Why You Need to Download & Play 'Duskwood' Right This Minute

Duskwood is produced by Everbyte, an Indie Game Studio based in Black Forest - Germany. It's inception date was January 1, 2016, according to the Everbyte website. There are 4 other games listed, though I have yet to try any others.

I wish I could remember how I stumbled upon Duskwood. I'm thinking it was probably a "similar games that may interest you" type list through Google Play. Could've been a Facebook ad. Either way, the true crime buff in me was skeptically intrigued by an interactive game where I could help solve a murder.

Once you download Duskwood, you have to accept the Terms of Use, and then you accept the mission. While the game is loading, there is a very Twin Peaks/Edgar Allan Poe's Raven vibe background image. I was cautiously excited. I mean, sure the graphics were great, but would the game live up to it?

The Duskwood website describes the game as 'an interactive thriller for Android and iOS.' If you scroll down a little further, you'll find the synopsis:

It’s been 72 hours since Hannah disappeared without a trace. Out of nowhere, her friends suddenly receive a message from the missing person’s phone. The mysterious message only contains a number… your number!

Duskwood is a small, sleepy village surrounded by dense forest. Rarely do strangers get lost in this remote area and when they do, they have always described the area as strange or even scary. The inhabitants of Duskwood have never been worried by this. But since 72 hours, many things have changed and even among them there are more and more concerns… Join a clique from Duskwood and help them find their friend Hannah. The old frightening legends of the forest seem to come alive – will you be able to find Hannah before its too late?

Duskwood has become my new favorite game, (to say I'm obsessed is quite an understatement). I played this game almost nonstop for 3? weeks straight, staying up late at night, playing on lunch and breaks, before breakfast and even--gasp--coffee!; it consumed me.

Here are 7 reasons why you should also play:

It's Unique

I have never seen a game set up this way! The description above gives a bit of a hint of how the game is played, though for me to describe it would be to give it away completely, and I hate spoilers so I won't do that to you.

You Interact with the Characters

Growing up, we had R.L. Stine's Choose Your Scare books. I gobbled those up like a person with a sweet tooth devours cake. Duskwood has a similar concept--you interact with the game's characters through pre-selected options. It's like those interactive romance games, only much better .

The Characters Interact with You

This game offers another unique characteristic in that the characters interact with you! I started playing this game with heavy skepticism. Even though the introductory graphic drew me in, along with the promise of being able to solve a crime, when I first downloaded it I wasn't sure. How would this work?

The developers are an amazing group of people who made it work.

It's Completely Free!

A game this fantastic should cost money, but it doesn't! You do have two purchase options though (stay with me, I hear you in the back!): the first purchase option is the Multimedia Pack at $3.99 USD and it grants you access to all starred multimedia. The second option is the Special Offer for $6.49 USD, and it includes the Multimedia Pack plus 50 credits; however, you do not need to purchase those packs in order to progress the game. Unlike those aforementioned choice games that cost money if you want the 'real' action to take place, Duskwood moves along just fine without the in-game purchase.

I mentioned above that I was skeptical; I held off not buying into the multimedia package for as long as I could. In the end, it was simply pure curiosity of what I was missing that had me pressing the buy button. I was not disappointed. Trust me here.

I can't tell you how much money I spent on choice games just to get the diamonds to get the 'good' options--it's an embarrassing amount. With Duskwood, the multimedia package is only a one-time fee.

You do have the option of purchasing a star package with more credits, but I haven't felt the need. I'll discuss the stars in this next portion:

Mini Games

Each chapter is quite long for the amount of time it takes to develop (approximately 4 months based upon the release dates of the previous 8 chapters), but at certain points you are forced to play mini games. These mini games are match-3 games that range from easy to hard, and they earn you credits to apply to the next portion of the game.

You can either stay and play all mini games and wrack up the credits (you get 5 chances to pass the minis), or just earn enough to continue playing the next portion of the game. The other nice thing is, you don't need to keep track of how many credits are left to earn--the game will automatically pick up as soon as you have enough!

In reading some of the reviews on Google Play, a few people commented that these mini games were too hard to beat. I have found some to be challenging, and some were in fact difficult, but I never had to throw my phone against the wall and walk away. I quite enjoyed them.

With that said, and referencing the topic afore, the purchase of coins is absolutely not necessary.

It's Still Being Developed

In a way, I'm glad I stumbled upon Duskwood when I did: I had 8 full chapters to explore in one shot. On the other hand, discovering it before all chapters have been completed is the longest wait!, but Chapter 9 should be out next month (September 2021). I believe I've been waiting anxiously since July for this release.

Top Notch Developers

The final thing that truly impressed me with this game was that when you start the next chapter, you have the option of being reminded of what had happened previously. As someone who'd played the previous 8 chapters in one go, I didn't need reminded of what had happened because it was all fresh in my mind.

Happy Gaming!

This is not a sponsored story. I receive no payments, in any form, for my promotion of the Duskwood game or Everbyte Studios.