Kingdom Hearts sickos (me included) are currently experiencing the worst news draught in series history as we haven’t really gotten an update about Kingdom Hearts 4 for over 1,000 days. So let me introduce you to Duskfade, an old-school-style 3D action platformer that’s overtly influenced by Kingdom Hearts, plus some other PS2-era hits.
Duskfade first caught my eye with a social media post from developer Weird Beluga, who posted a clip of their indie game and “three of our inspirations behind it.” Those three inspirations included Jak and Daxter, the original Ratchet and Clank, and of course, Kingdom Hearts.
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Finding bits from those games in Duskfade’s DNA isn’t all too hard either. For one, the protagonist wields a (sort-of Keyblade) giant, almost goofy weapon with a blocky handle. He also fights (sort-of Heartless) shadowy monsters threatening to engulf the world in darkness. Now where have I heard that before.
But Duskfade does more than just riff on those classics. It looks like to be taking the platforming side of its ‘action platformer’ tag more seriously since – as much as I love them – Kingdom Hearts and Ratchet and Clank have put less of an emphasis on challenging traversal as the years have ticked by. Plus, I’m always happy to see a grappling hook in anything.
“Shatter the shackles of time as you jump, swing, and slash through a fantastic world in this love letter to classic 3D action platformers,” the game’s Steam blurb says. “Zirian, accompanied by his mechanical Cuckoo, must save his sister from a mysterious Clock Tower that has plunged the land into eternal night.”
Duskfade is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S sometime in 2026.
To get through the Kingdom Hearts 4 news drought, Square Enix is re-releasing a 10-game collection full of other already re-released collections
