Duskfade Is Out Today, a Clockpunk Platformer That Wears Its PS2 Heart on Its Sleeve

There is a particular kind of platformer that basically stopped existing after the PS2 generation, the colorful single player adventure with a plucky hero, a quirky sidekick and a world you want to poke around in. Duskfade, out today from developer Weird Beluga and publisher Fireshine Games, is an unapologetic attempt to bring that kind of game back. It launches on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2.

Video: Fireshine Games on YouTube

A clockpunk world stuck in eternal night

The setup is pure storybook. A mysterious clock tower has plunged the world into endless night, and a young hero named Zirian sets out to rescue his sister and restore time itself before the darkness becomes permanent. He is joined by Cuckoo, a mechanical bird companion, and the whole world runs on what the studio calls a clockpunk aesthetic, all gears, ticking towers and warm light pushing back against the dark.

Mechanically, Duskfade leans on the classics it is quoting. Zirian grapples, dashes and jumps through increasingly tricky platforming challenges, unlocks new abilities as the adventure opens up, and breaks up the traversal with fast paced combat and proper boss encounters. One of those bosses, Wrath, already headlines the free Steam demo, which also lets you explore the outskirts of Tick Town, a magical forest and the clocktower ruins. If you are on the fence, the demo is still up and it is a genuinely generous slice.

The Steam version ships with achievements, cloud saves and Family Sharing, and the game supports nine languages at launch, so the console versions are not getting anything the PC release lacks.

Our take

August 13 is quietly a great day for retro revivals. Alongside Duskfade, Wild Blue Skies is reviving the Star Fox 64 formula with an original Star Fox programmer on board, and the two games together feel like a small statement about where indie studios are finding gaps the big publishers left behind. We have not reviewed Duskfade, so we cannot tell you whether it sticks the landing. What we can say is that the demo made a good first impression, the trailer shows a game dripping with personality, and the PS2 platformer itch is real for a lot of us. If that itch is yours, this one deserves a look today, and the free demo means trying it costs you nothing.