Getting into this retro game? Check out these beginner tips to give yourself a headstart.
After years of delays, Dusk finally made it to the Nintendo Switch, and for the record, it’s a really good port. Now, because Dusk is taking some nods from the rapidly-returning Boomer Shooter, playing the game might not be as easy as you first thought. Be prepared to deal with more than a couple of terrifying monstrosities when out and about.
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This isn’t a modern military bonanza with stamina bars, cover, and reloading. No, this is Dusk, and Dusk is high-speed, high-action, with some juicy spoilerific things thrown in for good measure. It’s worth coming into Dusk with a fresh set of eyes, or, if you’re a bit of a veteran, with an old set of goggles.
This may seem obvious, but when Dusk has nine weapons to cycle between, and every new weapon is bigger and more badass than the last, it becomes harder to remember that dinky pistol in your back pocket, or that the Shotgun comes in a non-super variant. You have access to everything from Hunting Rifles, to Swords, to the mighty Riveter. Not only is every weapon satisfying to use, but they are also pretty darn useful.
Dusk may be generous with its ammo pickups, but you will burn a hole in your pocket if you coddle that Super Shotgun like a death-dealing infant. Every gun has a purpose, and using the right gun at the right time will not only keep you alive, but will keep your ammo stocks high. Why pump two barrels into a Possessed Soldier when your basic Shotgun can do it for half the ammo? Why unload buckets of Assault Rifle ammo into that guy, when a single Hunting Rifle shot can down them? It’s all about experimenting.
As is tradition, Old-School Shooters are jam-packed with nooks, crannies, and secrets. Some levels may only have a couple, but more often than not, you are looking at a handful (or more) of troves waiting to be uncovered. There is never a bad time to look for secrets, but don’t expect to find them all on your first run. Dusk is quite the cunning piece of code, after all.
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What makes secret hunting so good? Well, early on in an episode, you are going to find new weapons much earlier than you would otherwise. Naturally, this makes surviving the horror a bit easier. In E1M1, for example, you are going to find a Shotgun pretty early on. If you snoop around, you are bound to find a second shotgun, therefore unlocking the ability to dual-wield them earlier than the game would allow you otherwise. Beyond that, rare ammo types, health, morale boosts, and even secret levels all await the curious.
Bunny Hopping is a technique that is still around in modern games today but was founded in shooters of yesteryear. Bunny Hopping was always a bit awkward to pull off during its inception, but Dusk wants players to use this venerable technique and even has the move bound to a specific button. You don’t need to use this technique on the easier difficulties, but the moment you get into normal mode and beyond, you are going to want to use this — a lot.
Bunny Hopping is the act of breaking the laws of physics to gain massive amounts of speed and mobility. When hordes of enemies are coming toward you in an open area, it makes perfect sense to jump around like the madman Dusk Dude. Hold the jump button (LB on Switch, SPACE on PC) and hop in a wide circle. Enemy bullets are all projectile-based, not hit scan, so the faster you move, the harder it is for them to hit you. Try not to leap off a cliff whilst doing this, mind you.
The world of Dusk is highly interactable, and understanding what can be used where will help you out of a bind. Explosive barrels are probably the most obvious of interactables. Pop a few rounds into them and they will go boom. Some barrels explode in different ways, but the end result is the same. Gas canisters work in a similar way, and both of these things can be picked up and thrown. If you want to save Grenades or Rivets, then these abundant sources of AoE can really do work.
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That’s not all, however. Using doorways as funnels to negate the enemy's number advantage can save your life if a room is too small to Bunny Hop. Doing this also gives you an excuse to bring out the reality-piercing Crossbow. Putting enemy gibs onto a fire and eating the cooked viscera can top up your health. Finding some beer to quaff can pump up your morale. A bit of creativity goes a long way.
Soap in real life is fantastic. It cleanses your body of dirt, gives you a fresh feeling, and it smells pretty darn good to boot. Soap in Dusk operates in mostly the same way. You pick it up, and then you aggressively suggest an enemy has a wash by throwing it at their shambling, possibly horrific body.
The reason you would want to do this is that Soap is the most powerful item, or weapon (let’s be honest) in the game. If it hits an enemy, they die. It doesn’t matter how big, scary, powerful, or threatening they may be, if you have Soap in your hands, that enemy is going to explode into bloody chunks. Providing you can find the bar you threw, you can even reuse it. For kicks, you can lob it at bosses for a quick kill too. Never underestimate the power of a good wash.
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Forged in the rainy wilds of northern England, Adam carved a path of mediocrity through generations and genres. His play style is often described as: “optimistically awful”.