Devido ao grande sucesso de diversos jogos que seguiram essa metodologia, como a saga de The Walking Dead da Telltale ou Detroit: Become Human e Until Dawn, o "sub-gênero" dos "jogos narrativos" cresce cada vez mais na indústria, ganhando cada vez mais espaço.

As Dusk Falls chega ao grupo sem trazer nenhuma grande inovação em comparação aos outros, mas ainda assim, entrega um dos melhores enredos já criados para o gênero.

Muitos são os elementos que o fazem brilhar, mas o que mais me chamou a atenção para destaque com certeza é a sua direção de arte impecável. Juntam-se ilustrações em dimensão 2D em stop motion, cenários em 3D e captura de movimento de atores que dão a vida em seus papéis, e o resultado? A sensação constante de estar assistindo a uma história em quadrinhos ganhar vida diante de seus olhos.

Algo louvável, e também muito difícil de se encontrar, são jogos em que suas escolhas realmente mudem seu futuro de maneira considerável, e As Dusk Falls não só faz isso muito bem, mas também planta sementinhas de impasse profundo em quem estiver do outro lado da tela através de escolhas morais extremamente complicadas de serem feitas. O pause é um amigo nessas horas.

Talvez seja pelo fato de ser curto, mas fiquei com a impressão de que houveram pontas soltas ignoradas durante o decorrer dos acontecimentos, o que pode ou não ser um problema, dependendo dos planos da desenvolvedora para uma possível ou não sequência.

No mais, As Dusk Falls é insanamente e absurdamente bom para os fãs de boas histórias com grandes reviravoltas e pitadas e mais pitadas de tensão.

Liked:
- This was pretty much a standard crime drama about a family on the run, but I think the execution was done well enough to be engaging and have tension with all its choices. Most of the characters are decently fleshed out with their flashback scenes and the voice acting was solid overall (some weaker than others though)
- It actually has a pretty good amount of story branching. There’s a flowchart to follow the pathing for every decision, and while most were just minor changes some can make a bigger impact than they seemed

Mixed:
- The art style. This was what turned me off from the trailers, the use of realistic stills in motion was jarring and initially gave the impression that this was some low budget FMV game. But having played it, I guess it wasn’t as bothering as it looked once I got used to it. It does make the presentation more distinct than it might have been otherwise, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the most divisive thing about it
- While decisions do seem to carry a lot of weight across the story, it’s still more or less the illusion of choice as these games tend to be. All paths will end up at the same story beats, just with a lot of variations for the chapter leading up to them

Disliked:
- The QTEs were basic to the point where they didn’t need to be in this at all
- Another game where you have to drag a cursor around instead of using the menu. Was made worse by how sluggish it felt to move cause of input lag
- There’s no way to skip or fast-forward through scenes, which made going back to see other choices a bit annoying
- The last scene leaving on a cliffhanger was kinda weak, seemed like it was just there to abruptly set up a sequel

"Narrative Games", when was the last time you've heard both words combined? It's almost an extinct genre by now only a few studios know how to master or properly do it well. You know, without being a laught-fest. It's that strange feeling you knowing someone had to write normal people talking, when it doesn't just feel natural.

As Dusk Falls is straight to the point no bullshit packed. It's rather short too, lasting about 6 hours at best, 8 at worst. That doesn't means is any less good just for it, the narrative always keeps you on your toes without much time to rest in between chapters.

Choices are important, more than most "Narrative Games" I've played in my opinion. At the end of every chapter we get a flow chart that includes every decision we've been making up to that point of the game, and let me tell you that flow chart is really big, on all chapters. Paths can branch in unexpected ways and the game constantly reminds us that. Nothing new for in the genre, but it is subtle.

The Artsyle instantly caught my attention first time playing it. Sort of feels like a moving oil painting, or a very stylized comic book. 3D is given only to objects in the scenario. It works most of the time, specially on quiter scenes where the characters are just walking and chatting but when the action gets real; gunshots start spreading, people running to cover just end up looking like a goofy art project. Got a good laugh out of some of them.

May seem like a joke, but it reminded me of Breaking Bad. Everything ties together so nicely, the narrative is quite easy to follow you're always between the sword and a hard place. My only complain is that it is too short for it's own good and this creates a problem when trying to emphatize with the characters, at least for me. They do try to develop a character in specific, which is the one that shows in the intro of the game, only to properly appear at the very last chapter.

It's a great game honestly. Rather short, quite inoffensive but overall a great time if you're looking for a quick intense narrative driven game. Probably way more fun if you have a friend or someone to share the experience with, sadly I didn't have anyone to play at the time but if you do it at least will be serviceable for a fun night.

