Rising Dusk Demo

New and exciting ideas are difficult to come by in video games nowadays, given the fact that dozens of titles are released every day. However, even simple concepts can gain a lot of traction if they are nicely integrated, especially in genres like adventure. Platformers are a great sandbox for new ideas, mainly because the underlying gameplay mechanics are relatively easy to pull off.

Rising Dusk is a 2D platformer with puzzle elements, in which you play the role of girl trapped in a different dimension, and her goal is to come back to her world. However, there are many obstacles to overcome in order to achieve that, and the game presents these obstacles in the form of platforming puzzles. Hence, you can have fun and put your mind to work at the same time.

The girl’s name is Tamako and she wakes up in the world of the Yokai, a land where ghosts and demons roam free. In order to get out, Tamako must reach the top of the mountain, which is quite the trek in such a dangerous place. Thankfully, she is brave enough to face all the challenges ahead, especially since most obstacles require wits instead of strength.

The main gameplay gimmick is in the blocks that litter the environment, which can be used to progress or to unlock special features. In essence, every block has a number on it, and you have to collect that number of coins in order to destroy them. These blocks can sometimes guard special items, although it’s not always necessary to collect them.

The blocks come in a few varieties as well, since you can go through some of them as you please, while others remain solid until you get the necessary number of coins. There are also enemies to watch out for, because they can slow you down and cause a few level restarts. Speaking of which, the delay before respawning is unnecessarily long, which might add too much frustration to the mix sometimes.

In the end, Rising Dusk  has all the makings of a great adventure game, especially since the platforming elements appear to be quite refined. Hence, you can help the developers finish the game by participating in their Kickstarter campaign.