Dust: An Elysian Tail Review
A Journalistic Review by DefiantParrot
1/05/2017
*Spoilers
May Be Ahead*
Developer: Humble Hearts
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Platform: Xbox Live Arcade
Genre: Side-Scrolling Beat ‘em Up, Metroidvania
Release: August 15, 2012
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| (1) This game certainly has style |
One
day a man named Dean Dodrill began working on his own game. A game that he
would make almost entirely by himself, Mr. Dodrill a self-taught illustrator
and animator believed his project would take around three months to complete.
After three and a half years and winning the 2009 Microsoft Dream.Build.Play
challenge Mr. Dodrill was awarded a contract to release his game via the Xbox
Live Arcade. So in August of 2012 the world received Dust: An Elysian Tail, one
man’s pet project for almost four years.
First off trying to review a game made by one man, kind
of makes me a dick let’s just say that right away. And before I really jump
into this review I must say I admire Mr. Dodrill for what must have been hard
work to release the game he always wanted to make and I say to him sir
“congratulations”
Above all kids NEVER give up on your dreams.
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| (2) The combat is hectic and engaging |
Alright let’s begin, Dust is a Side-Scrolling beat’em up
Metroidvania style game with some RPG elements.
The game begins with some narration, and then our titular
character Dust, waking up alone and with amnesia… real original. But then a
flying talking sword called the Blade of Ahrah, informs Dust that he is its
master. And then a yellow nimbat who guards the sword tells Dust she’s going to
follow him until she gets the sword back.
So to recap, Dust has awoken with amnesia, a sword is
talking to him, and what appears to be the love child of a Leopard and Zubat is
going to stalk him throughout this adventure. Well look we’ve all had one of
those nights.
So that’s pretty much the story, Dust seeks to regain his
memories while trying to fulfill the predictions of Ahrah and defeat a certain
evil terrorizing the land. So again… real original.
The story is passable at best, predictable at worst. But
I can live with a lackluster story, if the gameplay makes up for it, and that
is where Dust really shines.
As I said, Dust is a beat’em up and one of the more fun
beat’em ups I have ever played. Dust’s two main weapons are the Blade of Ahrah,
with which he can typically hack and slash his enemies with and the other is
that flying Leopard-Bat from earlier turns out her name is Fidget and she is
capable of releasing an attack that is… well pitiful. But when combined with
the Dust Storm attack that is learned early on it can hit every enemy on
screen. Which will be your go to attack, the Dust Storm cannot be performed
indefinitely however else Dust will smack himself in the face. Effectively
giving you a cooldown for the ability, forcing you to think and strategize
where to use it in tandem with Fidget’s projectiles.
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| Fidget can later gain more projectile attacks |
That being said I like the save system in Dust. You can
only save at these blue stone shrines encountered on your adventure and you can
manually save here, as well as teleport to other locations. But even if you
don’t stop the minute you pass over the shrine the game immediately auto saves
for you, and these shrines are frequent enough that deaths aren’t too
frustrating. However the teleportation system really does bother me. The only
way to teleport to other shrines, is to have a teleportation stone. This means
either finding one out in the wild, or purchasing one. Without these stones if
you need to get back to town to buy some healing items, sell some junk or
anything else well you’re boned.
Just got through an extremely tough part with exploding
bubble looking things or maybe those damned icicle hazards? Well too bad, do it
again, with respawned enemies.
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| (4) Fidget asks the important questions |
The game was obviously inspired by other Metroidvania
titles. With exploration being a big part of this game. There is also some
backtracking to other areas after gaining new abilities. Be it Double Jumping
to a higher area to retrieve a shiny key, sliding down a narrow opening to open
a treasure chest, or even Climbing up vines to rescue another indie game
character from a cage.
There are many reasons to explore in Dust, not the least
of which is to complete various side quests, as I said Dust has some RPG
elements in here. So from talking with townsfolk to get and complete various
quests, to buying and selling dropped items to a merchant clearly inspired by
RE4 there’s plenty of that in here. Not the least of which is Dust leveling up,
which you’ll always know when he does since Dust feels the need to explode in
white light after he does. Every time. No Matter what.
