Darwin's Paradox review: Cute octopus, annoying trial-and-error

As soon as you start this game, the first thing you'll see is a cute, blue octopus just frolicking around with his friend at the bottom of the sea. A unique premise, a protagonist that is genuinely charming, a world that is gorgeous, and a presentation that could pass as a family movie; this is all a part of Darwin's Paradox. But that's not all this game brings you, as you will also meet some frustrations along the way.

A story that swims on charms

The setup of the story is pretty simple: you've got Darwin, a blue octopus, who is living peacefully in his natural habitat until he one day gets snatched by the UFOOD Corporation, a seafood company that processes octopuses, among other things. Both Darwin and his friend, a red octopus, get grabbed and processed through the system, only for Darwin to be ceremonially dumped into a landfill because he didn't pass the quality check. Now it's time for him to find the way back home.

The emotional stakes are clear from the start, but what gives an edge to the story is the way it's presented. It all starts like an old-school nature documentary, I'm talking black and white cinematics discussing how octopuses are agile and intelligent, and just amazing creatures overall. It was fun, it was educational. The opening felt like something you would watch with your family on a Sunday afternoon, preferably with a David Attenborough voiceover, which then transitions into a Pixar-like movie about the adventures of a little octopus. 

Darwin gets dropped into a landfill by UFOOD and must escape back to the ocean.

The game is telling the story of an octopus who travels from level to level, each with its own funky name, such as "Into the Abyss", or "Things are heating up", the names of the levels play into the design of the level itself. You'll navigate through both land and sea, making your way through facilities and offices with fluorescent lighting, as well as deep-sea coral reefs. Each environment feels distinct visually and mechanically, and shows the contrast between these two worlds.

As you explore the levels, you'll come across artefacts - newspapers, documents, environmental details - all giving glimpses and little hints about the broader story. You can get titbits about UFOOD, their operations, and the world that Darwin is trying to escape. 

Overall, it's a very cute game and one that could very well be an animated movie. The animation quality is on point, the pacing of the story is well done, and the cinematics here and there feel natural and don't break the flow of the game. If there is ever a movie about a blue octopus escaping a food processing facility, they might as well look here for references. It also brings an educational aspect that never feels forced. The octopuses are presented as intelligent creatures which easily adapt, and all the abilities that Darwin has (camouflage, ink shooting, agile movement) actually make sense considering the real-world octopus behaviour. For example, jumping into a small pipe and moving through makes sense, as octopuses are able to squeeze through small openings because of the lack of a rigid skeleton. They're almost like sea cats, who can squeeze through more or less any opening as long as their head fits through.

Darwin's Paradox delivers Pixar-like quality with gorgeous animation and charming characters.

Putting sea cats and land cats aside, the story itself will not have any shocking plot twists, but it also doesn't need any. It's a charming story that has enough flair and details to keep the player invested, even when gameplay titbits try to tarnish it.

Clever ideas, clumsy delivery

With the help of abilities and a bit of environmental manipulation, the goal of the game is to guide Darwin through UFOOD facilities, avoid danger and get back home. Darwin moves and jumps around the same way you'd imagine an octopus would move through human spaces. When you venture underwater, Darwin can swim around fluidly, but on land, he squeezes through gaps and grabs ledges with his tentacles.

Just like a real octopus, Darwin has abilities that help him move around and avoid danger. There is an enemy you need to get past? Shoot ink to distract or blind it and shimmy away. Is an enemy patrolling? Camouflage yourself until it goes away, and you can move on. Some of these abilities are the foundation of puzzle solving as well, when you need to hide and when you need to run.

Darwin has different abilities, one of them being the ability to camouflage when in danger.

But it's not all sunshine and rainbows. In the opening of the game, Darwin uses both his ink and the ability to camouflage himself, and then suddenly, a bit later, he forgets both of these abilities. He does eventually "remember", but this gap of "no abilities" just feels weird. I can't recall a proper reason for why he suddenly can't use them, and to be frank, I don't see a good narrative reason to have him forget them to begin with. How could an animal forget its basic abilities?

The game provides a solid variety of things to do. You'll dip Darwin in green goo to escape rats, you'll make your way through a section by jumping from pipe to pipe, and even evade facility workers and their boots. Escaping through chimneys, moving boxes, going through pipes, driving a mech, it's all part of the Darwin experience. These moments give the player a nice break from the puzzles and platforming, making sure the gameplay doesn't get stale and boring. Each level brings new puzzles, new environments, mechanics, and challenges.

As for the puzzles, they do rely a bit too much on trial-and-error. There were sections where I had to start over three or four times; sometimes it was my fault for failing, while sometimes you just don't know where you need to go. In the section where you need to get through the moving cogs, I found myself dying not because I was bad but because I couldn't figure out where to go. They weren't stingy when it comes to checkpoints, I'll give them that. However, failing a couple of times in these puzzles made me get to a checkpoint and then turn off the game, as if I were playing a competitive Overwatch 2 game and needed a break. A chill platformer shouldn't feel like that.

In Darwin's Paradox, both the facilities and the ocean are filled with danger.

The stealth sections, after a while, tend to get a bit boring. Mostly they come up to staying out of the guard's vision cones, which sounds easy, but if you don't plan your route beforehand, or don't get enough information, you're going back to the beginning. It's just repetition until you manage to figure out the pattern that works, or you get lucky.

And the anglerfish chase. 

I hated that chase so much, it reminded me of the chase with the sandworm from Ori and the Will of the Wisps, the only difference being that Ori had more or less everything else going for it so it was easy to forgive that section. In a game that, despite all, is a chill and fun game, this was just peak trial-and-error. Darwin ends up in a high-speed chase with an anglerfish, which wouldn't be an issue if one bad move didn't result in restarting the entire sequence. Am I playing Black Myth: Wukong, or a chill platformer? Darwin's Paradox is not a tough game I'd say, but these difficulty spikes (or maybe frustration spikes) just come out of nowhere.

Charming presentation, solid performance

Darwin's presentation relies a lot on charm, and trust me when I say that it is really that charming. The colours are vibrant, the characters and enemies are well done and straight out of a Pixar movie. Even the guards are funny to an extent, I couldn't help but think how much they remind me of Dugtrios with a hat and a suit. 

Sound design is well done. It's especially noticeable during the industrial sections, when Darwin is running around and trying to find his way through, you can hear the heavy machines move and the pipes around creak, the entire factory was almost like a living organism of its own. In contrast, when you're underwater, it's peaceful and relaxing, showcasing the difference between the industrial world and the peaceful nature. 

Darwin will make his way through different industrial facilities but also swim around in the ocean.

On the technical side, I haven't noticed any issues while playing, no FPS drops or stuttering of any kind. Besides clunky controls and a camera that sometimes doesn't want to cooperate, Darwin squeezes past any performance issues with ease.

Final thoughts

I really wanted to love Darwin's Paradox more than I did. The Pixar-quality visuals are stunning, Darwin is extremely adorable, and the idea of playing as an octopus sounds fun and fresh. The opening of the game made me smile, the environments are pretty, and when everything clicks into place, it's a fun platformer with a personality.

However, trial-and-error drags the experience down. Puzzles feel less rewarding, and I found myself just happy that I'm past a puzzle, finally, instead of thinking that was fun. Frustrating chases, ability inconsistencies, clunky controls and a wonky camera at times add friction to an experience that would be smooth otherwise.

I would still recommend the game, it still carries unique visuals, charming protagonists and a beautiful world which would be a shame not to experience. There are some rough edges, but if you manage to push through them, and with the price not being too high, you'll manage to squeeze some fun out of it.