DARQ

I bought this game because I respected the developer's decision to turn down the Epic exclusivity deal and I don't regret my decision. DARQ is a short little indie horror game and you can tell a lot of love was put into it. Great atmosphere, puzzles were fun, and I'm left wanting to know more about Lloyd's story - which is a good thing! Highly recommend if you like this genre.

Bought this game entirely because of the Devs commitment to honoring the promises made to players, I hope your decision to stand by your word proves to be more profitable for you and I look forward to hearing about your continued success.
Please consider supporting this Dev as this is the kind of people we need to help so we have better games with better choices.

I purchased a copy of DARQ to support this fine developer's ethical business practices. Thank you for keeping your promises and taking a stand against store exclusivity. The world needs more folks like yourselves.
Frankly, puzzlers are not my primary genre, but I was immediately drawn in by the unique, nightmarish chiaroscuro of this game's artwork and ambiance. It's not a particularly long game (4 - 10 hours for most players, I'd estimate), and the puzzles are almost all based on spatial recognition and manipulation. Each level is thematically sound in its own right, and the puzzles make logical sense. There's always a clue about how to proceed, even if some of the clues are especially obtuse.
Completionists will appreciate searching for a hidden Dream Journal in each level (with corresponding achivements), to increase the challenge and replayability. My only criticism of the game's mechanics are in the end sequence, which seemed a bit rushed and opaque compared to the rest of the game. DARQ succeeds at creating some truly disorienting Dali-esque dream landscapes, and it sprinkles in just enough horror and menace lurking in the nearby shadows to break up the puzzles. A delightful game to play all in one sitting and nearly perfectly paced, DARQ also features a suitable and thought provoking finale which may be interpreted by the player in a manner of their choosing.
Puzzle fans should pick this one up for sure. Every frame is a hand-crafted work of art, and it shows.

A promise seems to mean nothing these days.
But Unfold Games kept their promise of releasing this game on Steam by saying no at the exclusivity deal of Epic.
Without this decision, i think i wouldn't have even heard of Darq (Not really my type of games).
I will not only buy this game, i will play it.
Because Unfold Games doesn't just deserve some money from me, they deserve all the respect that i can have for their work.
Thanks again Unfold Games for not backstabbing your players.
If you read this review and think like me, please, buy Darq, they deserve it.
EDIT :
After playing the game, i can say that i liked it.
The Puzzles / Riddles are well found and interesting and i love the artistic direction and the chara-design (especially those of monsters).
I will recommend Darq to friends who likes horror games.

brought the game cause the dev is a really standup guy and cause he exposed Epic's double standard when dealing with indies vs big games.

At 5.4 hours I obviously need to 'git gud' at these kinds of games. But let that just serve as a testament to the fact that we are not all speedrun kings or queens or gamers who go first time through a new adventure armed with the walkthrough at their disposal or have an innate sense of where everything could be hidden along with hair trigger platforming accuracy.
DARQ was not a 2 or 3 hour game for me. It took just over 4 and then I did go back and speedrun all the cheevos I missed from each level, which brought it up to about 5 and a half hours.
Ok with that out the way let's talk about DARQ. First let's be CLEAR. DARQ is a good game not because it snubbed an EGS exclusive release deal.....it is genuinely a good game. If you are into Little Nightmares, Limbo, INSIDE and Tim Burton and Pan's Labyrinth kind of creepiness then this title is 3 Beetlejuices away from belonging in your library.
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PROS
+ interesting mechanics. People often complain that there is no depth to 2D games. So then we went 2.5D. DARQ kind of sidesteps all that and places us on a virtual Rubik's Cube and allows you to move not only between planes but to flip the entire thing on it's head. The rule is you must still always move from side to side but there is a ton of depth to where you can go now. I think this isn't the last we have seen of this really cool mechanic.
+ puzzles. Puzzles are usually fairly easy. Some may require a few attempts but they are all quite solid logically and easily solvable. Navigating the environment was the hardest part for me. I found I was missing items and I could not work out how to get to them but once I had the items the puzzles were usually just a formality.
+ environment and graphics. One guy made this. One guy. The environments are so well presented and have obviously been obsessed over in the 3 years it took to make this game.
+ FREE DLC. The developer announced that he will be adding more levels so for anyone who thought the game was too short for the price point, well, that might make you a bit happier.
+ horror. There are some very cool horror moments. Yes, there are some jumpscares but there are also some very cool slow burn horror moments where you see things slowly unravel before you.
+ enemies and the sounds they make. Wow there are some very creative monsters in here to creep you out. Their sound effects are on point and really immerse you in the fear.
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CONS
- price. Even at 5 hours, 20 bucks is still a bit steep for me. I went all in on this to support the developer and make sure that I could contribute to him not feeling like he made the wrong choice of which store to launch his game on. Again though the free DLC down the line takes the sting out of the wallet.
- saves. I am not a fan of the save system here. You basically have to complete the level or get to a very deep checkpoint for a save. There is no "oh, I'll finish this bit later."
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DARQ is pretty awesome. The story is for you to make up as you like but it does have a very definite conclusion. I would say this game is a must for any puzzle-platformer enthusiast. You might want to wait for a sale or go ahead and throw the full 20 at the dev. This game and Sector 7 are taking the genre to a new level. I love it.

I was planning to buy this on pay day but after reading how the developer declined an EGS exclusivity deal it was an insta-buy. Who needs food anyway?