I thought the motion comic art style/ animation was a unique attempt but it isn’t good compared to real animation. The story itself is interesting in the early chapters but becomes less good as it progresses. Also, it has a very annoying cliffhanger ending which gives it a bad aftertaste since Book 3 is not confirmed.

The decisions did feel good with some being impactful whilst others being very minor. However, the quick time events were incredibly dull and basic that I wish it weren’t included. Also, I know this originally released on XBOX but it would’ve been nice to have haptic feedback for more immersion on the PS5 release.

Overall, I enjoyed it simply because I like these types of narrative focused games but this was just fine, not good or great.

So impressed. In many ways an epic piece of storytelling - it goes places I didn't expect, and rounds out many characters in surprising ways. The ambition of it is quite jaw-dropping - I expected an indie effort but this feels very lavish and extravagant, a major contribution to the medium.

The visual conceit is a triumph frankly - the static but visually compelling images give the piece a vivid graphic novel feel rather than uncanny valley avatars we're used to in gaming. The voice-acting and is-it-actual-acting? are excellent throughout - very touching and artistically coherent.

To really enjoy these interactive dramas you do have to understand the form a little. There will be dead ends and loose ends that don't tie together due to the interactive format. There will be unsatisfactory choices that serve the interactivity of the story rather than the full desires of the player. I feel as these games develop we're maybe coming to understand and tolerate these issues, and be sympathetic to their constraints rather than frustrated that they're not something else (ie more like movies or tv) - I know I am.

This game goes balls to the walls from the first second and all the way to the last.

The drama is outrageous and the twists are even better. There is no choice in this game that leads to something boring and each choice changes the ending for each character pretty significantly. I don't mind letting a game like this take me for a ride, and I got the best whiplash out of it in comparison to other games of this type.

I don't mind the art style at all, I thought it was getting doo doo'd on pretty unfairly when it was first announced. It's very akin to nice storyboards and I think it was a smart decision made by the developers. While some frames are pretty silly to look at it if they linger on screen too long, they still do a really good job of conveying the emotions of the characters a lot better than I think animated 3D models would. That is all attributed to the very talented painters who probably worked tirelessly making every single one.

It's short and never goes stale throughout the whole session, with many diverging paths you can take for players who are curious with how things turn out in different timelines.

A solid choice based narrative game that at times is incredibly interesting, engaging, with a great art style but other times, the game is the exact opposite.

As Dusk Falls tells the story of a family trip gone awry and the grey areas that lead up to this situation. The choose your own nature of it isn't that different but the choices you make in the game do feel like they hold weight and can wildly change the story and events that will follow.

I also like that the game is willing to explore the events before and after, especially the after. You get a really good idea as to how your choices have effected the characters when you can see them over a decade after the main portion of the game.

The flashbacks and flash forwards though aren't all great so they at times feel like padding more so than anything worthwhile.

The art style is also very hit or miss, as is the voice acting. Sometimes, these are great, other times, they are a bad distraction.

Overall, As Dusk Falls is an inconsistent but enjoyable game. If you like these kinds of games, there are a ton of choices to explore and a lot that change things up so you'll get a lot of play out of this if you want to check out every option and how it changes things.

Mais um jogo de escolhas que eu terminei com a consagrada 🙏🏼

No geral é um bom jogo, as escolhas realmente fazem diferença. Mas acho que a experiência deve ser ainda melhor se for jogado com 3 players ou mais, jogando em 2, o sistema de veto fica meio inútil, por exemplo.

A história é boa, e o final provavelmente vai te deixar assim: ????????????

A choice-based narrative title, As Dusk Falls stands out primarily for the fact it can be enjoyed in co-op with a group of friends. I played this with a buddy of mine and we had an excellent time going through each chapter and experiencing the story of these characters.

As Dusk Falls is primarily about a robbery hostage situation which quickly turns into a dramatic standoff. The tension is kept high throughout the campaign, but the story will spiral into unexpected directions. Some of the writing was a bit silly at times but it was very enjoyable making decisions, and the flow chart system shows that there really are a lot of different paths you can get encouraging replayability and adding weight to the decisions.

As Dusk Falls is told primarily through a series of stills, like watching a slideshow of concept art. Sometimes you'll get a bit of movement, but its pretty static overall. The style definitely takes some getting used to but after a while I found myself enjoying it.

This was ultimately one of the better narrative titles I've played and would recommend checking it out in co-op if you can.

I’m in love with As Dusk Falls. I know it’s a not a game for everybody but it’s perfect on what it try to be.

There’s no mystery here. As Dusk Falls is the same kind of game as Heavy Rain, Walking Dead, Detroit and Life is Strange. They will tell you a story and you have to decide what to say or how to react. Every choice you make will change the following events.

