DUSK is a fluid, fast-paced, all-guns-blazing, horror FPS that’ll delight fans after some delicious 90s member berries – Review

This month, we’ve been playing a load of FPSs for our podcast and since DUSK was regularly mentioned, I thought I’d give it a go.

Right from the get-go, you can see that this 90s-inspired shooter wears its inspiration on its sleeve so does it add anything to the genre or is it just another 90s FPS?

Developed by David Szymanski and published by New Blood Interactive, DUSK is a horror-themed, bloody, 90s-inspired, relentless FPS.

In DUSK, you play as a nameless treasure hunter who is infiltrating the fictitious rural town of Dusk, Pennsylvania (think creepy farms, demon-infested cornfields and underground slaughterhouses and you’ll have some idea of how this game looks).

The game spans three “episodes”, each set in various sections of the town, and along the way you’ll mow down a number of cultists, demonic cows, and shotgun-wielding scarecrows, to name just a few of the excellent variety of enemies you’ll meet.

It’s full of 90s FPS tropes, including key retrieval to unlock new areas of the map, pixelated blood splatters (of which there are plenty), health, ammo and gun pickups and the odd power up too. The game has very purposely been designed to mimic the likes of DOOM and Quake, and it does so very well.

The controls are fluid and easy to pick up, and the main character handles very well. You’ll be jumping, sliding, strafing and running around, while dual-wielding your weapon of choice like a pro in no time at all. The fact that the game’s graphics are deliberately ‘old-skool’ means any systems you’re likely to use will run this game on high settings at a high frame rate. Essentially, it’s very accessible, and anyone should be able to enjoy this game the way it was supposed to be enjoyed.

As for cons, this writer isn’t a huge fan of the ‘American midwest-horror-farm’ setting, and the colour palette can feel a little dull at times, but really, that’s about it – I know, we’re nitpicking.

Multiplayer is also supported with DUSK, which we have yet to try out, but promises to be a lot of fun and utterly relentless, if the single player is anything to go by.

The Verdict

DUSK is a chaotic and insane FPS that includes everything that made me fall in love with the genre back in the 90s. While it doesn’t add anything too new into the mix, it’s good enough on its own merit to still be worth picking up 30 years after the games it’s inspired by.

Even though the setting wasn’t really for me, that didn’t ruin my enjoyment of this excellent game.

It’s available on PC.