Dust is a game I have a bit of history with. As a teenager in 2013, I was exposed to the game, if I'm not mistaken, by a few friends of mine. Always down to try the things my friends were into, I picked it up on the 360, played a chunk of the game, and really enjoyed it... before putting it down for literally the next near decade, with my last achivement being dated August 12, 2013.
Picking the game up again in the need of something relatively short to get off my backlog in the midst of unemployeement, and since it's on my list of "I'll Finish You One Day" games, sharing spots with Ocarina Of Time 3D, Cave Story, and many another title that I've picked up and put down in the spur of the moment, I figured now was the perfect time to finally commit to it. And I gotta say, it's pretty good.
Plotwise, you're not getting too much; Dust, an amnesiac hero, awakens to the goal of finding his memory, aided by talking sword Ahrah, and Fidget, his kind of annoying companion. While the story's not too deep, and gets kind of predictable at points, there's enough there to be enjoyed, and I can't say I didn't like a lot of character interactions from both Dust and Fidget, as well as various NPCs throughout the world. The climax of the game was genuinely excellent, too; definitely worth sticking around just for that.
In terms of gameplay, Dust is a Metroidvania with a focus on combat, and what's there is pretty alright. The combat's simple enough, with Dust's midair spiral dash and how it and his standard heavy attack sync with Fidget's projectile elementals to make a hellscape of attacks to blitz enemies with serving as the highlight of any encounter. You also literally have Ninja Gaiden's Izuna Drop, so that's not something you can say about every game.
It's hard to say the combat doesn't wear its welcome out a little bit, but Fidget gets a few extra tools to mix things up, and with the right setup (by which I mean the electricity), can be absolutely game-breaking. It almost shatters the entire game's challenge in half at points, with the only things stopping you being enemies that almost require parrying, an almost unwieldy technique due to its "hold X after attacking" activation, and losing track of your rather small HP gauge amidst the chaos on screen. That said, the harsh musical chords that punctuate the start and end of your combos are an absolute delight to the ears, from the 1st time you do it, all the way to the end of the game. Game's soundtrack is pretty great stuff overall, some brilliant tracks littered in there.
The game's fairly linear to the point I'd say it'd make a good entry point for anyone intimidated by the genre, so that's something worth taking into consideration for any newcomers. Only a single, 4-part fetch quest in the tail end of the game really felt like it was overstaying its welcome, and it at least lead to a decent enough boss fight, so that's more a net positive.
The game's artstyle will probably be a make or break; while the handdrawn style, which was all done by one man who taught himself how to program for the sole focus of bringing his art to life through the gaming medium, can be an absolute sight to behold with backgrounds with vibrancy and beauty as far as the eye can see, the character designs are a case of you either loving or hating them; evident by the amount of reviews here that hold them as a sticking point against the game. I'm kind of in the middle, finding Dust's design to be pretty sick aside from the moments he removes his hat.
Overall though, I can safely say that I was glad to finally have given Dust its long overdue dues. Another box checked from the long-stockpiled 2010s backlog of doom, and one I'm happy to have done at that.
Picking the game up again in the need of something relatively short to get off my backlog in the midst of unemployeement, and since it's on my list of "I'll Finish You One Day" games, sharing spots with Ocarina Of Time 3D, Cave Story, and many another title that I've picked up and put down in the spur of the moment, I figured now was the perfect time to finally commit to it. And I gotta say, it's pretty good.
Plotwise, you're not getting too much; Dust, an amnesiac hero, awakens to the goal of finding his memory, aided by talking sword Ahrah, and Fidget, his kind of annoying companion. While the story's not too deep, and gets kind of predictable at points, there's enough there to be enjoyed, and I can't say I didn't like a lot of character interactions from both Dust and Fidget, as well as various NPCs throughout the world. The climax of the game was genuinely excellent, too; definitely worth sticking around just for that.
In terms of gameplay, Dust is a Metroidvania with a focus on combat, and what's there is pretty alright. The combat's simple enough, with Dust's midair spiral dash and how it and his standard heavy attack sync with Fidget's projectile elementals to make a hellscape of attacks to blitz enemies with serving as the highlight of any encounter. You also literally have Ninja Gaiden's Izuna Drop, so that's not something you can say about every game.
It's hard to say the combat doesn't wear its welcome out a little bit, but Fidget gets a few extra tools to mix things up, and with the right setup (by which I mean the electricity), can be absolutely game-breaking. It almost shatters the entire game's challenge in half at points, with the only things stopping you being enemies that almost require parrying, an almost unwieldy technique due to its "hold X after attacking" activation, and losing track of your rather small HP gauge amidst the chaos on screen. That said, the harsh musical chords that punctuate the start and end of your combos are an absolute delight to the ears, from the 1st time you do it, all the way to the end of the game. Game's soundtrack is pretty great stuff overall, some brilliant tracks littered in there.
The game's fairly linear to the point I'd say it'd make a good entry point for anyone intimidated by the genre, so that's something worth taking into consideration for any newcomers. Only a single, 4-part fetch quest in the tail end of the game really felt like it was overstaying its welcome, and it at least lead to a decent enough boss fight, so that's more a net positive.
The game's artstyle will probably be a make or break; while the handdrawn style, which was all done by one man who taught himself how to program for the sole focus of bringing his art to life through the gaming medium, can be an absolute sight to behold with backgrounds with vibrancy and beauty as far as the eye can see, the character designs are a case of you either loving or hating them; evident by the amount of reviews here that hold them as a sticking point against the game. I'm kind of in the middle, finding Dust's design to be pretty sick aside from the moments he removes his hat.
Overall though, I can safely say that I was glad to finally have given Dust its long overdue dues. Another box checked from the long-stockpiled 2010s backlog of doom, and one I'm happy to have done at that.