There’s not a complex gameplay. It’s like watching a movie and decide how to react from the characters perspective. The only thing that I expect from a game like this is how your choices could change the story and what happens.

For me, the only bad thing is that you don't have time limit for your decisions. For exemple, if you see someone trying to attack another caracther you have all the time in the world to decide if you let it happen. In other games, you have a time limit and it brings what you really want to do without think about the consequences, just like in the real world.

There are quick time events and they can change your future... but man, they are so easy. They also could make it a little harder but it's not a problem in the end.

The game is divided in two parts called “books”. Each book has three episodes that takes 1 hour to finish each.

Each book is dedicated to one character. The first one is my favorite and the game could end in that part.

All the caracthers are instersting and you care about their future.

I know that a lot of people don't like this kind of game but it's one of my favorite genre. I hope to see more games like this from this studio.

Give it a chance if you have Xbox Game Pass.

Poderia resumir As Dusk Falls como um jogo com um início forte e incrível, mas que se perde rapidamente quando decide abordar temas extremamente batidos nos meios de comunicação.

De fato o jogo tem um estilo não muito explorado e isso me fez gostar bastante logo de início, acredito que tenha relação principalmente pela facilidade que conseguimos absorver os sentimentos e expressões dos personagens nos momentos de tensão.

Já sua gameplay é aquele clássico estilo de escolhas com tempo e os eventos de apertar um botão seguindo ordem ou com velocidade, nada fora do padrão ou repetitivo ao ponto de me fazer ficar enjoada.

Em relação a seu enredo, As Dusk Falls é dividido em dois "livros" que nos colocam na visão de dois personagens diferentes, o que não deveria ser um problema certo?

Bem, gostaria de concordar com isso, mas infelizmente enquanto o primeiro livro é absurdamente tenso, melancólico e com escolhas que ferem os adultos, o segundo é... Infantil. Entendo que tentaram passar as duas visões de uma família e o de um jovem, mas imagine sair de um momento de vida ou morte para uma coisa de romance adolescente?

Pois é, essa segunda escolha de livro realmente não me interessou e por diversos momento me vi escolhendo opções que eu sabia dos possíveis finais só para acabar com a tortura.

Em relação ao ponto de virada, devo acrescentar que eles fizeram de uma forma bem básica e eficaz, nada muito cheio de enrolação ou problemas.

Por ser um jogo de escolhas nos esperamos diferentes finais, mas a resolução de alguns personagens me deixou desconfortável e não é em relação ao que acontece com eles, mas dá forma como mostraram. Sei que não existia muito o que desenvolver, mas eles mereciam um pouco mais.

Falando em final, fiquei satisfeita com o que peguei, não sendo difícil chegar em um "final perfeito", porém acho difícil tentar alguma coisa no futuro.

Apesar de combinar o estilo artístico com uma dublagem sensacional, esse jogo cai nos mesmos problemas que todos os meios de midia que tentam passar um sentimento impactante tendem a se jogar, e isso me fez perder todo o ânimo para realmente aproveitar o segundo livro.

Então acho que quando ocorre a divisão entre os livros, posso dizer que o primeiro é maravilhoso, assustador e muito realista, agora o segundo por quebrar toda a construção do primeiro se torna mais um estorvo do que continuação.

As Dusk Falls merece muito mais reconhecimento e não deveria ser chamado de jogo com gráficos powerpoint, mas espero que se tivermos uma continuação que eles mudem esse estilo novel adolescente e se mantenham no lado mais adulto.

Eu virei a cara pra esse jogo durante seus anúncios. Nada me atraia, e inclusive tinha até um tipo de rejeição ao estilo visual.
Após ele chegar ao Game Pass e ver algumas análises muito positivas eu dei uma chance e acabei quebrando a cara, positivamente.

Nos primeiros minutos Gestalt prova suas teorias, nós humanos, somos capazes de preencher espaços em branco com muita rapidez, e logo me percebi perfeitamente adaptado ao estilo de "animação" do jogo com poucos quadros.

Inclusive acho que o estilo visual é a saída perfeita para transmitir emoções com baixo orçamento (coisa que algumas animações dos jogos de TWD falham miseravelmente).

São poucos jogos narrativos que me fazem não me sentir enganado, esse é um deles, talvez o que faz isso de forma melhor. É possível ver o valor das suas escolhas nesse jogo, que inclusive adiciona a falha como uma possibilidade de escolha, e em alguns momentos eu falhei de propósito para fingir que tentei algo ou por perceber que era tolice, e a história continua com isso.

Amei As Dusk Falls, deve ser uma experiência muito legal de jogar em grupo.

No fim do jogo ele te entrega um perfil de jogador montado com base nas suas escolhas, achei bem legal também.