Duskers

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Send your drones into dead ships, and trust a motion sensor that cannot tell you what is out there.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
Stores: Steam, GOG
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (90% of about 2,800 reviews)
Players: 1
Made by: Misfits Attic
Released: 2016

Get it on Steam GOG Humble Store (Steam key)Official site

What frightens Alone in deep space, you steer drones through dark derelict ships by typing commands, seeing only failing camera feeds and a motion sensor that says something is there but not what, while rare weapons, dwindling fuel and permanent death leave you to outwit the creatures aboard.

Duskers is a roguelike horror game by Misfits Attic in which you pilot drones into derelict spaceships, typing commands at a console to scavenge fuel and parts. Creatures lurk aboard, weapons are rare, your equipment keeps failing, and if every drone is lost you start over.

About Duskers

Duskers is a roguelike by Misfits Attic, the small studio behind A Virus Named TOM, released in May 2016 for Windows, Mac and Linux after a period in Early Access. The maker sums it up as The Road meets the first Alien film: a roguelike with dungeon crawling and real-time strategy, set in survival horror.

You are a drone operator in a universe that has somehow become a giant graveyard. Your only eyes and ears are old, gritty technology: you hear through a remote microphone, see what each drone sees, and issue orders by typing into a command line. Motion sensors tell you something is out there, but not what. You travel from derelict to derelict, salvaging scrap, fuel, new drones and upgrades, and read the ship logs that survive to piece together what happened.

The dread comes from how little you can see and how much can go wrong. Dangerous creatures lurk on the ships and weapons are rare, so you might have to explore a military outpost with only a motion sensor and a lure. Sensors break, lures run out and camera feeds fail, and the store warns that a favourite strategy cannot be relied on for long. The universe is procedurally generated, and when you die you lose everything.

The maker says the game began with a feeling of being alone in the dark, surrounded by tech that only shows part of the picture. It suits players who like tense, thoughtful sci-fi horror and do not mind learning to type their way out of trouble.

How to play Duskers

Buy it on Steam, GOG or the Humble Store for Windows, Mac or Linux.
Pick a derelict ship to board and deploy your drones through the airlock.
Type commands at the console, such as navigating a drone to a room or opening a door.
Watch the motion sensor and use lures, doors and turrets to keep creatures away from your drones.
Salvage scrap, fuel and upgrades, tow back lost drones, then jump to the next ship.

Screenshots

Two glowing drone markers in a dark ship room beside a console reporting the derelict's status and infestation

A green wireframe map of a derelict ship's rooms and doors, with hazard markers, four drone panels and a command console

The command console showing typed orders to scan a room and navigate drone 1, over a map of rooms and doors

Tips

Scan and probe rooms before you send a drone in; you cannot fight much of what you find.
Doors are your best defence: close them to trap or block what moves.
Keep an eye on fuel and drone wear, since running out ends a run as surely as a creature.
Read the ship logs; they are how the story of the empty universe is told.

Questions

Is Duskers a horror game?

Its maker describes it as a roguelike in a survival horror setting, about being alone in the dark with tech that only shows part of what is around you.

Is Duskers on consoles?

No console or phone version was found; it is on Windows, Mac and Linux through Steam, GOG and the Humble Store.

Do you have to type in Duskers?

Commands go through a command line interface, such as telling a drone to navigate to a room; drones can also be steered directly.

What happens when you die in Duskers?

When all your drones are lost you lose everything and start a new run in a newly generated universe.