Duskers is a 2D top-down command-based drone-deploying strategy game...

And it can feel chilling to explore abandoned ships with malfunctioning equipment and hazy visuals. In this game you play as an investigator, travelling through space, and boarding derelict ships to find answers. Humanity is gone but the question is why? Aboard these ships reside corrupted messages that may hint the possible cause, and if there is any hope. Pilot a small fleet of drones to scavenge scrap and fuel from these ships, swap out modules like traps or scanners for those found in better condition. Type commands to an interface that controls the doors and your drones on each ship, and be very careful when you see that motion sensor trip.

Gameplay

The gameplay is keyboard-based and deliberate, you'll need to mentally plan a strategy of going about a ship and a contingency for when your drones get damaged or lost (for long survivability). Issue keyboard commands like 'navigate' or 'power' to make the drones go to different rooms and use their modules. It can feel satisfying and novel to operate a game in this way, rather than point and click. Aliases can be made to rename commands to something shorter, and multiple instructions can be provided in the same line which can streamline a plan of action (You can pilot drones manually with arrow keys if desired). The pace of the game is generally slow, but can get hectic once enemies are encountered. I think it is fun but it becomes uninteresting as the gameplay loop is very simple. It's more of a puzzle and strategy game than an action one. There are also some challenges I found hard to overcome, and balancing risk was not something easy for me.

Audio Visual

The game has cool static sounds for ambience and the drones give beeps as feedback. I think it's nice that you can rename drones and add a little bit of personality. The interface is not that pretty, with blocky lines and colours that are consistently green, blue, and grey. The level of detail for room floors can be adjusted which is interesting - there are even toggles for blocking objects that prevent passage down corridors. I didn't like the story snippets/ lore as it never seemed to lead anywhere and just created more questions, to which there weren't any answers for anyway. The drone camera views can't be customised, and some are flooded with colour which make them annoying to use, and it is disheartening when you lose the camera view and doors stop responding randomly, which shakes the mission up but causes frustration. I think I have to thank the game though, since at some stage my probabilistic/ analytical reasoning feels improved after playing this.

Pros

• Unique command-line gameplay
• Daily and weekly challenges
• Eerie atmosphere

Cons

• Uncontrollable in-game events
• Rough graphics
• No clear story

Conclusion

Duskers is a command-based survival exploration game in space, and it stimulates a certain sweet spot for computer nerds. I score it 6/10.

Information

• Release date: 2016
• Developer: Misfits Attic
• Platforms: PC