a DOOM-fueled reunion
The first time I played neo-retro-FPS DUSK was a couple years ago. At the time, I had little experience with any sort of retro FPS, and was playing the game through Amazon's game streaming service, Luna. I was aware of how far from ideal the setup was, and after less than an hour of disorientingly fast movement and noticeable input lag, I set the game down. I left with a pervasive sense that I'd have a much better time with the game after I had a few other, similar games under my belt first... and playing the game locally off my own computer.
Skip ahead to 2025. I have now played more than a couple DOOM games and community WADs to satiate this newfound obsession of mine. Secrets, switches, straferunning, and super shotguns have become second nature to me in ways I couldn't have imagined before. I finished Master Levels. I enjoyed Master Levels. DUSK was now in my Steam library instead of Luna.
I was ready to come back.
This time around, returning to DUSK felt just right. The default 110 FOV felt liberating. The id-Tech-esque slip n' slide movement was comfortable and familiar. The potentially fatal cold-open to E1M1 made me laugh instead of groan. It was the complete opposite of my first attempt at DUSK, and it seemed like everything had lined up perfectly to make sure I'd have a good time.
And a good time was indeed had. I've just completed the second of DUSK's three Episodes, and want to take a moment to happily rant about the fun I've had so far.
DUSK: it does that thing you like
"Love letter to retro FPS" may be a bit hackneyed of a phrase, but it absolutely applies here. I'm most familiar with DOOM, so most of my comparisons (as well as the little references I catch) will naturally lean that way (DOOM player thinks other FPS game is just like DOOM, more at 11!). But DUSK has plentiful of fun tidbits for fans of Blood, Duke Nukem 3D, and other classics--not just Easter eggs and straight references, but also through the mechanics and design of the game itself. I'm confident I'm not just imagining the inspiration from other revolutionary titles like Half-Life, Portal, F.E.A.R., and even a little bit of SUPERHOT.
What this means is the more FPS games you play, the more DUSK gives you opportunity to point at the screen and shout "wow, just like in game here!" without a shred of cynical irony, just genuine joy. In my opinion, DUSK is downright exemplary of what modern games are capable of when drawing from 30-plus years of masterpiece shooters. It's a heady mix of time-tested mechanics with designer David Szymanski's low-poly horror secret spice. If you've ever seen the reductive take on indie games as "retro games but designed with the power of hindsight", well... in some ways, DUSK achieves just that.
pacing makes perfect
You might recall from my review of the classic DOOM games how much I appreciate Doom 1993's tight pacing, largely thanks to its episodic structure. To recap: the original Doom consisted of three episodes with eight maps each (excluding secrets). The later fourth episode Thy Flesh Consumed that came with The Ultimate Doom kept the same format with another eight main maps. Each episode gives you natural-feeling progression as you build up your arsenal and work towards a climactic finish--a good stopping point before you tackle the next episode fresh, the only thing carrying over being your skills and savvy.
DUSK's structure is much the same, but with a slant towards catering to FPS veterans. Its three episodes are ten levels long (again excluding secrets) and will probably take you longer to finish on your first run than an analogous blind run of the classic Doom. This feels like a deliberate choice, like DUSK was designed for the retro FPS enthusiast who wants a little more, a little harder. For me personally, the lengthier episodes did push the edges of my comfort zone, but the payoff is worth it. Maps are dense, expansive, and filled with enemy encounters, secrets, and traps that'll surprise and delight the experienced genre fans. It's hard to complain about the longer episodes of DUSK because it means there's just more game. More map, more enemy, more shoot, more boom. DUSK is a big sandwich, and I just happen to get full easily.
For what it's worth, my first clear of DUSK's Episode 1 took me a little under 1 hour and 50 minutes, while Episode 2 took me less than 2 hours and 30 minutes. These times include the moments spent screenshotting, looking for secrets, and the main culprit: running around being lost. They don't include the cumulative time spent on reloads after dying.
The first run of these kinds of games will always by the slowest by far, so I look forward to swifter and smoother replays of DUSK's episodes in the future. For now, I'm happy to dedicate the better part of a weekend night to make sure my progress through an episode feels uninterrupted and complete.
"the game makes you feel like Duskdude"
Okay, memes aside, I heartily agree with the consistent praise of DUSK's game feel. The game's handling is fine-tuned balance incarnate, like a living, breathing Goldilocks zone.
Player movement is the perfect example: it's low-friction both figuratively in terms of its ease and accessibility, and literally due to how you slide around just enough to move like you're permanently straferunning in Doom. Bunny-hopping and crouch-sliding intuitively add flexibility to how you stylishly dodge projectiles and otherwise avoid danger as you run literal circles around your enemies. Early on I re-bound Crouch to Shift instead of Ctrl to make the crouch-slide more accessible. It never felt necessary, but it felt good to use--and that's really what matters.
Weapon handling is similarly satisfying. Your giant chunky guns paradoxically float around gracefully as you aim, then kick like a mule with each powerful shot. Describing DUSK as "low-fidelity" almost feels like missing the point. Sure, the models are blocky and everything looks pixelated, but the level of detail in every movement, sound, and feeling gives you that immersive sense of being right there in the middle of the bloody, rusty chaos.
Speaking of sound, the sound design for everything--weapon feedback, enemy cues, environmental effects--is appropriately intense, harsh, and spooky. The sound is complemented by an excellent soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult (plus a few tracks made by David Szymanski!) that captures the full spectrum of atmospheric to in-your-face.
there's more to see than you might think
One of DUSK's biggest surprises for me was just how much stuff there is to see. It was a surprise that kept reemphasizing itself as I progressed through each map of each episode. The levels boast the size and complexity of a best-in-class retro(-styled) FPS, but that's not all. The sheer variety of the environments themselves, plus their associated gimmicks, were staggering. The game I thought DUSK was mid-Episode 1 was completely different from what I think DUSK is now, at the end of Episode 2. And I'm excited and fully expecting for that to again change when I return for Episode 3. Simply discovering the game's levels is such a big part of the fun that I think it'd be a shame for me to spoil any of that here.
Just know that you'll stare wide-eyed and ask "there's more?" and then DUSK will confidently respond "yes, there's more."
no regerts
I'm so glad to have returned to DUSK when I did. As someone now deep in a fascination with classic FPS, DUSK is now the right game at the right time, which is all the more clear to me because only a few years ago it was the wrong time. Prior to picking up DUSK again I had been spending time with episode-length Doom WADs and David Szymanski's own Chop Goblins, both types of experiences that can be wrapped up in about an hour or so per run. DUSK's longer episodes and overall larger size bring a welcome change of pace. There's a lot to get through, and I wouldn't want to do the game a disservice by rushing through it.
See you in Episode 3.