As Dusk Falls

[shinymcshine]

Saw this cropped up in a few people's 2022 lists, but couldn't find a thread (aside from a short entry in the News section).

 

Anyway an enjoyable branching story / QTE / conversation choice game, presented in an almost flick book style (so gameplay wise Until Dawn meets Telltale Game from Quantic Dreams).

 

Follows multiple story threads commencing from a small town US robbery, and escalates with the characters involved.

 

Really enjoying it too, actually feels like there is a lot of significant choice in the options, and a decent depth to decision making.

 

I'm 5.5 hrs in and think I'm hitting the last chapter, and I'd thoroughly recommend it based on what I've seen so far. 

 

The only potential issue so far - based on my play through (so maybe this changes given other choices) is that whilst the characters are mixed gender/race, the player driven roles have all been white male orientated so far, which seems surprising nowadays.

[shinymcshine]

6.5 hrs and finished. 

 

Pretty good overall, although it ended with more mystery being revealed, so I guess there might be more to come in future?

[DANGERMAN]

I remember this coming out, it looked decent. Weird hearing Adam Jensons voice coming out of the heavy set dad 😄 the dad also seemed a bit of a dick from what I saw, but granted I just watched whatever was on a stream 

[shinymcshine]

'Heavy set dad' is Vince - he's the main protagonist in the first half of the game, so you at least get to sway his behaviours.

[mfnick]

I really liked this. Think it’s the best visual novel type game I’ve played. I thought the first season/book/whatever they call it in game was quite a bit better and more interesting than the 2nd. I still appreciated what the 2nd added though.

[shinymcshine]

Broad synopsis of my story choices / endings:

Spoiler

Jay escaped to Canada with Vanessa, albeit she left for California a few years later.

 

Sharon & Paul escape and end up on a beach together (maybe after emptying the Sheriff's secret bank account?))

 

Tyler is captured and is on death row (Jay stomped his fingers & let him fall from a tree).

 

Dale was killed in the shootout.

 

Bear hanged himself in the barn.

 

Vince & Michelle are still married and he's learnt to fly/opened a flying school.

 

Zoe is at College, and visits Jay in Canada, and checks in occasionally on her Grandpa.

 

 

[shinymcshine]

It's always a bit weird with this sort of game - that I usually only play once, as your choices are your story (so just picking different options in a second playthough in order to see the different scenarios always feels a bit off to me).

 

Anyway, its good to read that the game actually caters for a considerable amount of variation and outcomes depending the paths you choose.

 

Spoilers in link below, which outlines the different possibilities:

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/as-dusk-falls-choices-and-endings-all-character-deaths-and-best-ending/1100-6505859/

[DisturbedSwan]

I've also been playing this and am currently 2/3 of the way through Ep. 2.

 

I don't really have too much to say about it though, it's alright but that's about it really, if you've played one of the older Telltale games from years back then you've played this and know what to expect really. It's an easy game to just pay vague attention to whilst watching something on your phone or listening to a podcast or something really. 

 

The visual style I find really jarring, seeing these presumably real actors then get kind of turned into a stylised version of themselves but their mouths don't move with the dialogue is just kind of weird and strange, I'm probably about 5 hours into it and I still haven't properly got used to it really, it's just odd.