Digging deeper into the developer's marketing, it is revealed that the intrepid astral projector's name is Lloyd. The playable character is never named due to the complete lack of dialogue or text of any kind. The story intentionally leaves a lot to the imagination. Once in a while he may also have to sneak by some Silent Hill monster rejects to reach his goal of waking up from this terrible sleep paralysis. The dreams or nightmarish scenarios where the main guy is trapped in will have him pulling switches, collecting key-items, and operating esoteric industrial machines to pave a way forward. This is more like a 2.5D point-and-click if anything, and it lives and dies by its puzzle design. No skill-based gameplay or emphasis on reflexes to overcome, which are so common in cinematic platformers. ![]() Since actions are so limited, there really is not much in terms of mechanics to contend with. ![]() Whether he is twisting space or walking on walls, this guy has to use his shaven noggin to progress through the cheekily designed puzzle gauntlets. The main character can't even jump and he gets around by using dream (or nightmare) logic. While it may be inspired by the likes of the recent trend of dark cinematic platformers, DARQ is not really much of a platformer at all. Without any build-up or explanation, this character begins to either dream or astral project, and the game truly begins. Control is given immediately to a very bald and odd-looking protagonist as he slumps around his depressing apartment, with the only action to put him to sleep. ![]() There is no introductory cut-scene, no text or voices, and there isn't any music or establishing shots of any kind. Just by the way it begins, it becomes clear that there is a very deliberate vision by the designer to make people feel a certain way. Playing DARQ is meant to feel like a nightmare.
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