Short games aren’t bad! I’d rather play a three to five hour title where I enjoy most of the gameplay systems and elements than a 30 to 40 hour ones a lot of times. Darwin’s Paradox is one of those short delights. Depending on how good your are at stealth sequences, you could probably finish it in around three hours. Which is really the only downside. Darwin’s Paradox can be a clever game with a lot of charm, but the emphasis on avoiding being seen coupled with a Switch 2 version that doesn’t always look and feel quite right holds it back.
Darwin is an octopus. He’s living his best life in the ocean, even though there are predators there. Unfortunately, that doesn’t last. UFOOD apparently understands the demand for octopi, and the corporation abducts the cephalopod. Darwin does break free, but he’s initially impeded, and it’s up to us to help him escape captivity.
The first chapter of Darwin’s Paradox is a fantastic introduction. This is essentially a tutorial and the narrative introduction, but everything about it sets a great tone for the title. (Yes, even with the Switch 2 30fps lock and fuzzy graphics. There’s the clever commercial from UFOOD at the start, coupled with Darwin exploring some gorgeous outdoors areas both underwater and through some caverns. It gives us a chance to see the mollusk’s camouflage and ink abilities. Even the ominous assault and abduction by the UFOOD UFO establishes things perfectly.
From there, we unfortunately don’t get that same sort of lush, clean, and great environment. Darwin winds up in a dump, covered in dirt that inhibits his sticky capabilities and other abilities. It’s then that we start to see some of the positive elements. The second chapter sets the tone for the puzzle and platforming nature of the game, and it’s the part of the adventure I liked most and wish we saw more of. Early on, he’s in a place filled with rats that might chase after him and he can’t stick the way he normally would. However, toxic waste appears in some spots, and dipping into those puddles means the vermin will leave him alone. It’s clever! Likewise, when he’s in the boiler room of the factory and breaking in, there’s a good balance paired with opportunities for the character to swim. Since the dirt got washed off after a dip, he can naturally cling to pipes again, unlocking an ability in a way that makes sense. And, since this is a boiler, it means jumping between occasionally too hot to touch pipes.
It’s once we get past the first third of the game that Darwin’s Paradox starts to hit a point where it can be frustrating. It’s then that stealth and evading enemies becomes a priority. Sometimes, this is fine and works well, even though the dark and gloomy design choices of these areas don’t pair well with how the game looks on the Switch 2. In the fourth chapter, range of vision for enemies is clearly telegraphed and the checkpoints seem a bit more forgiving. But once we get into the area where Darwin is heading into the preparation floor in the seventh chapter and beyond, there are some escape sequence bosses that get obnoxious and stealth segments that feel finicky.
On the Switch 2, I also feel like Darwin’s Paradox is sort of in a weird position. I liked playing it in handheld mode, as it felt easier to spot the cues to safely proceed or quickly camouflage Darwin during stealth segments. However, it doesn’t look as good on this system as the other platforms, and that’s exacerbated by the smaller screen. Especially for the chase segments where you need precise movements and awareness of environments that are often quite dark or ominous at that point. Playing it docked helped a bit. But I also felt regardless of the mode I played in, perhaps it running at 60fps would have helped for those faster-paced parts.
Darwin’s Paradox can be a lot of fun, but how much you enjoy it depends on how much you enjoy stealth games where dangerous enemies chase you. It’s short and sweet, saying all it needs to in its brief runtime. It can be exceptionally clever, especially in its first half. However, after the halfway point there are some absolutely obnoxious sequences with some real baddies chasing Darwin and a few particularly annoying stealth segments in certain chapters.
Darwin’s Paradox is available for the Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.