5 Things We Loved About As Dusk Falls (2022)

As Dusk Falls is the latest episodic interactive thriller to breach the Game Pass walls, and boy, is it doing an excellent job. As a project developed by the same hands that curated Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls' award-winning stories, the INTERIOR/NIGHT debut brings two smoking barrels worth of clean-cut dialogue and fast-paced storytelling. Basically, it's everything we've come to expect from such a talented collective.

Similar to other interactive dramas, As Dusk Falls asks that you tailor the story yourself. By sifting through countless dialogue topics and actions, each and every chapter is able to come to life, thereby giving you a variation of consequences and conclusions. And honestly, it ties all of this together remarkably well, as if we ever had any doubt. With all of that said, these are the five features, in specific, that compelled us to play through to the very end.

5. An Endless Road

Much like Route 66, which, of course, plays a pretty significant part in the game's Arizonan setting, choices that effect your story stretch for hundreds of miles. In fact, they go so far, that a dozen or more reruns wouldn't even make a dent in its myriad of potential outcomes. And that's partly the reason why we love As Dusk Falls: the sheer quantity of crossroads and curveballs that it hurls at you from beginning to end.

Play As Dusk Falls once, and you might catch a glimpse of the faded outline that is the game's basic structure. Play the game five or six times, however, and you might just stand a chance at unraveling the whole schematic, dimensions and all. For that impressive amount of replayability it holsters, we can't help but feel overly pampered by what should arguably be a full priced game.

4. Online Multiplayer

It isn't very often a story-driven game will even entertain the idea of developing an online multiplayer mode to run alongside its single-player one. This was definitely a first for INTERIOR/NIGHT, and it was a bold move that, to our absolute surprise, actually paid off. Sure enough, it shouldn't have meshed as well as it did, but the fact of the matter is, the story played just as well as it did when playing alone.

As Dusk Falls gives you the opportunity to play alongside seven other players. Collectively, the lobby casts a vote at each and every crossroad, all while watching through the same series of events. In short, it's like watching a six hour movie with a group of friends. The only difference, of course, is that you and your squad directly influence its every nook, cranny, and story arc. That alone is worth the eight individual downloads.

3. Animation

One of the very first things you clock as As Dusk Falls opens its curtain, surprise surprise, is the animation style. Specifically, the hand-drawn cutouts that make up the bulk of the game. They're a little unorthodox compared to the vast majority of indie titles, to say the least, but they're also breathtakingly invigorating and unique. And honestly, after slugging through the first twenty minute of chapter one, we couldn't think of a single alternative style that would've been a better fit.

While the backgrounds in most scenes flow naturally, the characters tend to shift in pictures, with a rough ten to twenty frames of emptiness laced between. This was a creative decision INTERIOR/NIGHT made without knowing which way the audience would eventually swing it. As it turned out, though, the majority seemed to love it, as did we. Michael Bay-esque it most certainly is not. But then, it doesn't try to be, which is precisely why we love it.

2. Time Periods

A shift in time periods is a tactical move developers use to help build suspense between scenes. To this end, As Dusk Falls isn't exactly short on timelines to drift between. With the story taking place over a number of years, it sets the stage for a plethora of events, all of which bounce off of one another like a rogue pinball machine. And it works, incredibly well, at that.

As Dusk Falls rarely ever takes its foot off the gas pedal. And yet, even at such high speeds, the story never really crashes and burns. It volleys back and forth between a hundred walls, and not once does it leave you feeling dizzy. It's smooth pace contributes towards the overall upkeep of the game, and we honestly think INTERIOR/NIGHT nailed it, to a tee.

1. Characters

The characters are, of course, what make story-driven games for what they are. Without a believable hero and villain to flesh out the roster, the narrative can often fall incredibly flat. Fortunately, As Dusk Falls was able to bring not just the one convincing lead to the forefront, but an entire nexus of them. And we're not just talking about the two warring families that drive the main story, either.

Bundled in with compelling voice actors, each and every character in the Arizonan tragedy sprung to life as a unique flame of their own legacy. From Vince to Zoe, Tyler to Dante, everyone had their own stories, all of which were worth sharing with the world. This band of individuals would later be marked as the life force of As Dusk Falls' story, as well as the reason for the game's overall success.

So, what's your take? Did you enjoy As Dusk Falls as much as we did? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.