Game review: Duskers – a creepy mission to seek and destroy, or else
A low-budget sci-fi/horror approach scores big-time with its a range of emotions that only an indie developer could fire up
Duskers
Misfits Attic
4 stars
The “last man on earth/in the universe” trope is a well-worn one in the gaming world, and countless releases over the years have mined its depths. Few have made things as minimalistic, though, or become as successful because of it as Duskers.
A simple black screen, a lone ship to explore wreckage and ruins, and a series of mindless drones to guide you, the game is as indie as things get. Available for PC, Mac and Linux, Duskers comes from developer Misfits Attic, best known for cult plumber puzzler A Virus Named TOM, and takes things to the next level by paring the concept down to a low-budget sci-fi/horror approach.
Much of that is built up through sheer mood, a foreboding sense of claustrophobia setting in as your drones search derelict ships and seemingly empty space stations, providing the player with nothing more than a glitchy video feed and unadorned sounds. When they find something – and trust me, they will – the video cuts out and ambient sounds creep all about, as things take a turn for the Alien.