Released by developer Unfold Games through Steam, the game presents itself through a universe of literal dreams and shifting perspectives that immediately makes it a visual standout.

DARQ’s main character is Lloyd, a boy who comes to the realization that he is inside a dream that is quickly turning into a nightmare.

Although he is unable to wake himself up, Lloyd finds out that he is given the ability to manipulate and control the laws of physics within this new universe he is trapped inside of.

Walls become floors, floors turn into ceilings, and so on. Everything feels like it floats moodily in this world of unreasonable gravity and reason. The game absolutely nails that feeling of being half-awake, groggy and not quite feeling like things are the way they should be.

Presented in the form of a puzzle platformer, a big part of the game is trying to figure out what is going on and what to do each step of the way.

As is the wont with such games, DARQ gives players little to no clues about what exactly is happening. As such, players unaccustomed to games of this ilk will find the first few playthroughs quite confusing, though in a mesmerizing sort of way.

The game starts of inside Lloyd’s apartment, in which players will have the character interact with the bed, setting Lloyd off on his first dreamy adventure.

Quickly, players will learn that inside the dreamworld, Lloyd (and the player) can determine how the physics work around them. Walk up to a wall, and with a click of a button, that wall turns into the floor and so on. This is the most basic catch in the game and the basis for its puzzles.

Trying to figure out what is going on is fun and a strong incentive to finish the game immediately. The ambience and goings-on are all cryptic, almost goth-horror in its gloominess.

But there are things that point to an answer, from faraway blips of a medical care unit to villains on wheelchairs and sickly-looking ones.

Going against each of these enemies requires different approaches; some you are better off avoiding completely and hiding from, and some you fight off with different means.

The puzzles themselves range from easy to moderately hard, with none being too frustrating to solve.

Naturally, there is some amount of trial-and-error involved but the game is not as brutal in that respect as Limbo, for instance.

Turning a lever in the room Lloyd is currently in turns the room around, while others will have a crank that will shift the room into a completely different environment. In some cases, map-chasing becomes part of it, with items from one section of the map becoming important in another.

What is truly amazing about DARQ, however, is that it was made almost entirely by one single person. Behind the independent studio Unfold Games is Wlad Marhulets, who learned 3D modeling and coding, essentially from scratch, to create his first video game.

Reportedly, only about 5 percent of the technical aspects — modeling and animation — was done by other artists, with the audio being done by a professional sound designer.

Speaking of sound, it should come as no surprise that it utilizes some atmospheric ambient nuances, usually for when interacting with items, but what is more surprising is that the game is mostly absent of sound. This gives everything a mind-tinkering, almost disquieting sense of focus. It fits the grey goth animation feel of the graphics perfectly.

A game that delivers in atmosphere and presentation, with pretty good and welcoming puzzles to boot, DARQ is easy to recommend.

If anything, purchasing it will provide support to Marhulets, an obvious talent whose name needs to be watched out for as a game developer. With only his own self at his disposal, Marhulets was able to make a game of DARQ’s quality; imagine if he had more.

— Photos courtesy of Unfold Games

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