There are a few games I’ve played that have surpassed my expectations. This could be because of the game having a well-written story, gameplay that was more enjoyable than it looked, or even the genre branching out to include elements from other genres that compliment the game. Dust: An Elysian Tail was one such game that not only blew away but surpassed any expectation I had ten times over. Show  The story opens up in a dark forest where the main character, Dust, wakes up to the calls of a wise sword known as the Blade of Ahrah. Chasing after the blade is the second main character, Fidget. As Ahrah and Fidget speak, it becomes apparent to Dust that he has no idea who he is nor how he ended up in the forest. He decides to follow Ahrah’s guidance to see if he can unlock the mystery of himself, with Fidget tagging along. The trio set out on a quest to find Dust’s true identity; however, there are many forces at play that make our hero’s journey a long and dangerous one. The world is divided into separate areas that the player unlocks either through story progression or by taking on side quests. In the metroidvania style, there are various platforming elements to navigate and hordes of enemies to be vanquished in each of the different areas. These areas also have hidden treasure chests and cages in them that contain loot such as gold, healing items, monsters, and even some familiar characters. There are various abilities and key items that are obtained as you progress through the story. The majority of these abilities and items are meant to assist you with progressing to previously inaccessible areas, while a few others assist with combat. I personally appreciate this aspect of the game as it keeps the combat basic enough for the player to practice a style that best suits them without having to manage multiple weapon types and fighting styles to deal with certain enemies. The overall combat is simple, yet it is complex enough to allow the player to chain various moves together to form a combo. I must praise the development team for the splendid voice acting and beautiful soundtrack. The voice work is spot on with each and every single line being read in a tone and sound that perfectly matches the character it is coming from. You can also tell that the actors were very passionate about the roles they were playing as you can feel the characters’ emotions and state of mind just from the style and tone of their voice. The music is breathtaking and allows each of the different landscapes you explore to come to life. It captures the emotions of each situation and environment and amplifies them, which makes each of the battles feel more intense and the environments more mysterious and fully realized. The art style is one that possesses quite a bit of cartoon charm while still maintaining a sense of realism. It makes each of the different areas pop out. Each character has a unique design that fits the world’s fantasy setting while also keeping each one distinctly original and not just a redesign of a previous character. While exploring the game’s wonderful world, I honestly couldn’t find anything I personally disliked or any major issues. The only problem that would occur is an occasional moment of choppy sound effects in which the sounds of swinging your blade or striking a monster would become delayed and not match the action on screen. However, this issue never affected the music of the area, only the sound effects. Regardless, the issue would only last for about 10 seconds before ultimately correcting itself and playing the sounds normally. If you’re a fan of metroidvania-style games, games with a good story, or even just something to pass the time, I would absolutely recommend adding this game to your Switch library immediately. It’s perfect for beginners and experienced players alike and will leave you with hours of challenge and entertainment. There are some games you end up missing out when they first come out, only for you to play them years later and question yourself on how you were able to miss them at launch. That’s the case with Dust: An Elysian Tail. Originally released for the Xbox 360 in 2012, I had never even heard of it prior to its re-release on the Nintendo Switch, even though literally everybody else from WTMG’s staff was praising it as some sort of cult classic. Yep, they’re right. I have no idea why I missed Dust six years ago, but I’m glad I’m finally playing it on a portable device as this is an absolute must-have for Switch owners. I used to fear these giants in the beginning of the game. Now I laugh at how weak they are. Dust: An Elysian Tail is a mix between an action RPG and a metroidvania. You collect new abilities and keys in order to get past obstacles, but there’s also a big emphasis on leveling up, upgrading your stats, equipping items, critical hits, and so on. Right from the get-go, what impressed me the most in this game was how great it looked. It feels like I’m playing a cartoon and a very well-animated cartoon at that. The characters were well-designed, the hand-drawn environments looked stupendous, the lighting and particle effects looked pretty good onscreen (even if they would occasional cause some framerate dips), and the animations were fantastic. There is a big Asian influence in this game, be it in the environments such as the many temples found