Duskfade Co-Op Review - Time Well Spent
Duskfade is an indie platformer from developer Weird Beluga and publisher Fireshine Games. In the vein of classic platforming franchises like Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank and Banjo Kazooie, Duskfade follows Zirion and his mechanical sidekick Cuckoo as they unravel the mysteries of his sister’s disappearance and strange crystal eruptions emerging across the gorgeous landscapes of Tearfeld.
Stephen del Prado: Going into Duskfade, I was a bit apprehensive at first – it appeared to be taking quite a bit of inspiration from Kingdom Hearts, but that quickly dissipated once it became obvious how much it had shed the JRPG-lite mechanics in favour of straight platforming. The visuals are quite stunning as well, not in terms of the technical aspects as much but the art direction impresses with its use of colour and lighting which made many of the locations quite striking. What was your initial impression of Duskfade, Paul?
Paul James: So I had been super excited for this one; the game was giving off all of the right vibes when it paired some of my PS2-era favourites together. Blending elements of Kingdom Hearts with streaks of Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank was fantastic in principle, and I was beyond keen to get my hands on the game. Pair all of that with a really striking visual design, and I was in. Upon getting hands-on with the game though, I quickly came to realise that the game was being spread just a bit too thin. The core pillars of Duskfade are pretty great, but the team has tried to pack too much game in, and the pacing takes a serious hit for their over-enthusiasm. How do you feel about that element?
SDP: I was struck by how expansive some of the early environments are but in service of…well, not quite much at that point in the game. As a result, the pacing is quite off for the first two to three areas, a number of lengthy stretches between encounters that seem to scream “come back here later with your new abilities”. I love a solid ‘Metroidvania’ aspect but Duskfade being primarily a platformer with some light combat elements (and doesn’t feature a map) made revisiting some areas fairly tedious despite a forgiving fast travel system. Regular visits back to the Town hub to unlock new abilities or cosmetics were a welcome break from the lengthier runs to the next ‘chain break’, improved when there was finally a way to explore some of the gated-off sections. Brimming over with ideas, towards the end there was a slight sense that budget and time constraints may have trimmed down some of the ambition; did you sense that tapering effect as well?
PJ: Yep, in the tail end of the game, the length of the sequences dropped a bit, and as a result, actually reduced those sequences of explorable regions to a length that was far more appropriate than the bloated early stages. While the addition of a few new systems made earlier regions explorable in new ways, I never quite saw the game as a Metroidvania. Only because the only reasons to go back were for collectibles, and they mostly aren’t the sort that have a significant impact on the game playing experience. Like you, I enjoyed the opportunities to go back to town and purchase some upgrades and unlock some cosmetics. The town structure wasn’t ideal to navigate, and I did lose track of which shop was where on multiple occasions, but that goes back to your other point around a map. I just can’t comprehend why the game doesn’t have one. In main levels, I was often worried about stepping away from the game out of fear that I’d be disoriented when I returned, so much so that I never shut the game down and put my console into sleep mode, leaving myself strategically positioned so my first instinct upon returning would be to go forward. A map would’ve guaranteed that I didn’t have this fear.
You referenced some of those unlocked abilities earlier. I must say, I really enjoyed the Ratchet-inspired rail grinding, but was there anything that really caught your eye?
SDP: I must confess I don’t know that I ever really took full advantage of many of the ability unlocks and would often forget to switch them out, generally sticking with the blast and time-freeze options. What stood out for me most was honestly the aesthetic presentation – Duskfade is a delight to look at, the stylisation of each area pushing me to see what would come next. The beachside locations and crumbling Library especially stand out, inventive use of scale making much of the platforming feel extremely thrilling, even if some of those later boss encounters make the floaty nature of the jumping stand out like a sore thumb. This is an area I would expect to see tightened up in any sequel that might happen down the line. I feel Duskfade is in a bit of a tricky spot given the ‘mascot platformer’ genre has some absolute powerhouse designs in the past few years from Nintendo and Sony, whereas this title is obviously operating in a different tier both budgetarily and design ambition-wise. I fear we’ve maybe come off a bit harsh thus far, because I think Duskfade is a solid title but one that, like many famous titles of yesteryear, would improve with a sequel.
PJ: Oh mate, those visuals are absolutely stunning. The diversity in the environments, paired with such a striking visual design, means that everything pops right off the screen in the most striking of ways. The musical backing is also quite good, but I was disappointed by the prevalence of text boxes and the all too little voice-acting. I feel that the game could’ve leaned a bit harder into this, because while the story is solid, the strongest moments were delivered with VO, and so had this been rolled out further, it might’ve elevated some of the blander dialogue sequences. The game possesses some really cool characters, and I just wish it spent more time letting them dominate the spotlight and less time tossing us back onto the golden path in terms of the gameplay.
You’re right, we’re probably coming off a bit harsh, but only because it’s so clear that the game has an enormous ceiling for potential, but doesn’t come close to reaching it in a number of aspects. The central pillars of the game are really solid, but they’ve all been measured incorrectly, leading to an uneven final product that is oh so close to excellence, but needs some extra balancing before it’s up to standard. You flagged a sequel, and I, for one, would love to see a second game, because there is so much potential here, and I want to see the team get a second crack at it. Here’s hoping they get that opportunity. Would you agree?
SDP: Absolutely, Duskfade is a solid indie platformer that I would still recommend but as with a lot of first efforts, there’s some room for improvement. A strong foundation is there, and the dev team at Weird Beluga would absolutely benefit from another run where instead of building the base, they get to build up. That said, we know that especially these days post-launch support can significantly shift the feel of a game, and many of our qualms are things I can see as patch possibilities – while cutting down whole areas is perhaps outside the scope of any game not being produced in the AAA space, some tweaks to the jump-feel, voiceover additions, and an in-game map would be wonderful to see. Tearfeld is a compelling space to explore, and Zirion and Cuckoo are a great new addition to the pantheon of platforming duos; I’d hate to see Duskfade not do as well because of just how tall a shadow many of its forebears still cast over the genre. I also suspect playing on a PS5 Pro has given you a greater appreciation of the experience compared to myself on the Rog Ally, which, while admirable, isn’t hitting 4K 60FPS with high detail that would make this thing sing aesthetically. We aren’t exactly being faced with a dearth of platformers of this particular style anymore, so for ageing PS2 die-hards like ourselves, Duskfade is a great way to share with your kids how that era felt, even if presentation-wise it’s holding its own in 2026.
PJ: Duskfade is absolutely something I want to see more of in the future. The relationship between Zirion and Cuckoo is fantastic, and develops nicely throughout; the world of Duskfade is equal parts intriguing as it is beautiful, and the gameplay is mostly pretty tight (save for the aforementioned floaty platforming), so there’s huge opportunity here to sand down the rough edges and layer atop what is already very engaging about the current experience. This is a game that would have been a bit better with some strategic omissions, but if balancing the momentum of the experience is the primary focus of the team going into a sequel, then I can very easily see that game becoming one of the must-play action-adventure games of the modern console era. I hope they go back, and I would love for them to stick the landing.
Duskfade was reviewed on both the PlayStation 5 Pro and ROG Ally platforms using codes kindly supplied by the publisher.
