Darwin's Paradox! review: You'd be a sucker to miss this

It's finally here, the game that went viral for crossing the iconic Metal Gear Solid series - with an octopus.

The charming 2.5D action adventure platformer Darwin's Paradox! has certainly caught the imagination of gamers online - at least in terms of the gameplay and demo shared by ZDT Studio and Konami.

Players control Darwin, an octopus, and have to navigate through levels while solving puzzles stealthily, using camouflage, ink and more techniques to stay hidden.

And Darwin's Paradox! is a joy to play through.

A review code was shared by the publisher and I played Darwin's Paradox! on a PS5 Pro.

There's a certain seagull that has a taste for octopi... / Konami Digital Entertainment

The game starts out with a seemingly evil food corporation called UFOOD showing off an advert for its latest hit recipe - an octopus soup.

After a brief tutorial, Darwin and his companion get captured by UFOOD but Darwin manages to escape and so begins his quest to find his companion and also uncover the dark mystery behind UFOOD.

There are plenty of memorable moments along the way which are humorous, perilous and actually quite emotional.

If that sounds like something you'd find in an animated film, that's because it feels like it and Darwin's Paradox! feels like you're playing through one.

Being an octopus, Darwin doesn't speak but the sublime animations of his looks and actions have you knowing exactly what he's thinking and feeling throughout.

And that old-school cartoon artistic direction is incredibly well realised throughout. This game has a strong, vibrant and vivid identity that is maintained.

This makes Darwin's Paradox! look spectacular visually with vibrant colours that pop off the screen, especially playing on a PS5 Pro.

But while its visual style is fantastic, its performance can have a bit of a negative effect.

Darwin's Paradox! looks great - in one of its two graphics modes at least / Konami Digital Entertainment

On PS5 Pro, there are two modes - beauty and performance. Beauty seems to run at 4K and 30fps, while performance seemingly runs at 1080p and 60fps.

The colours in beauty mode are much richer and deeper and performance is smooth here but, surprisingly, I found the shadows were not as strong in beauty mode and the draw distance was actually quite poor. Everything in the background looks really blurry in comparison to performance.

Performance mode runs as you'd expect though, with colours being a little bit more washed out on performance but the draw distance here is much better, meaning the background is much clearer.

Because of this, I primarily played through on performance mode throughout, occasionally switching to beauty to see if these issues persisted and they unfortunately did.

Back to the positives, the sound in Darwin's Paradox! is superb. The sounds that you hear Darwin and the world make as you navigate through it, along with the fantastic soundtrack that accompanies you throughout, are really memorable.

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The gameplay itself is quite straightforward. You run, jump, dash, grab, interact, camouflage or use ink to keep yourself hidden. Being an octopus, you can sucker on to certain surfaces too.

Although simplistic, Darwin's skillset has you feeling like you're playing as an octopus, especially with the animations and sounds experienced when moving him perfectly accompanying that.

If you ever get stuck and need help, you can do this at the touch of a button - the hints given to you are cryptic and very clever in giving enough of a hint to give you an idea of what to do without directly telling you.

This keeps an underlying theme of trial and error in full flow as there are sections where you will have to fail in order to find out what to do. It has an old school feel about it in that nothing is given to you on a plate and you have to work it out for yourself.

Gameplay in Darwin's Paradox! is simple on the surface but excellent / Konami Digital Entertainment

Throughout Darwin's Paradox!, this never feels frustrating, which is crucial. Each chapter has a specific focus, aesthetic and puzzle theme that runs throughout it and overcoming these is incredibly satisfying, especially as you know you've worked it out for yourself in order to progress.

In a world that's always at 100 miles an hour with things given to you on a plate, being forced to take your time and solve these puzzles presented to you is fantastic. Without spoiling anything, there are some really creative puzzles and challenges to enjoy.

Along the way, there are some collectibles to be found that each add a bit of something to the story. You can also easily skip to different checkpoints in chapters very easily to go back and find anything you might have missed.

Stealth is usually king in Darwin's Paradox! / Konami Digital Entertainment

Overall, Darwin's Paradox! really is a joy to play through.

Its animation is fantastic, has a story that makes you feel as though you're playing through an animated film and simple but strong gameplay featuring innovative platforming and puzzles that you have to work out.

The game's performance could be better as the beauty graphics setting is a bit of a letdown and doesn't really do the game justice. Performance mode is good yet I would have loved to have seen this game in all its glory when the visual settings are cranked up.

But Darwin's Paradox! is a good time from start to finish and you'd be a sucker to miss out on experiencing it.

8.5/10

Darwin's Paradox! is out on 2 April on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC.

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