. I have also just learnt that DUSK is made by the same developer who made the IRON LUNG horror game. What a small world we live in!

[i]A true authentic sequel to the first Quake…[/i] Even though one of my friends gifted me DUSK quite a while ago, I was kinda of hesitant to play it because even though I am a big fan of boomer shooters, for me they were always associated with Doom Engine and Build Engine games – I mostly played stuff like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D in my childhood and barely touched the first full-fledged 3D games like Quake and Unreal, so the latter ones are not considered to be “that boomer” in my head, if that makes sense. Anyway, after going on a rampage of beating one boomer shooter after another a few weeks ago, I’ve now finally decided to give DUSK a chance and had tons of fun! [b]Graphics[/b]. Raw low-poly minimalistic 3D like in the late 90s games. Both stylish and practical. Enemies and pickups are easy to read, while each location has its own fairly unique atmosphere. I think the only minor complaint would be that weapons are too low-detailed (even Quake I guns were not that low-poly) but it was likely an intentional style choice, so I cannot really complain much here. [b]Story[/b]. It is… interesting. I did not expect much so I was pleasantly surprised to hear some actual voices lines (even though not from the protagonist) and learn the game’s lore. The first Quake was an interesting mix of industrial sci-fi and dark fantasy setting, and I think DUSK is certainly inspired by this approach. While it does not have any sci-fi elements, it gradually progresses from some western-ish setting to brutalist industrial to full-fledged dark fantasy. I think it is a much more authentic blend for an eerie fast-paced Quake’s original idea successor, than the general sci-fi alien shooter we got in Quake II. [b]Music and Sounds[/b]. Music is just a banger. Each level has its own track and while the game mostly keeps the style of mixing electronics, synths, and metal, all songs are different and unique in their own way. There are even fully ambient tracks for more horror-styled creepy levels and these are amazing too. Overall, the soundtrack is majestic and you will certainly remember a few songs and will likely relisten to them after beating the game. As for the sounds though, while each enemy does have a good and unique sound so you can understand what you are going to face in a moment, I felt that the guns somewhat lacked the impact with the shooting sounds. The gun animations are also pretty basic and while I, again, understand that it was an intentional style choice, I feel more work could be done for weapon impact. [b]Gameplay[/b]. Amazing, especially if you are a fan of Quake games. While the game is built on Unity and obviously does not have all the specifics of id Tech, so the movement is much easier to perform here, it is compensated by fast enemies with diverse attacks, which does require you to not only run around quickly but also shoot precisely and promptly swap to proper weapons simultaneously. So, even though you can easily learn strafe jumping and bunny hopping in DUSK, you will have to master mixing them with gunplay, otherwise standing in place is almost always death. Level design is great: not only the levels look unique, they also provide you with various combat scenarios and leave some room for freestyle with rocket jumps and 360 no scope backflip sniper rifle kills (and for exploration and secret hunting, of course). Speaking about the enemies, as you have already probably understood, they are pretty diverse and unique with their attacks. There are also no true hitscan foes, which lets you avoid the damage even from the rifle and shotgun bearing ones, if you move quickly. On top of that, the game gradually introduces new variations and types with new levels and some of the enemies are unique and exclusive (or mostly exclusive) for their episode. As for the weapons, while there are no truly unique unorthodox ones here, all of them are useful for different situations even on the higher difficulties. Pistols become submachine guns with a haste powerup, one-barrel shotguns are good alternative for a mid-distance combat instead of the rifle, crossbow is great for killing rows of enemies or dangerous foes through the walls to avoid damage, sniper rifle is useful for long distances and buffy enemies in cramped spaces where you cannot really use rockets, and by the third episode (or in the special secrets in the first and the second) you get a special sword which can deflect enemy projectiles and one hit kill them, provided you have enough health and armor (which is called morale here). I think the only disappointment is that, just like in Quake II, rockets and grenades have ridiculously small area of damage, so you cannot just spam them to the feet of an incoming horde. I played DUSK on Cero Miedo and beat it in around 10 hours. I don’t know why the game tries to warn you that this difficulty is not for the first playthrough (and why this message keeps popping up when I’ve already finished the game) because unless you finished the level or made an unfortunate quicksave with low health and ammo, this difficulty makes you master movement and aiming and utilize the design of each location for your advantage. As for the max difficulty – DUSKMARE – it is kind of lame in the sense that it does not provide any unique or ultimate challenge like Nightmare or Ultra-Nightmare in old and new Doom games respectively, and just makes all enemy damage instakill you. Sure, this difficulty does require mastery in movement and level knowledge but restarting the entire level at the end of it just because you were unfortunate to catch one bullet from the other side of the map is not a very joyful experience. Apart from the difficulties, the game also provides optional challenges like Completionist, Par-time beater, and Pacifist for those who want more. The game also has a survival mode, which is interesting but only provides 3 relatively small maps and no leaderboard to compete. However, a much bigger disappointment for me personally is that even though DUSK was one of the first boomer shooters released in the new era, it did not gather a large fan-base and despite the game providing modding tools, in 6 years there were barely any levels and mods released for it, and it does not seem we are going to get DUSK II any time soon… So I guess, we can only wait for a Quake reboot or another indie developer releasing a tribute game to that legendary series. [b]Conclusion[/b]. DUSK is a great game which takes huge inspiration from Quake I yet possesses a lot of unique and creative features that make it memorable in its own way. If you are fan of boomer shooter and specifically Quake – this is a must buy! You will certainly have fun beating the main game and if it is not enough to satisfy your boomer needs – you can go for beating all challenges and sickle-starting all 3 episodes on DUSKMARE with no saves. P.S. I am also seriously thinking about beating all the optional challenges and the entire game on max difficulty despite there being no achievements for it. And this only happens if I do really like the game and ready to grind it just for the sake of having fun grinding it for myself with no public award. UPD: I did it. All medals on each level + all par times beaten + DUSKMARE run, sickle start, all kills, all secrets, no soap. This game is amazing! I really wish we got a sequel or a new episode! [i]P.P.S. I have also just learnt that DUSK is made by the same developer who made the IRON LUNG horror game. What a small world we live in! [/i]