As Dusk Falls

As Dusk Falls' interactive crime drama is a masterwork of branching storytelling where decisions matter and repeated playthroughs are rewarded with even more revelations.

Due to its strong script and pitch-perfect performances, Interior Night's debut stands among the very best games of its kind.

An interactive movie that tells a memorable story of human choices.

A gripping experience, despite an ending that kicks itself up the arse.

With its ability to constantly pull the rug out from under you, As Dusk Falls doesn’t fade into a forgettable narrative experience we’ve seen a thousand times. Instead, it leaves its mark, with a long shadow cast by its sad but understandable characters’ hardships drawn across threads seemingly made of jagged wire. What will haunt you is whether the thread you chose really was the best one at the time. As in life, the answer will likely be: probably not.

As Dusk Falls blends Netflix-style prestige drama with Telltale-style game storytelling to great results

As Dusk Falls hides many secrets down the winding paths of its story web, and by its nature, you won’t get the full picture in any single playthrough, encouraging replayability. But you may also be tempted to play through one take on the story and then step away, content that you’ve seen “your” version play out. Either way, this is a weighty and gratifying excursion into interactive drama, confident enough in its writing to not rely on superpowers or fantasy. For players interested in the progress of interactive narrative frameworks, it’s a laudable success. But even for someone who never plays games, it works. That’s because good characters and storytelling make for a universal experience, and this is a project that has both.

A branching thriller played out from different perspectives, including characters' histories, is clever though at times repetitive

Good characters, strong performances and well-engineered dual timeline storytelling are let down by pacing that’s utterly arhythmic and gameplay that’s fighting you at every step.

As Dusk Falls is an interactive drama that places you at the centre of an incredibly tense robbery gone wrong. Aside from some rare wooden dialogue, it's a touching tale of loss, betrayal, fear, and love that I hoped wouldn't end.