Culture news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Duskfade Review: Kingdom Hearts New Replacement Is the Best Mario Game of the Year
Duskfade is a colourful 20-hour action-platformer from debut developer Weird Beluga, following Zirian as he tries to rescue his sister from a mysterious clock tower in their home of Tick Town. The review finds it heavily influenced by Kingdom Hearts, Super Mario Odyssey, Jak & Daxter and Super Mario Sunshine, but argues that its enjoyable movement, appealing settings and approachable challenge make it a worthwhile adventure despite its lack of originality.
Its Disney-like story and dialogue are described as slight and occasionally groan-inducing, while ordinary combat can become repetitive because the lock-on system is unreliable and battles favour repeated dodging and attacking. Boss encounters provide more variety, and the strongest feature is traversal: double jumps, aerial dodges, attacks that add height, environmental aids and unlockable tools such as a grappling hook encourage skilful exploration and later backtracking for collectibles, upgrades and cosmetics.
In short
- Duskfade is an enjoyable, derivative action-platformer with excellent movement.
- Its story and standard combat are weaker than its exploration.
- Bosses, collectibles and unlockable abilities add variety and replay value.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The review recognises that whilst Duskfade draws inspiration from established franchises, it executes its core mechanics—particularly traversal and movement—with skill and polish. For a debut developer, creating an approachable 20-hour adventure that encourages exploration and mastery of movement systems represents a meaningful achievement. In games, mechanics and player experience often matter more than absolute originality; a game that executes classic design principles well can be genuinely worthwhile entertainment, even if its influences are apparent.
The case against
The review itself identifies significant weaknesses: the story is slight and groan-inducing, combat is repetitive due to an unreliable lock-on system, and the game relies on repeated dodging and attacking throughout. Given that the game is heavily indebted to several established franchises without apparent innovation, and considering these mechanical shortcomings occupy such a large portion of the experience, calling it 'the best' of anything seems unwarranted hyperbole. A genuinely strong game should demonstrate excellence across multiple dimensions, not merely in traversal whilst faltering in narrative and combat design.
Explained simply
Duskfade is a 3D action-platform game, a type of adventure built around jumping, exploring and fighting enemies. It follows Zirian, who sets out to rescue his sister from a mysterious clock tower in Tick Town.
The game draws on ideas from earlier series including Kingdom Hearts, Super Mario Odyssey, Jak & Daxter and Super Mario Sunshine. Its developer, Weird Beluga, is making its debut with Duskfade.
The review highlights movement and exploration as the game’s main strengths, while noting that its story and routine battles are less engaging. This gives readers a sense of how Duskfade combines familiar platform-game features with its own settings and characters.
Art Culture Entertainment Gaming Offbeat Software Technology Weird & Viral