Darwin's Paradox kicks off with our titular hero octopus and his buddy getting beamed up and chucked onto an assembly line to become a delicious new food product. If being on UFOOD's chopping block wasn't bad enough, a comical moving billboard covers up the last two letters to reveal simply 'UFO', thwarting dinner quickly becoming thwarting a secret alien invasion of Earth.
It's a great set-up that oozes the charm of a child-friendly animated movie, and just as humorously it's a bit unclear quite how much the larger threat really even matters to Darwin. A puzzle-platformer, Darwin is locked to a 2.5D plane (a bit like Limbo or Inside). While the alien plans will meet with disaster at Darwin's tentacles – machines destroyed, chemicals exploded, and much more – there's almost the sense that Darwin, smart though he may be, is just accidentally wandering through their bases haphazardly on a mission to rescue his friend, unaware of just how much damage he's about to cause. For a little octopus, he's wonderfully expressive, especially when his eyes bulge in surprise, and I love how much comes through even without dialogue.
