Mechanically, Duskfade is the lovechild of Kingdom Hearts and Super Mario Odyssey. Narratively, it's as if Frozen crossed paths with Inside Out. But in terms of structure? It's Jak & Daxter meets Super Mario Sunshine. This is a game with plenty of clear inspirations, and as a result, it doesn't reinvent the platforming wheel, but it is still a delightful 20-hour adventure that will take you through some stunning locales, introduce you to charming characters, and strikes the right balance with its difficulty.

In Duskfade, the debut of developer Weird Beluga, you play as Zirian, a young boy whose sister has, for reasons unbeknownst to him, been trapped inside an enormous clock tower that has suddenly sprouted in the middle of Tick Town, their home village. (No blood-sucking insects to be found, thankfully, just lots of clocks.) Aside from the siblings (and their recently deceased grandpa), Tick Town's population consists almost entirely of "cloudies," an adorable race of creatures that are made of small clouds.

Tick Town serves as a hub world, and most cloudies have amusing dialogue. Duskfade's plot is emulative of classic Disney — one sibling has to rescue another from terrible misfortune and defeat the big bad along the way — and that means it's unlikely to resonate with the older audience here; you'll certainly exert some heavy breaths of air through your nose and the odd "heh" when interacting with NPCs. (That said, I must give a special Millennial shoutout to the two cloudies found in Lantern Port who are both Lost references, because a Lost reference in 2026 was not on my bingo card.)

However, despite its groan-worthy plot and dialogue, the action is all Kingdom Hearts, baby, which is absolutely welcome after Square Enix’s seminal series has spent seven years missing in action. Zirian is Sora in all but name (and weapon — he uses a much more sensible sword rather than an enlarged key) and the "inkies" he fights are essentially the Heartless. Combat is a little rougher around the edges than Square Enix's beloved series though: target lock-on is more of a hindrance than a help, and it quickly becomes a total bombardment of projectiles and foes with little strategy other than to dodge, swing, dodge, swing on repeat.

Boss fights are a little more interesting, though, with plenty of unique encounters and mechanics found in each one. From the beast that periodically fills the arena up with lava to the robot that you can only stun by making it destroy its own power sources with its energy beam, no fight is particularly complex, but they do all require more thought than the aforementioned rinse-and-repeat method used on standard enemies.

Perhaps Duskfade's biggest delight is in its movement mechanics, which are so satisfying to execute when trying to leap huge distances. Zirian can dodge through the air and double jump, and when combined with perfect timing, he can seriously soar. While he doesn't have a hat to throw and jump on, like Super Mario Odyssey, he can also attack midair to get a small height boost, and with some of the environmental aids such as water spurts and bouncy plants, there's an art to reaching some of the game's toughest collectibles.

Various unlockable abilities help with this too, such as a grappling hook and, uh, a sundial, which Zirian obviously uses to grind on rails. Duh. What else did you think it’d be used for? Each area has a number of collectibles that can only be reached once you have these abilities, so plenty of backtracking is in order if you want to find everything, such as currencies that allow you to upgrade your gear, unlock new cosmetics, or trade for playing cards once you've rescued the required merchant during the story and sent them back to Tick Town.

There are numerous minor bugbears to be found: the basic currency is capped at 9,999, which doesn't take particularly long to reach if you're seeking out and smashing everything destructible, but it means that even when you find chests, you can't earn any more until you've spent it. This forces you to head back to the hub, which is fine if you're near a portal, but if you're not...

Despite how forgiving Duskfade is, with myriad checkpoints throughout Zirian's adventure, coupled with the fact that he respawns right where he was if he falls off the world or into water, the portals to travel back to Tick Town (or any other region) are few and far between. If you want to backtrack through a region with a new ability, expect a lengthy walk to find the next portal so you can finally head back to the village and continue the story.

These inconveniences don't detract from the fact that Duskfade is a wonderful time. It never overstays its welcome. It's wholesome, funny, somewhat challenging at times, and it rewards exploration. It’s a nostalgia bullseye. Developer Weird Beluga hasn't quite struck gold with its debut game, but it has proven it's capable of adding substance and quality to a genre that indie games often struggle to get right. If you're sitting tight waiting for Kingdom Hearts 4, give Duskfade a go to pass the time. You won't regret it.