KONAMI’s PRESS START showcase featured a range of updates and reveals, including new modes for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and story insights from the Silent Hill f developer diary. But one of the most unexpected highlights came from a new Paris-based team. Darwin’s Paradox! is an upcoming action-platformer starring Darwin, an octopus who suddenly finds himself torn from the ocean and trapped in a strange industrial complex. The goal is simple, escape and return to the sea.
Developed by ZDT Studio, Darwin’s Paradox! was introduced by the team’s creative leads, who walked viewers through the core concept and what makes Darwin such an unusual but perfect protagonist. It’s a game that leans into octopus traits in clever ways, mixing humour, action, and platforming with a weirdly relatable mission
Darwin’s Journey and Core Gameplay
Darwin isn’t exactly your typical platforming hero. He’s an octopus with attitude, and a bunch of natural abilities that double as gameplay tools. In Darwin’s Paradox!, you’ll be using camouflage to hide, suction cups to climb, ink blasts to distract, and even your squishy body to squeeze through tight gaps. It’s weird, but it works.
The game starts with Darwin being yanked out of the ocean by a mysterious beam of light. He wakes up in some bizarre industrial complex, and all he wants is to find a way back home. That journey means surviving in a world built for anything but an octopus. Between traps, strange obstacles, and the challenge of life on land, you’ll need to use everything Darwin’s got just to make it out.
It’s a platformer that feels made for him, not one trying to make him fit.
Not Just Another Platformer
The team at ZDT Studio isn’t just leaning on octopus gimmicks, they’re going all in. During the KONAMI PRESS START stream, the developers talked about how they wanted Darwin to feel like a superhero. Not in the cape-wearing, city-saving kind of way, but in how he uses his natural traits to overcome a world that clearly isn’t made for him.
That mix of humour, creativity, and unpredictability gives the game its tone. One moment you’re scaling a wall with suction cups, the next you’re spitting ink to dodge a trap. The world around you looks cold and mechanical, but Darwin brings this strange energy to every move.
I liked how confident the devs sounded. They know this game is odd, and they’re leaning into it. That honesty makes it feel more fun already.
Darwin’s Paradox! Could Be a Sleeper Hit
Darwin’s adventure looks like a strange ride that knows exactly what it wants to be. Between the creative movement options, oddball charm, and offbeat humour, Darwin’s Paradox! stands apart from other platformers. It doesn’t try to be too serious or too safe. It just looks like fun.
There’s no release date yet, but based on what we’ve seen so far, it already has my attention. Are you curious about Darwin’s story? Or just interested in seeing what else this game throws at you? Let us know in the comments section below.
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