When we sit in front of the television or mobile screen to watch a good series, there is nothing we want more than to jump from the seat or have our hearts in our hands. May the emotions flow, be released and that we enjoy as much as I have done during my departure to As Dusk Falls.
The work of Interior/Night has gone under the radar of the community, with a timid presence, but it has become my favorite thriller of the year. Microsoft has given me access to write this review on Xbox, but if it had been a production that premiered on HBO, Netflix or the streaming platform of your choice, I have no doubt that it would be one of the revelations of 2022.
a familiar path
If you are habitual to the titles of developers like Super Massive Games either Telltale Gamesnothing that happens in Ace Dusk Falls it will catch you off guard. Here we have an independent study that is very clear about what it does, since we are talking about former members of QuanticDream either bioware. Leading them is Caroline Marchal, lead designer on Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls.
Therefore, we find ourselves with the classic approach of a story in which we interact little, but in which we have an absolutely decisive influence. Choosing what is best in each situation is not an easy task.
Throughout six chapters, divided into two books, we will learn about the events that lead to two unknown families between them they end up crossing their paths. A fortuitous, casual and unexpected encounter that will have serious or terrible consequences regarding what decisions we make.
To show us events of all kinds, the work team has opted to use a really particular visual section. In the style of a graphic novel in movement, as if we were looking at illustrations, we see real actors represented in flesh and blood. Thanks to the play of light, together with some concrete prints, Ace Dusk Falls It gives us really beautiful images.
A soundtrack that is up to the task also helps with the task, with country themes that fly over the environment and never prevail over what happens before our eyes. However, the greatest value in this aspect goes to a excellent dubbing into Spanishwith actors of the highest level and a practically pristine translation.
It is not a minor compliment, since the characters do not speak or move as in a regular video game, but rather they do so in different frames. That is why it becomes quite an achievement to have managed to perfectly print the necessary tone of the scene to the voices and make each of them feel real.
The family, blessing or condemnation
Talking about the plot of a video game where everything revolves around the next line of dialogue is complicated, but I can assure you that As Dusk Falls never disappoints. Although there are specific sections in which we change roles to a third character, practically everything revolves around a member of each of the families.
The Holts and the Walkers. Some live on Route 66, while the others are just passing through. Both families want to start a new life, but the methods to carry it out are diametrically opposed. Loyalties, fears and secrets are constantly tested throughout six hours of gameplay.
And with an overwhelming rhythm, especially in the first three chapters, in which there are continuous changes of perspective. A vast majority of the decisions we must make are not easy at all and you really come to have doubts about what is the best thing you could do at each moment. Even when it seems like you have all the cards on the table, Interior/Night comes in and kicks everything upside down.
We will constantly travel to the past of the characters, either a few hours, days or even months before the events of 1998. Before making you make a key decision, called a crossroads, and whose consequences are especially delicate, sometimes we will receive information that dismantles all the narrative scheme we had in mind. Or put another way, there is no shortage of script twists that will make us rethink everything.
Each character has suffered a lot, has acted worse and the line between who does the right thing and what doesn’t is blurred constantly. The motivations of each one are clear, because the effects of what surrounds them has put them between a rock and a hard place. nothing is simple in Ace Dusk Falls, since when the game gives you three options to choose from in just 10 seconds, if you wait a bit it is possible that a fourth will appear that will convince you more. Welcome to the land of doubts.
Once we finish each chapter, a map shows us which path we have taken, with the corresponding percentages of decisions made by the players. The branches are really extensive, pointing to a very large variety of scenes. By replaying some of them, especially in the final stages of the work with many chosen decisions, substantial modifications can be produced.
Still, it’s a relief that we don’t have to relive an entire chapter to make other choices. We directly choose the point from which we want to restart and from there we are free. In addition, the game is responsible for granting us a kind of medals according to our behaviorwhether we are kind, faithful, tyrannical or really fast with QTEs.
Of course, we do not take direct control over the characters. We cannot move them at will, since everything is reduced to waiting our turn to decide. Yes, there are times when we can register a room, although when we absorb more responsibility with pure action it is by pressing buttons to dodge, climb or perform a specific movement.
And nothing that happens is wrong, the play never puts you in front of a mirror to see what you have become. Can’t lose, no error screenEverything is possible depending on the decisions we make.
tension in company
He has brought up multiple times Ace Dusk Falls its possibilities regarding accessibility. Not so much to facilitate the game for those with sensory difficulties, but also, but rather to cover the largest possible audience.
It is clear that the titles of this genre earn many extra points if we do our part by playing with more people. It’s perfectly enjoyable to play solo, but shared tension is more exciting. We can play with up to eight participants in both local and online formats and it will not be necessary to have Xbox controllers.
This is possible because there is a specific application of Ace Dusk Falls for mobile devices, which allows you to play without the need for another controller. A way to make sure that anyone not related to video games does not miss the story. In turn, from Interior/Night they have not wanted to forget the great potential that these games have when it comes to being broadcast.
A specific mode allows Twitch viewers have the opportunity to vote for the different options and it will surely give a lot of play from the launch. We can also find ourselves with the possibility of skipping sensitive scenes, conditioning the result.
VidaExtra’s opinion
Ace Dusk Falls It is one of the revelation titles of the year and one of the video games that I am going to recommend the most to my closest circles. Its story hopelessly catches, maintaining a constant tension, and making us unable to take our eyes off the screen with a cascade of crossroads that are difficult to solve.
Interior/Night allows us to control two of the weakest links in families that defend the pride of staying together, but when the truth comes to discovering that this is a life sentence. Ace Dusk Falls teaches us what life can become, without hot cloths, and what in a second everything can tip to the other side of the scale.
A remarkable artistic direction, an exquisite dubbing and translation together with a soundtrack that does not intend to impose itself crown what will probably become one of the benchmarks of its genre.
Ace Dusk Falls
platforms | PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series (reviewed version) |
---|---|
multiplayer | Yes, online and local |
developer | Indoor/Night |
Company | Xbox Game Studios |
Launch | July 19, 2022 |
The best
- A captivating story from start to finish
- The plot twists are constant
- Its graphic novel visual aesthetic
Worst
- Medals have no influence on the plot