That being said the game is gorgeous to behold the art
style on the characters and the world is a complete joy to the eyes. The colors
and style are absolutely beautiful. The character designs aren’t terrible
either, Dust’s outfit isn’t my favorite in the world but every character is
unique you’ll never get one mixed up for another. In case you haven’t noticed
all of the characters in this game are anthropomorphic animals which apparently
led to this game being called “a game for furries” which I believe is really unnecessary.
For those people who have seen things that cannot be unseen on the internet I
sort of understand. However I pose a question what is the difference between
this and say the Sly Cooper games? I’ve never heard the furry distinction being
used there. For those who legitimately don’t like the anthropomorphic animals
thing I can genuinely understand that. I still say the game should be played
for the gameplay however.
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| (5) I cannot state enough how beautiful this game is |
While the game looks amazing the sound is 50/50 the voice
acting and dialogue is superb to me. Conversations actually feel like
conversations between real people to me here. The dialogue between Dust, Fidget
and Ahrah are the bright spots for me here. Especially Fidget, I know some
people don’t like her and are comparing her to Navi from Ocarina of Time. But I
loved her, she genuinely made me laugh and her fourth-wall breaking dialogue
never got old to me. There are some characters who to me sound bored half the
time with their dialogue, but the other characters made sure that was never
brought down too much for me.
The music on the other hand is another story. While it’s
true I don’t have much of an ear for music I can usually recall at least one
tune from a game I remember. The relaxing Aquatic Ambience from Donkey Kong
Country, the somber and uncomfortable Haven City theme from Jak II. But there’s
nothing from Dust that sticks in my head. Nothing stands out as bad either, but
I don’t find myself humming anything from this game as I write this review.
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| (6) The boss fights are challenging and awesome |
While a single player experience, there are hidden
challenge courses that can be found out in the world. Your friends’ scores will
of course be recorded here and you can compete to get a higher score. While not
something I went out of my way to do very often, it can be a fun distraction
and competition to outdo your friends in these hidden courses.
There is also a crafting system in this game, upon
defeating enemies, opening chests etc. Dust can recover blueprints, with the
aid of the blacksmith Dust can create upgrades for himself. Some of these can
get absolutely disgusting in their boosts to Dust’s abilities. However in my
playthrough which was by no means a 100% run, I didn’t find anything THAT
overpowered but believe me folks they are out there.
And my final complaint is with how hectic the combat on
screen can become, there is the chance that Dust’s lifebar can become sort of
obscured in the frenzy. A death snuck up on me in combat a couple times and
once with a boss because of everything going on. Just make sure you watch that
thing closely as you play, because it’s easy to become overwhelmed.
Above all Dust is a really good game. Of all the games
I’ve reviewed thus far it may in fact be my favorite. The combat, characters,
and art style are really well done and are assets I fell in love with. The
story is predictable, especially the fate of Dust himself and the
anthropomorphic animals thing may throw people off but I believe Dust is a game
everyone should try, especially if you are a fan of the Metroidvania style of
games.
I give Dust: An Elysian Tail My Silver Seal of
Recommendation
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| Congratulations Mr. Dodrill |
If those tiny flaws could have been ironed out this would
be a game of legendary status I’m sure. And while not receiving my Gold seal
Dust is still an amazing accomplishment from one hard working man. It was
rereleased on the PS4 so if you haven’t tried this yet and are interested you
sony owners now have the opportunity. Above all thank you, Dean Dodrill, and I
hope that a sequel is in our future.
2. https://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/dust-an-elysian-tail-review/1900-517/ (2017)
3. http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2012/08/15/review-dust-an-elysian-tail/11256/ (2017)
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNYjSg62ITE
5. http://www.techulator.com/resources/7635-Dust-An-Elysian-Tail-game-review-walkthrough-how-play-tips.aspx
6. http://www.gameinformer.com/games/dust_an_elysian_tail/b/xbox360/archive/2012/08/14/dust-an-elysian-tail-review.aspx (2017)
7. http://www.qualitycoast.info/?page_id=902 (2015)
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