When we think of QuakeCon, we think of a set number of things ranging from games to PC mods. What we don’t think about often? The hidden gems that manage to hit the showroom floor. These can be things as small as titles such as Strafe, which reflects upon its roots as a shooter only to visit titles like Shadow Warrior 2, which are much bigger in name. Among these games, however, was a game hidden in a corner with a single demo station – Dusk.

Published by New Blood Interactive, Dusk is developed by a single creator by the name of David Syzmanski. His upcoming indie project is one that doesn’t stand heavily within the shadows of the other games there, rather Dusk propels itself forth as it follows in the bullet-hell style game we’ve come to know from Quake and DOOM. That’s if they had an obscenely blood hungry child that crept behind the corn rows in some farmers field(Children of the Corn meets DOOM or Quake anyone?).

The game stays true to those aesthetics, but where it truly shined? Was the games endless horde mode, which was presented to us on the QuakeCon showroom floor. The title’s mode provided players with an ever-growing challenge as hordes grew stronger, more volatile, and weapon resources would grow slim. At one point? I even stood by while watching a Cody run through the game in 40 waves, which set him apart from everyone there, but what came out pleasing about the game? It stood true to what I knew. Having once more met up with my distant pal Dave Oshry, I gave the title a whirl. There I sat down in the rather comfy black and red DXRacer, which matched the games shirts that were handed out, and even the games musical number (Classic heavy metal anyone? Thank Andrew Hulshut for the badass riffs that played if you were there to experience it).

While sitting in the chair, it was time to crack my fingers, tune everyone out, and get my blood bath going. My opening seconds started out as expected – pistol, shotgun, a few enemies, and a lot of item grabbing to do before all Hell broke lose. Within those minutes I found myself quickly grabbing up an assault rifle, hunting rifle, a rocket launcher of sorts, and some armor known as “Mercy”. With these items? I began to pound my way through enemies – dispatching them one by one. As I did? The difficulty began to ramp up while moving through the waves. The amazing part? I couldn’t put the game down as all of this became familiar. WASD to move, weapon will to change weapons, and “J” to jump.

While the floor was empty, there was a brief moment where I pulled myself from the immersion I found with this highly addictive title. The single player mission was much to my expectation. Use the weakest weapons in the game, kill a few enemies, and move on towards my final goal. This meant exploring a rather creepy as Hell farmhouse, which creaked with each passing second. Enemies would lie in wait for me to open doors, take a few cheap shots, and almost kill me every time. Other moments it was calmer, allowing for a brief sigh of relief while restocking ammo, health, armor, and once more moving on.

The thing to take away? The game was fresh, it was original, and it followed perfectly in the steps of the first-person shooters we grew up to. This is where Mr. Szymanski should be able to rejoice as his independently developed title could quite easily join the tyrants of the FPS legacy and become a mainstream title for PC gamers to enjoy. As of now? The title sat in a few early pre-pre-pre-alpha build. For now? We’ll just have to wait and see what New Blood Interactive has to say about the upcoming title.

About the Writer:

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.