The following post contains spoilers for Darwin’s Paradox! Proceed at your own risk!

Early this year, I played through the “Tactical Action Octopus Demo” of Darwin’s Paradox!, a new platformer from ZDT Studio and Konami. In short, I said then that I thoroughly enjoy what it offers. It feels like it’ll be a great addition to the ever-evolving landscape of modern platformers with classic sentiments. Indeed, it was a very good time. The game fully released in April, and after failing about in other platformers, (sorry, MIO), I just recently went in for the purchase. I’ve spent a good portion of my gaming life playing platform games, one of which remains an all-time favorite (Super Metroid); and even with the demo under my belt, I questioned the overall enjoyment of Darwin’s Paradox!. After spending a considerable amount of time with it, I don’t know what I was worried about. TL; DR Darwin’s Paradox! is the best platforming game I’ve played since Metroid Dread.

Darwin, the Octopus that Could (and Did)

In Darwin’s Paradox!, players inhabit a blue octopus names Darwin who one day gets scooped up out of his ocean paradise by aliens. Yes, aliens! Only also not aliens…maybe. (Not really, it’s aliens.) But not just any aliens. These aliens have one goal in mind: to take over the Earth using food! Enter in UFOOD, an alien…uh, no…totally human-run food corporation that’s introducing delicious, stupefying Octopus Soup to the masses, hence the reason for grabbing Darwin to begin with. And further hence, the reason for the game itself, as in it, Darwin works to escape from UFOOD’s clutches, while also inadvertently causing its demise and ultimately saving the world. Not bad for one little cephalopod.

As Darwin makes his way through what can only be described as UFOOD’s corporate mega-headquarters, he’s presented with various challenges in different types of levels. The game mixes traditional platform levels with those that involve swimming and a few that require stealth. Thankfully, Darwin can do more than just crawl on and stick to surfaces and objects (his stickiness, though mostly awesome, is an occasional hindrance). Besides having world-class movement in the water, he’s also a master of camouflage and can shoot ink, which is useful for hiding in the water and activating/obscuring things on land. Darwin “remembers” his abilities over time, and by the time he has them all in tow, he’s nearly unstoppable. Well, as long as he stays out of harms way, because he’s not invulnerable. He can survive neither falling from a great height nor being squished by objects and/or “people.”

Platforming Problems

Well, no one would expect an octopus to be anything less than squishy, right? Darwin has plenty of anatomical advantages regardless, and his movements, reactions, and sounds are, to turna phrase, practically perfect in every way. Darwin’s Paradox! is nothing short of a shining example of a platform game. However, allow me an aside…

One of my lasting gripes with platformers — and this goes for my beloved Super Metroid, too — is mini-bosses that inhibit progression. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be there; they are baked into the DNA of the genre. But I just don’t like them. More often than not, they kill the flow and, as I said, make progression difficult. And if one thing makes me quit a game faster than anything else, it’s not being able to progress (never minded all that “git gud” nonsense).

Back to Darwin’s Paradox!, my point here is that it is nearly devoid of mini-bosses. Now, it does contain one recurring and particularly scary/troublesome enemy that Darwin can’t avoid. And I’ll admit that in my first go-round, my initial encounter with it was more than difficult. Much of Darwin’s Paradox! involves memorizing paths and enemy movements, and after a lot of practice, I finally made it through. Outside of this enemy within the game, and other than its end boss, its focus is on glorious, glorious platforming and light puzzle-solving. Some of its levels are challenging, I’ll grant that, but not having to face off with a mini-boss every few levels made the entire of experience so much more enjoyable and engaging.

All About the Lore

Speaking of which, the devs didn’t skimp in Darwin’s Paradox!’s storytelling department. This game has an absurdly funny story that’s very well-performed and presented throughout. As Darwin can’t speak (and good choice there; apparently Exodus will have the talking octopus thing covered, ha!) most of the game’s story is told through its vibrant, extensive environments and visuals. From factory floors to boardrooms to war rooms, this game has Darwin covering a lot of ground, and upon occasion, he’ll stumble across secrets that further reveal all that’s going on. These “discoveries,” twenty in total, tell the story of the aliens and their nefarious takeover plans via UFOOD. Finding these secrets is optional, and the game is perfectly fine without them, but the additional lore adds another layer to Darwin’s purpose, unintentional though it may be.

All in all, Darwin’s Paradox! is an excellent game, platforming or otherwise. I’ve only had it for a couple months now, and I’ve already played through it several times. (P. S. Look for it soon on our YouTube channel!) Being immersed in the crazy world of Darwin’s Paradox! is a very good time, and I cannot recommend it enough. Everything about it is solid, from its mechanics and graphics, to its level design and world-building. The game sets up a sequel, too, and I can only hope that comes to fruition, because bestowing more Darwin upon the world would be a very, very good thing. Darwin’s Paradox! is available across all consoles and PC, and it’s a worthy addition to anyone’s gaming library.

All images, including lede, were captured by author during PS5 playthrough of Darwin’s Paradox! (© ZDT Studio, Konami).