Darwin’s Paradox! really taps into the joy and simplicity of a fun cartoon for its quirky alien invasion adventure. With a simple setup of an octopus clumsily trying to survive on land, it gives way to some wacky, slapstick platforming encounters that totally capture the fun, charming vibe of a Saturday morning cartoon. Developer ZDT Studio offers up a plucky puzzle-platformer that carries a lot of energy, but it often struggles to maintain those good times when it gets hung up on overly long, clunky encounters that drag down this otherwise fun jaunt.
Set in a stylized cartoon world that feels in step with Pixar’s Finding Nemo, Darwin’s Paradox! follows a clever and oddly lucky octopus who is thrust into increasingly zany encounters. After a mysterious, otherworldly presence encroaches upon their underwater home, Darwin and their octopus friend are whisked away to the surface and separated. But it’s not enough that Darwin has to figure out how to survive on the surface – it’s also a post-alien-invasion Earth, with creatures and machines settled in and planning further domination.
The setting and cartoonish tone of Darwin’s Paradox! is a really fun and energetic take on a puzzle-platformer – and it’s one of my favorite things about it. With no dialogue for any of its key characters, the story shows a growing escalation of bizarre encounters that Darwin finds themselves in. Along with navigating my way through a seemingly infinite warehouse filled with UFO-branded boxes, I also had to carefully sneak around an alien-occupied shipping dock to avoid the gaze of nearby enemies, which featured some cheeky references to publisher Konami’s classics like Frogger and a more front-facing nod to Metal Gear Solid.
The characterization and storytelling are very light throughout its modest five-hour runtime. Still, Darwin’s Paradox! and its take on a fish-out-of-water story plays well to the strengths of the lovable character, whose expressive emotions help make their journey feel more lively as the odds get ever hairier. Unfortunately, the modest scope can feel stretched at times, making some environments a bit lacking in personality and a few sections feel overlong. The ending is unsatisfying after a rousing final act, which felt more like a tease of a hopeful sequel than a proper conclusion.
Darwin’s Paradox! is similar to the Little Nightmares series in its gameplay, focusing on careful platforming, stealthy movement, and problem-solving with environmental obstacles. It largely sticks to very familiar kinds of encounters and puzzles where you’ll have to pull levers and hit buttons to proceed, but where Darwin’s Paradox! differs is the slapstick comedy energy that it brings.
It trades the scares and high tension of Little Nightmares for the stylized, comical whimsy of Looney Tunes. This opens up some encounters where you’ll use Darwin’s abilities to sneak past or even fling yourself up to higher levels to proceed. Some of my favorite moments are when Darwin has to sneak past the invaders while they’re doing martial arts training, or when taking on a disguise to try and blend in with enemies. Darwin’s journey goes between both the surface and underwater worlds, which opens up a variety of scenarios that help mix up the pacing.
While that gameplay formula stays mostly lean throughout, with only a few sections introducing some game-changing abilities, I appreciated seeing Darwin’s abilities get some decent mileage. Along with a camouflage ability to blend into the environment, Darwin can spit ink to hit distant targets or create clouds of concealment underwater. The ability that gets the most use is Darwin’s wall-climbing, which allows them to scale walls and grip onto moving platforms.
The platforming throughout is fun and exciting. I enjoyed seeing the slower-paced, methodical encounters culminate in spectacle-driven ones where chaos erupts, and you’ll have to Mr. Magoo your way out of certain situations. That said, the movement and precise platforming required to complete these sections can sometimes be a bit too clingy, leading to moments where I attached myself to objects I didn’t intend to, which resulted in some sudden deaths.
There are also sudden difficulty spikes in some stages. Some of the more nuanced encounters end up being overpunishing scenarios that push the patience required for trial-and-error, leaving me feeling like Wile E. Coyote running into a brick wall. While there is a hint system in case you get stuck on a challenge, the clues are mostly vague, such as reminders to use the dash button or learn to mind your surroundings. Some of these challenging moments involve simply finding where to go or which objects to interact with.
In one of the more frustrating areas, I had to sneak past sound-detecting machines while hiding out in underwater brush and avoiding spotlights. Darwin’s Paradox! generally doesn’t give you too much to juggle in terms of complex encounters, but when it does, it can sometimes feel out of step with what came before. It was disappointing to see just how many imbalanced moments there were, which messed with the flow of what was largely an evenly paced experience otherwise.
Still, I appreciated the mostly chill tone, which gives you time to take in the fantastic details and comedy gags. I especially enjoyed finding hidden paths in each level that led to collectables. These not only add some extra context to the world but also toss in jokes, like a movie poster for an alien Snake Plisken knock-off that was popular with the invaders. These collectables add a bit more flavor to the minimalist narrative, which was appealing. There’s also a set of unlockable costumes for Darwin, which includes a Solid Snake-inspired outfit.
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