To Lloyd's misfortune, the dream quickly turns into a nightmare and all attempts to wake up end in failure. While exploring the darkest corners of his subconscious, Lloyd learns how to survive the nightmare by bending the laws of physics and manipulating the fluid fabric of the dream world. 

Apart from gravity-defying puzzles, Lloyd will have to use stealth when nearby enemies. He has no chance of winning in an open confrontation, since the creatures he will encounter are much more powerful and faster than him. Instead, he has to rely on careful planning to avoid getting detected. 

Jump scares in DARQ serve one purpose: they help establish that in a dream world anything can happen at any time. However, this isn't a game that is all about jump scares. Quite the contrary, they rarely occur. DARQ is more about building tension and anticipation in between jump scares. Once the player knows that a jump scare could happen, they are more likely to stay on the edge of their seats for a very long time.

The game is designed to be a moving artistic experience. Elegance is the key word in DARQ's art direction - it serves as a means of seduction, or an invitation for the player to step in and develop and emotional connection with the experience as they progress. The goal is to make the player like being there, even though being there involves facing their fears.

DARQ: Complete edition is on track to be released in December 2020 on PC, Xbox One and PS4, with an exact release date to be announced in the coming weeks. Next-generation versions of DARQ: Complete Edition (Xbox Series X|S and PS5), along with the Switch version, will be delayed until early 2021. 

Anyone who purchases a copy of DARQ: Complete Edition on Xbox One or PS4 will get a free upgrade to the optimized next-generation version for PS5 or Xbox Series X|S consoles, an offer that will be available for the entirety of 2021. The next-generation versions of DARQ: Complete Edition will have full 4K graphic support as well as higher performance specifications, and are completely separate products from the current generation versions. 

Feardemic also expects to be able to release the physical versions of all platforms toward the end of the first quarter of 2021. 

When the current generation version of DARQ: Complete Edition releases later this year, the final DLC “The Crypt” will also be made available for free simultaneously to PC owners who have purchased their base version of DARQ on Steam and GOG. 

In addition, Unfold Games has just announced a series of comic books based on DARQ. The series will be called DARQ: Dream Journal. It will reveal numerous secrets hidden in the game and expand upon the story of Lloyd and the DARQ Universe.. The story is written by Wlad Marhulets, the game director of DARQ, while the art is being created by Kelsey Haley, known for her work for Dreamworks, Disney, Universal, and South Park Studios. Both digital and physical releases are expected in 2021. 

Key Features:

• Psychological horror  about lucid dreaming.
• Unique artstyle
• Shining-like pacing, relying on a slow build and creepy atmosphere rather than gore and violence. 
• Music written by 5-time ASCAP Award winning composer  Wlad Marhulets.
• Puzzles that involve bending the laws of physics (walking on walls and ceilings, levitating), manipulating the dream world (moving things, rotating rooms), collecting and using found objects, and avoiding enemies. 
• 10 hidden secrets to find (optional -for hardcore players only)
• Lots of interactive objects and characters that will unfold the story and help Lloyd find answers about the meaning of his journey.

Music and sound play a very important role in the game. DARQ is a project started by 5-time ASCAP Award winning composer Wlad Marhulets, and since the very beginning the game was designed around music. The score is being written by the game director himself and will be recorded with Budapest Symphony Orchestra. Wlad's music will be mixed by Adam Schmidt, a renowned sound engineer known for his work on Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Pirates of the Caribbean, and others. Sound design is being done by Bjørn Jacobsen, known for his work on such games as Cyberpunk 2077, Hitman, and EVE: Valkyrie.

Currently available for PC (Steam), DARQ is coming to PS4 and Xbox One in Dec. 2020, while Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S users will have to wait until 2021.