Darq Ultimate Edition Review – by Thistle’Do Gaming’s Paul Tyre

Written by Paul Tyre (Thistle’Do Gaming)

Introduction

As a lover of puzzle solver games I am forever surprised when something so highly rated comes across my screen that I haven’t discovered yet. Darq, originally released in 2019 (can you believe that is 4 years ago!?) now offering us the “Ultimate Edition” featuring all additional DLC, the frame boost from the earlier released “Complete Edition” and the graphic novel “Dream Journal”. 

What is Darq?

For those like me unfamiliar with Darq, you play as Lloyd, a boy trying to find his way through a nightmarish dreamscape. You progress through each level by solving puzzles and sneaking past obstacles in an eerie Tim Burton-like design style.

Gameplay

Darq is a side scroller game, however the dimensional depth very much comes from one of the key gimmicks, which is the bending of reality. Walk up to a wall and press the action button and suddenly the world turns, so that wall is now the floor. Or find interactable objects around your environment and maybe twist and turn the room to suit your desired path. The controls remain simple, with an action button to defy gravity, an interact button to pick up objects and movement buttons such as sprint and crouch. Having this basic gameplay style, without a large learning curve means that this game can be enjoyed just as much if you are a casual player or if gaming is a key hobby of yours. 

Story progression

After each chapter Lloyd finds his way back to his room, exactly where you started the journey. To continue, Lloyd must go back to sleep to activate the next chapter. Falling from one dream, into the next in an Inception style continuation of sleep cycles. Each level presents a slight variation of the world bending mechanic, where you will have to think carefully about how you will take the next path. You might find yourself having to return to paths you have already taken as well, to open up new doors and unlock boxes to find new interactable items.

The Dangers

Time to meet some of the enemies in your nightmare. This is where patience and sneaking comes into play. There will not always be clear prompts on how to pass by dangers, it is very much up to you to figure that out, however you will find your footing before you know it. Everything is laid out as a puzzle, whether it be opening a door, by passing someone with a gun and light-headedness (that’s a Two-Point reference),  you will have to calculate how you manoeuvre using the world around you. Lloyd comes equipped with very little, he can run, crouch, twist the world to create a new path and carry some much needed items, but beyond that you are left feeling powerless against enemies. Much like when you are in a nightmare. This increases the intense feelings of anxiety during gameplay, giving a chilling and uneasy vibe throughout. 

Replayability

The main story is quite short, taking this first time player around 2 hours to complete. I didn’t realise until I checked the achievements after completion that there are collectables in each area. I am quite dumbfounded at the fact I did not find one, but also happy to open the door to a replayable game, in which I may know the answers to the puzzles, yet have an all new challenge of finding these very well hidden collectables. 

Extra Levels 

The Tower

The tower starts off with a new mechanic on the offset, at a push of a button your environment turns from a dark grey corridor to a fleshy horror scene from hell. This is immediately refreshing and feels new. Much like each level in the main game having a slight change in the world bending mechanic, it was pleasant to see this carried through to the additional content. 

The horror feel of the game is more prevalent in The Tower, with bizarre and creepy ways to solve puzzles such as chopping off your own head to use as what is effectively a key. 

Disappointingly however, The Tower is very short and is the equivalent of one level of the main title. I was able to complete it in around 20 minutes and although enjoyable, I found this to be a little disappointing. 

The Crypt

Following on from the moment you left The Tower, you enter The Crypt, with no head to be seen. Well, for a short moment before your head breaks out of a jar and becomes the mechanic. You will stick your head, wait no, your neck? You stick what is left of where your head used to be into a hole in the ground and then take control of your severed head, to roll it around to solve the puzzles. 

From my playthrough The Crypt was the most difficult level to get through because you are controlling both Lloyd’s body and head separately. It can at times become frustrating finding the correct route due to this mechanic requiring you to get his body and head in the correct place, which is made more challenging by the fact you can only control his head when your body is at one of the holes. 

The length of The Crypt is similar to The Tower, however I was less disappointed with the length of this as it did become quite tedious with the rolling head mechanic. As this is part of the “Definitive Edition” it seemed odd to me that the selling point of getting the full content for the game, was in reality an additional hour of gameplay. If you love this game and you bought it on a different platform then this content will likely be great for you, but as a first time player it seemed lacking in the DLC area.

Conclusion

Darq is a very good puzzle solving game, with horror elements and a chilling tone, it makes for a great experience. The highlight is its unique mechanic to shift the world around you and provides an extra dimension to the puzzle solving that creates head scratching moments that are hugely satisfying when achieved. The monochrome art style adds to the atmosphere of being in a nightmare. With eerie sounds and lack of music, the entire design of the game is bizarre, and I say that in the most complimentary way. 

Although the DLC was a bit lacklustre it did not take away from this game being enjoyable overall, and that’s why we play games, to enjoy them. It was the perfect palate cleanser for me and left me a lasting experience where I will likely remember its unique mechanics well into the future. To put it simply, if they release a sequel I won’t hesitate to play it.