The animation on display here is flawless, with no single entity in the game’s world sporting animations that look awkward or disjointed. Don’t be surprised if a friend walks in while you’re playing and thinks you’re watching an animated Disney film. Looking at screenshots does not do the game’s fluid animation and vibrant colors any justice.
The element of Dust that undoubtedly stands out the most is its breathtakingly lush visuals. Considering the XBLA price tag, you’ll certainly be getting your money’s worth. There are a ton of sidequests, secret locations, and extra areas in the game, meaning that you could squeeze a lot of mileage out of it. Simply completing the main quest will take you around 10 hours and will only leave you with a little over 50% in terms of completion status.
It must also be said that there’s a lot to do in Dust. These RPG elements don’t drastically change the Metroidvania formula the game is based on, but they do help to add some customization and freedom to what would otherwise be a rigid experience. Finally, you’ll need to keep an eye out on Dust’s health, occasionally making him scarf down a health item. Armor and other items can be found within the environment, as can materials, which can be taken to a blacksmith to forge special gear and equipment. Defeating enemies will give Dust experience, which allows him to level up and boost certain stats. Also, let it be said the Necromancer enemy, who spawns zombies and can only be harmed by magic, is a colossal pain in the… tail.ĭust incorporates light RPG elements into its design. The save points can also be widely spaced out towards the end of the game, forcing you to replay significant content if you die. Also, if there are enemies near a room’s exit, the path will be sealed off until they are defeated, which certainly gets aggravating at points. It seems that in every room you enter, there will be a few dozen enemies that need dispatching, and although the combat is fast and satisfying, it does begin to get stale after a while. The only real problem with the combat is that there’s just a bit too much of it. Taking cues from Devil May Cry‘s combat, Dust can perform several physics-defying maneuvers that allow him to dodge effectively, perform deadly sword combos, and hurl himself and/or his enemies into the air. Exploration and puzzles aren’t as plentiful as the combat, however, which takes center stage with its flashy move-set and numerous combatants. A few puzzles will also be encountered throughout the game, which require you to experiment with Dust’s abilities in smart ways. Taking the form of a 2D sidecsroller, the game’s world is nonlinear and houses many hidden secrets, some of which you’ll need to return to once you’ve gained a specific power later on. The gameplay of Dust will be very familiar to anyone who has ever uttered the word Metroidvania. At the end of the day, Dust‘s tale is still interesting enough to get you through the game, though it won’t win any awards for delivery. The dialogue is at least fully voiced by competent actors, and it can be skipped for those with thin patience. Worse still is that these conversations pause the game and exist within their own ‘narrative world’ like many other RPGs, causing a disconnect from the gameplay and occasionally harming the game’s pace.
The game is overly wordy, putting the player in frequent and drawn-out conversations that often take time explaining the most obvious of things. It’s a shame, then, that the storytelling itself is more heavy-handed than a prizefighter.
Although it doesn’t often break conventions, Dust’s plot is ultimately satisfying and well-rounded. Soon, a villain is established, questions begin to get raised, and character arcs begin to develop quite nicely. To be honest, the first hour or two of Dust’s story is fairly slow and uninteresting, though it does manage to pick up eventually. If that sounds like fantasy 101 to you, it’s because it is. Before long, he finds an ancient sword imbued with great power, gains the aid of a small, flying, squeaky-voiced creature named Fidget, and is tasked with saving the citizens of the land from a mysterious evil that may be related to his own dark past. It tells the story of a mysterious warrior named Dust, who wakes up one day with amnesia. Dust is set in a fantasy world populated exclusively by anthropomorphic animals.
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