A few days ago when I was talking about this game to a friend I came to the realisation that I never actually finished it. I was looking through the achievements and noticed I haven't actually completed EP2 or EP3. I was really surprised, because I remembered this game being super fun and enjoyable, so I said, hey, why not actually FINISH it??

I started over from a fresh save and enjoyed my playthrough of EP1, but only a few levels into EP2 and oh boy, I started remembering.
Gigantic maps, either VERY open or completely closed off with tight corridors, random switches that open *some door* which requires me to walk around the map for 5 minutes without fighting any enemies to actually find it every time, confusing layouts that feel as if you've traversed the entire map already when in reality you just missed some door in a hallway that looked identical to one you were in half a minute ago and so on. The game giving you 3000000 ammo for the rocket launcher and grenade launcher while you're dry on shotgun and machine gun ammo and the map is mostly small corridors that don't leave a lot of room for actually shooting the explosives without inflicting splash damage to yourself. Boring environments, the maps all feel the same and give me the urge to just rush them as soon as possible so I can actually see something fresh and interesting.

Is EP3 any better in this regard?

Yes, EP3 it's the highligth of DUSK in my opinion, more memorable and better level desing.

My personal favourite was EP2, especially E2M4 Though my favourite level overall is probably E3M4 - don't google that and spoil the surprise!. But people generally seem to like EP3 the most (while EP1 tends to be least favourite), because each level has it's own unique gimmick.
Especially starting with EP2, levels feel anything but samey imo. Most levels will have both tight areas to box you in and more open areas to b-hop around and go full guns blazing. It's a matter of finding the right weapon for the right situation.
Never had problems with ammo (are you playing on intruder mode?) or explosives. You can pick up explosives, if they're such a nuisance. In fact it's great fun throwing stuff at enemies especially the great and mighty soap. Maybe the game's just not your cup of tea.

Originally posted by JellyPuff:

My personal favourite was EP2, especially E2M4 Though my favourite level overall is probably E3M4 - don't google that and spoil the surprise!. But people generally seem to like EP3 the most (while EP1 tends to be least favourite), because each level has it's own unique gimmick.
Especially starting with EP2, levels feel anything but samey imo. Most levels will have both tight areas to box you in and more open areas to b-hop around and go full guns blazing. It's a matter of finding the right weapon for the right situation.
Never had problems with ammo (are you playing on intruder mode?) or explosives. You can pick up explosives, if they're such a nuisance. In fact it's great fun throwing stuff at enemies especially the great and mighty soap. Maybe the game's just not your cup of tea.

Yeaaah, i dunno. I managed to glitch myself through the last 2 levels of EP2 by basically jumping into the ceiling of the final room of "The Dig" at a ledge outside of that factrory with the explosive stripper and then managed to zoom through the final mission by just ignoring the boss and activating the switches

EP3 started out great but i got bored of it within like 30 minutes :(
I just feel that EP1 was far more straight forward and fun to play, but oh well.

all three episodes are great, but there is a clear quality progression: ep3 > ep2 > ep1.

Originally posted by Wig Bang:

all three episodes are great, but there is a clear quality progression: ep3 > ep2 > ep1.

EP2 introduces multiple annoying things to the game while also having boring, mostly monotone and uninteresting levels. Why would you put it above episode 1? And why would you both EP3 above both?

Are you really complaining about Dusk right now? Swear to god people just go out of their way to find things to be upset about sometimes..

Originally posted by Elden Smough:

Are you really complaining about Dusk right now? Swear to god people just go out of their way to find things to be upset about sometimes..

having a negative view of parts of a game is "go out of their way to find things to be upset"? Why are you shocked that someone is complaining about a game........... on the games discussion forum?

Originally posted by bogo:

Originally posted by Elden Smough:

Are you really complaining about Dusk right now? Swear to god people just go out of their way to find things to be upset about sometimes..

having a negative view of parts of a game is "go out of their way to find things to be upset"? Why are you shocked that someone is complaining about a game........... on the games discussion forum?

you complaining about a huge portion of the game, i dont know why you didnt just stop playing it or something. Like what that other guy said, maybe this games just not your cup of tea if you think episode three is boring.

Originally posted by Elden Smough:

Originally posted by bogo:

having a negative view of parts of a game is "go out of their way to find things to be upset"? Why are you shocked that someone is complaining about a game........... on the games discussion forum?

you complaining about a huge portion of the game, i dont know why you didnt just stop playing it or something. Like what that other guy said, maybe this games just not your cup of tea if you think episode three is boring.

I did stop playing it, I don't understand what you are complaining about

Originally posted by bogo:

Originally posted by Elden Smough:

you complaining about a huge portion of the game, i dont know why you didnt just stop playing it or something. Like what that other guy said, maybe this games just not your cup of tea if you think episode three is boring.

I did stop playing it, I don't understand what you are complaining about

I agree with you that Elden Smough's critique of your critique is illogical and counterproductive. And childish and stupid.

But I also disagree with your assessment of ep2 and 3. As subjective as something like this is, I regard your opinion as dead wrong.

Originally posted by Wig Bang:

Originally posted by bogo:

I did stop playing it, I don't understand what you are complaining about

But I also disagree with your assessment of ep2 and 3. As subjective as something like this is, I regard your opinion as dead wrong.

And you're very right to do so, as I've rushed the last half of EP2 and (semi-rage)quit playing at the third or so mission of EP3. My post was more of a "I am currently being overloaded by mechanics/(level-)design/ choices that I do not like and I don't understand why they were introduced because I was enjoying the game more when they weren't there" rant than an actual analysis of the individual episodes.

I might be just burned out from this game (or arena/movement shooters in general, at the moment), so I'll try returning to it in a few months, maybe even later, and give it another shot, without rushing, and with actually finishing through the final episode.
If I do that and see that my opinion has completely changed I'll be sure to update this post.

Originally posted by bogo:

so I'll try returning to it in a few months, maybe even later, and give it another shot, without rushing, and with actually finishing through the final episode.

God speed. I beat it episode by episode back as they were released but returned to it over the course of the past few days to replay from start to finish.

For me, at least, it lived up to my memory of how fun it was. But it seemed a ton easier this time through and I played on the second to highest difficulty. (back when I originally played it, I had it on the 3rd highest)

I'll be curious to see how your opinion of it is affected if/when you revisit it later.

Have a good one.

You are kinda right on the secrets and doors part. I usually just look up something when I can't find it, because I really don't want to spend five minutes searching for the way to next level/part of the map. However, I've seen very few people complain about this, so I just assumed the problem is in me and not the game. But that is the only thing I don't like abou the game, and I loved every other aspect of it. I guess it depends on your personal preferences of level design and gameplay.