Interior Night took inspiration from Don't Nod, Supermassive, Telltale and Quantic Dream to create a character drama with agency with As Dusk Falls. It takes a while to get used to the game's stylistic flourishes, but it offers a unique tone and perspective that still stands out in a genre that's increasingly crowded. The game was released a while ago for Xbox and PC and is now also available for PlayStation. You can find out why we would have liked to continue playing after the end in our test.
Crime story with many alternative paths
The story follows a family trip that becomes a hostage situation in the Arizona desert and transforms into a portrait of people grappling with the insurmountable complexities of parenthood, trauma and forgiveness. The down-to-earth setting and bluntly naturalistic subject matter are surprisingly refreshing when compared to other interactive games from genre peers. The events do not take place linearly, but rather in frequent flashbacks over half a dozen chapters, which elaborately build an interwoven narrative from initially unconnected parts. The story moves at a methodical pace that helps you get used to the characters' occasionally cheesy dialogue, melodramatic performances, and goofy expressions. The unique visual style of placing characters in three-dimensional environments also takes some getting used to, but it never looks quite right with the elaborately designed characters regularly interacting with simple polygonal objects.
Once you get past these initial hurdles, you're rewarded with a surprisingly solid and intimate story that makes you invest in the main characters. The chapter select story tree system makes it a breeze to replay certain moments, and online multiplayer allows up to eight people to make the decisions, although the serious tone and slow pace probably won't suit most casual group settings become. It helps that Int./Night weaves a series of escalating events with a deft hand and uses flashbacks to flesh out the characters' story, making it even more impactful when something important happens. In terms of gameplay, As Dusk Falls is a bit lightweight, with no ability to move around freely – instead, you perform simple inputs consisting of tapping buttons, pressing keys, or occasionally swiping in a direction.
Unfinished ending begs for more
It would be detrimental to the enjoyment of As Dusk Falls to go into plot details, but the six episodes, each lasting about an hour, are modeled on a compelling television series, and the decisions become more weighty as the story progresses. At the end of each chapter (which spans two “books”), a flowchart of the scenes is presented, showing the number of alternative paths and outcomes, stimulating curiosity for a repeat playthrough. Unfortunately, overall, the chapters in the second half fall significantly short compared to the beginning, as many of the heart-racing scenes that were there in abundance at the beginning are missing.
Nevertheless, it remains incredibly exciting and there are many interesting branches in the decisions. But what will be the same with every playthrough is the somewhat unsatisfactory ending, which clearly leaves open a plot point that runs through the entire game and neither resolves it nor really gives enough approaches that you can certainly figure it out yourself. None of this would be a problem if a “Book Three” with three more chapters or a second part had already been announced. As it is, the unsatisfactory finale leaves you a little disappointed, even though the journey to get there is definitely worth it.
Conclusion
As Dusk Falls impresses with a very unique style and uses this coupled with very good acting performances from the characters. Aside from QTEs and decisions, there is no real gameplay, but that's not a big problem thanks to the exciting narrative. Unfortunately, things get a little tougher in the second half and the ending is a bit abrupt and open, but fans of the genre will definitely be very entertained.
Positive:
+ great, unique graphic style
+ high replay value
+ Pacing in the style of a series
+ fun multiplayer
Negative:
– weaker second half
– open end