Dust: An Elysian Tale was one the first downloadable titles that I ever played back on Xbox 360. At the time, indie games and download only games were uncharted territory. Nowadays, you can find a slew of indie games developed by one person but back then it was unheard of.
You begin the tale of Dust as an amnesiac, anthropomorphic swordsman. He wakes up in a forest unaware of how he got there with a talking sword attached to his hip. Along with his sidekick, Fidget, Dust sets out to battle the forces of General Gaius. The narrative is told in five chapters, each with their own stories and side quests to see through. The narrative is unique and takes some fairly novel left turns.
Gameplay
Dust is a Metroidvania, much like other indie games. You traverse maps battling monsters and leveling up. Some pathways are blocked until you get the correct ability later on. Each chapter ends with a boss fight that awards you with new magic. Combat is fun with smooth animations and a bunch of combos. Fidget can also aid in combat with her own magic attacks. Dust can amplify these magic attacks by using his spin attacks. Enemy mobs can be quite difficult but leveling up can make these encounters easier. The issue with this is that boss fights can end up being too easy due to over leveling. Also, endgame equipment makes the end of the game a cakewalk.
I also found platforming at times to be difficult because of how tight jumps had to be. You do get a double jump ability that helps towards the end of the game but by then you’re off to the last level. Speaking of the last level, the final boss fight was such a pain. A few times it bugged out on me and I had to restart. My other issue with it was the fight has four phases to battle through. Each phase he has the same attack patterns with some outside forces changing.
Indie games normally have an 8-bit or 16-bit aesthetic but Dean Dodrill went for a unique hand drawn approach. The character designs remind of flash animation that I used to enjoy on the Newgrounds website. Some scenes are even fully animated so as to sell the emotion and I think they do a great job of doing so.
Verdict
Since its 2012 release on Xbox 360, Dust: An Elysian Tail has been re released on PS4. PC, Switch, and mobile. You’re truly doing yourself a disservice by not giving this wonderful game a shot. Though it may have it’s shortcomings, I can assure you that you’re in for a good time.
CodyJayBlogs 