It was in the middle of 2019 when Wlad Marhulets released his solo developed, sensational puzzle game Darq on Steam under his developer studio Unfold Games. At the initial release, many players weren’t really sure just how big of an impact the game was going to have on the various communities that it has come to be relished within. As one of the initial reviewers of the game, I was lucky enough to see that this game and developer had some true potential to grow a whole brand off of this one title.
Soon after having a wildly successful launch, Marhulets ended up announcing that he will be launching two free DLC chapters for the game as a thank you to all his players. The first chapter released was known as The Tower and the second chapter, called The Crypt, is set to release before the end of 2020. This second chapters release date was announced shortly after Unfold Games officially partnered with publisher Feardemic who is helping him bring his game to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, with the added promise that those who get the game on either PS4 or XB1 can upgrade the game to the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series for free. This partnership brings a humbly launched title in 2019 to an all-platforms covered hit puzzle game that players everywhere will have a chance to indulge in.
So who exactly is Wlad Marhulets?
Marhulets originally left his country and moved to the United States with only $300 in his pocket and an ambition to attend the most renowned music school in the world; The Julliard School. This turned out to be a successful venture as he soon after graduated and started working as an award-winning composer for multiple Hollywood movies. The full list of credits can be found here, but to name a few noticeable titles he composed for, we have Sabotage (2013), Hitman: Agent 47 (2015), and Marshall from Detroit (2019). However, despite being a successful composer in the big leagues, Marchulets wanted to do more and so he self-taught his way into creating his first and immediately successful game Darq. It was this background and instant success as a developer that led him to write the GameDev book which was aimed to help other indie developers reach success with their titles as well and has been well-reviewed by many outlets.
What does the future of Darq look like now that it has reached such success?
As of right now, the plan from the partnership Unfold Games has with Feardemic will be making Darq available on all platforms, in both digital and physical formats, by mid-2021. By the time the game reaches all platforms, the second and final free DLC will also be available giving every player who has a copy of the game access to the full game plus two extra chapters.
While the publisher is working on bringing the game to the various gaming platforms, Marhulets is working on expanding the Darq series with the introduction of a Comic Book series known as 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 Marhulets, 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.
Wlad Marhulets is definitely an inspirational individual that has let his ambition guide him to some amazing feats in life! While I am curious about what the future of his game series will continue to bring us, I am sure that Darq is only the beginning of this man’s game developing career.
