Darwin’s Paradox Review – Evolving Ideas, Perfectly Executed

Darwin’s Paradox Review

Cinematic platformers seamlessly blend high-stakes action and gameplay to create memorable set pieces that intertwine storytelling and player agency into a cohesive spectacle. ZDT Studio takes this concept and applies stealth and puzzles to Darwin’s Paradox. Will this evolve the formula, or will it lose itself in the process?

Taken from his natural habitat, you play as a clever and cunning octopus, separated from his close friend and mentor. Stuck in a foreign environment, you must use all of your natural skills to outsmart foes and make your way back to the sea. Though simple in premise, the narrative clearly delivers its messages, crafting an engaging, albeit absurd, tale. Similar to a Pixar short, the story centres around the protagonist’s escapade, but a larger, more ethical message also lingers beneath the surface. This underpins each ridiculously entertaining scenario, creating a well-paced and thrilling experience.

A rollercoaster adventure, the game manages to tell lovely short stories within its overarching narrative. While each has a satisfying conclusion, the game’s ending lacks the same payoff, leaving the overall journey feeling slightly incomplete despite the strength of its individual moments.

Pixar-Level Animation Quality

The animation is impeccable. During cutscenes, each character bursts with personality, expressing emotions in a comical, cartoonish manner that immerses you from start to finish. This also bleeds into the gameplay, as Darwin slithers across surfaces in a wonderfully sticky way, capturing the feel of an octopus navigating an unfamiliar world. Environments are also rich with detail, possessing a depth that invites you to read more into each area. The presentation is further elevated by a fantastic score that accentuates tense and epic moments, delivering a truly cinematic experience.

The pacing is perfect. It starts fast, throwing you into a variety of hectic situations that require you to leap across the terrain as the environment alters before slowing the gameplay down, requiring you to solve puzzles and stealth through areas. Sneaking past foes feels great. You must track their route and scurry by using camouflage to blend in or your ink to create blind spots. ZDT Studio manages to create a variety of scenarios that make these moments feel fresh throughout. Rather than overt puzzles, they are embedded within the stealth and other segments, which helps maintain the pacing. There’s a brilliant flow to the game, meaning it’ll get its hooks in you and won’t let go until the credits roll.

Stuck on You

Movement differs from other platformers as you stick to the walls rather than run on the surface. This means you need to reconsider how you approach areas. You must scour the environment and work out your path by observing how the walls and pipes link. While this may sound difficult, the level design is so intuitive that you naturally find your way. However, if you choose a different route, you can find small collectibles hidden around that unlock skins. Squirming across the surface and floating in the sea differ. In the water, you can glide in any direction, move objects and quickly dash past foes, whereas on the ground, each movement is much more deliberate.

The game regularly introduces new gameplay features, keeping each scene feeling unique. From ooze that stops you from climbing up surfaces to operating a robotic suit, there’s a plethora of great ideas that help make each moment a joy to play. At times, however, this can lead to trial-and-error segments as you try to work out how to overcome a new threat or situation. While this may lead to replaying a portion, the generous checkpoints and simple hint feature help to ensure that frustration never ensues.

A Triumph

Darwin’s Paradox is an incredibly well-designed cinematic platformer that keeps you gripped from beginning to end. Each segment feels distinct thanks to its varied scenarios and the inventive ways it plays with its core mechanics. While those mechanics don’t evolve dramatically, the way they’re explored is consistently delightful, creating memorable moments throughout. There’s some trial and error, but generous checkpoints prevent it from becoming frustrating. It’s a joy to play, with strong pacing that keeps things engaging, though it is a little too short, and the collectables don’t add much in terms of replayability. Even so, this debut from ZDT Studio is fantastic and sets a strong foundation for what could become a standout name in cinematic platformers.

***PlayStation 5 code provided by the publisher for review***