everywhere, the fact that most healing items are based off Korean food, and the overall character designs (kimonos, conical hats, etc). This is a gorgeous game, without a doubt. Fidget is now one of my favorite videogame sidekicks ever created. Dust might be a great looking game, but looks alone aren’t the only reason this is a must-have for your Switch. It plays as good as it looks. The controls are simple and responsive, but the combat mechanics are what make Dust a joy to play. It’s a simple, borderline hack and slash combat system with an emphasis on combos and mixing melee attacks with projectiles. You have a normal attack, a sword spinning technique, a parry mechanic, as well as the ability to dodge roll. Your companion Fidget can provide assistance by throwing some initially weak magical projectiles, but if you combine them with your sword spinning, you can create huge bursts of energy that can easily crank your combo meter up to 500. With the exception of some really annoying platforming sections in later stages, Dust‘s gameplay is great overall. Not only are the boss battles incredibly fun, but they also know how to hit you right in the feels. Fidget is one of the best aspects about Dust: An Elysian Tail and it’s not just because she’s really helpful in combat. She’s also really sympathetic, not to mention adorable. Her voice acting, as well as pretty much everyone else’s in this game, is fantastic. It’s not often that you see indie games like this one with such amazing voice performances. Your main character, Dust, is an amnesiac warrior with a heart of gold and that can be see in his actor’s deliveries. The only character whose voice performance wasn’t as good as the rest was the talking sword you carry around throughout the entire game, not because it was downright bad, but because the actor was forced to deliver a somewhat deadpan and emotionless performance to coincide with the sword’s “rational” manners. The game’s plot is pretty good as well. I don’t want to spoil anything, as the fact I knew absolutely nothing about Dust‘s plot made me enjoy every single plot twist even more. This is a game that knows how to make you smile when it needs to, as well as make you feel absolutely miserable with some really sad twists you will never see coming. Thanks to an assortment of likable characters, witty writing, clever twists, and fantastic voice acting, Dust‘s story is one you’ll quickly dive into and get invested in. I can’t express how satisfying it is to blast a ton of enemies at once with this thunderbolt attack. Dust: An Elysian Tail is a fantastic 2D game and a mandatory title for your Switch library. The story is great, the characters are memorable, the difficulty level is on point, the visuals are superb, the gameplay is solid and the voice acting is outstanding. The fact this has all been done by one single developer makes me respect this game even more. Dust is without a doubt, a fantastic passion project. How the heck did I miss this one back in 2012?? Graphics: 9.5 Fantastic visuals. It feels like you’re playing a cartoon. It is superbly animated and it features vibrant colors and lighting effects. Gameplay: 9.0 With the exception of a few annoying platforming sections, the gameplay is great. It features responsive controls and an excellent combat system. Sound: 9.0 While the soundtrack is very good in its own right, the voice acting is what steals the show. It’s absolutely fantastic. Fun Factor: 9.0 Dust features metroidvania and action RPG elements, a great combat system and a fantastic story. It’s an excellent little game, even if some later platforming sections are a tad annoying, as previously mentioned. Final Verdict: 9.0 Dust: An Elysian Tail is available now on PS4, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo Switch. Reviewed on Switch. A copy of Dust: An Elysian Tail was provided by the publisher. tagged with 2D Platformer, Action, Action RPG, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Humble Hearts, indie, metroidvania, PC, PS4, RPG, Side-scroller, Steam, Switch, Xbox 360 How many hours is Dust: An Elysian Tail?It'll take most players 12-15 hours to roll the credits while doing a minimum of exploration and backtracking, while completionists who want to 100% every area can easily push past the 20-hour mark, lending Dust: An Elysian Tail immense value for its $15 price tag. How hard is Dust: An Elysian Tail?It has a lot of difficulty settings and on Hardcore you're pretty much a two-hit for some enemies. You have to be quick and skilled to survive on Hardcore. Nothing against TotalBiscuit, but he is talking out of his ass a lot of the time and he's the first to admit that. thanks i think i'm giving this game a try! Is Dust: An Elysian Tail open world?Battle dozens of enemies at once with an easy-to-learn, difficult-to-master combat system, take on a variety of quests from friendly villagers, discover ancient secrets and powerful upgrades hidden throughout the massive, open world, and uncover the story of an ancient civilization on the brink of extinction as you ... How long did Dust: An Elysian Tail take to make?He assumed it would take three months to complete the game; it actually took over three-and-a-half years. He originally envisioned the game as an 8-bit-style platformer, similar to earlier entries in the Castlevania series. |
