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As Dusk Falls

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As Dusk Falls
Developer(s)Interior Night
Publisher(s)Xbox Game Studios
Director(s)Caroline Marchal
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
ReleaseJuly 19, 2022
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

As Dusk Falls is a 2022 narrative adventure game developed by Interior Night and published by Xbox Game Studios. It released for Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on July 19, 2022.

Gameplay

The gameplay of As Dusk Falls revolves around interactive storytelling, as well as novel techniques used to gauge consensus among players for pivotal narrative decisions when playing co-operatively in its multiplayer modes.[1] Its narrative is a multi-generational story about "two families whose trajectories collide in the Arizona desert in 1998."[2]

Development and release

As Dusk Falls was first announced on July 23, 2020 at the Xbox Games Showcase event.[3] Development was led by creative director Caroline Marchal, who was previously employed by Quantic Dream as a designer for the company's titles Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls.[4][5][6] It released on July 19, 2022 on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows.[7][8]

Reception

As Dusk Falls received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[9][10] Many critics lauded its storytelling, art style, voicework, co-op mode, and the emotional impact of narrative choices offered to players, whereas criticism was directed mainly towards its climax and clunky controls.[16][17][19][21]

Michael Goroff of EGM wrote favorably of the game's competently directed scenes, evocative painting-based art style, ability to view alternate paths, implementation of co-op mode, and immersive storytelling, but disliked the undercut tension of the narrative's second half and the cliffhanger ending.[11] Robert Purchese of Eurogamer called it "the best interactive movie game I've played", citing the multiplayer component, photoreal comic strip art style, effective key frames, impressive voicework, character development, flashback-based storytelling, mature depiction of heavy subject matter, and TV-inspired presentation as its strengths, concluding, "[As Dusk Falls] shows how well games can handle stories and themes like these when done with care and understanding, and how well it can pull us into the lives of others and invest us in the decisions they have to make."[12]

Game Informer's Matt Miller gave it 8.75 out of 10 and praised its wide appeal, stating, "For players interested in the progress of interactive narrative frameworks, it’s a laudable success. But even for someone who never plays games, it works. That’s because good characters and storytelling make for a universal experience, and this is a project that has both."[13] Writing for GameSpot, Mark Delaney gave high praise to the motion comic artwork, audio drama presentation, quality voice acting, thoughtful thematic material, impactful choices, and the developer's keen understanding of pacing and characterization, but took issue with out-of-place action scenes and an ending hampered by sequel baiting.[14]

Dustin Bailey of GamesRadar+ similarly liked the TV-style pacing, nuanced characters, and the multiplayer's elevation of familiar genre mechanics, but noted how choice mechanics felt thin when replaying the game.[15] Gabriel Moss of IGN found the title to be highly replayable and enjoyable due to its impactful choices and branching narrative, writing, "Since no time is wasted making you search for puzzle clues or awkwardly stumble around in a 3D environment, As Dusk Falls leaves space for a noticeably wider number of meaningful decisions than in any Telltale game, and they don’t just feel like they’re giving the mere illusion of choice."[18]

Shacknews' Donovan Erskine called the Xbox version "an impressive debut from Interior Night" and praised the emotional weight given to the solid writing by the vocal performances, but expressed minor complaints with its subpar music and clunky cursor controls.[20] Writing for The Guardian, Keza MacDonald gave the title 4 stars out of 5, concluding, "As Dusk Falls comfortably exceeds the standard of its genre when it comes to plotting, characterization, performance and the impressive malleability of the story."[22]

Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat felt the game straddled the line between a soap opera and drama and lamented the lack of logical narrative choices, claiming that these elements hindered the empathy both sides of the story were able to create.[23] Jordan Middler of Video Games Chronicle awarded the title 2 stars out of 5, stating, "For every well-developed moment of story interaction, for every revelation that took us by surprise, and for every interesting piece of art, it’s undercut by dialogue that vacillates between contemporary drama and first-year uni project, and an art style that benefits the quiet moments, but utterly wrenches any momentum of action from the piece."[24]

References

  1. ^ July 2020, Josh West 23 (July 23, 2020). "As Dusk Falls is an evocative, experimental drama that could represent the next generation of narrative games". gamesradar.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "The Power of Interactive Storytelling: Introducing As Dusk Falls". July 23, 2020.
  3. ^ "Xbox Series X Showcase Event: Every Game Shown, From Halo To Fable".
  4. ^ "Ex-Quantic Dream dev opens new narrative studio in London". GamesIndustry.biz.
  5. ^ ""Smaller studios will define the future of video game storytelling"". GamesIndustry.biz.
  6. ^ Nicholson, Tom (July 13, 2022). "The Story Behind 'As Dusk Falls', the Video Game That's Challenging Prestige TV". Esquire.
  7. ^ "As Dusk Falls Release Date Revealed". June 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "As Dusk Falls | Xbox". Xbox.com.
  9. ^ a b "As Dusk Falls for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "As Dusk Falls for Xbox Series X/S Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Goroff, Michael (July 18, 2022). "As Dusk Falls review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Purchese, Robert (July 18, 2022). "As Dusk Falls review - a bold new future for interactive movie games". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Miller, Matt (July 18, 2022). "As Dusk Falls Review - No Punches Pulled". Game Informer. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Delaney, Mark (July 18, 2022). "As Dusk Falls Review - Family Matters". GameSpot. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Bailey, Dustin (July 18, 2022). "As Dusk Falls review: "Netflix-style prestige drama with Telltale-style storytelling"". GamesRadar. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  16. ^ a b Helm, Jordan (July 18, 2022). "Review: As Dusk Falls". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Alonso, Álvaro (July 18, 2022). "Es la mejor serie de la temporada y se "emite" en Xbox - Análisis de As Dusk Falls". HobbyConsolas. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Moss, Gabriel (July 18, 2022). "As Dusk Falls Review". IGN. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  19. ^ a b Jeuxvideo, Carnbee (July 18, 2022). "As Dusk Falls : Le jeu vidéo qui s'inspire des séries phares de Netflix et Amazon Prime est-il la bombe de l'été ?". Jeuxvideo.com. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  20. ^ a b Erskine, Donovan (July 18, 2022). "As Dusk Falls review: Interwoven destinies". Shacknews. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  21. ^ a b Magistrelli, Claudio (July 18, 2022). "As Dusk Falls – Recensione". The Games Machine (Italy). Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  22. ^ a b MacDonald, Keza (July 19, 2022). "As Dusk Falls review – superior storytelling elevates this interactive thriller". The Guardian. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  23. ^ a b Takahashi, Dean (July 18, 2022). "As Dusk Falls review: The line between drama and soap opera". VentureBeat. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  24. ^ a b Marchal, Caroline (July 18, 2022). "Review: As Dusk Falls is an engaging story let down by its mechanics". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
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