Dust: An Elysian Tail

Just wanted to chime in and say the game runs great on WinXP 32 bit as well. Beat it twice no problems :) I know, irrelevant nowadays and not really a review but for the remaining XP users give it a play :) .

I was expecting much and wasn't disappointed. It's definitely a really well made game. The graphics are beautiful and completely fluid on my ancient system, the gameplay is excellent, the voiceovers are perfect and the references to other indie pearls (and the NES Ducktales!) are well placed. I've found everything ingame, but although I did find the two places where you are supposed to wait to get to the secret area and it was obvious that you are supposed to wait, nothing happened and I simply didn't get that you have to wait crouching/bowing down... this I had to look up. The game actually has a replay value, which is something you don't encounter in any game those days. What I didn't like about the game is, that it's so ovbiously an XBox-port, that it hurts. It doesn't have any button mapping and you have to use an XPad emulator again for using other USB gamepads, then it works well, but the button symbols ingame are all from the XBox of course. The second thing I really disliked was the absence of a language selection. If your system is set to German for example, you get English audio and German subs. I hate having two languages I comprehend thrown at me at the same time, it's confusing and distracting as hell, so I renamed the folder with the German translation to something else and did get the English subs automatically. At least this easy trick did work. I'd given it 5 stars without a thought if it would support normal USB gamepads, if there'd be a language option so you wouldn't have to tinker with the files if you want something different than is thrown at you and if it would have a proper Linux port here on GoG. The Linux port from the Humble Bundle didn't work too well on my system.

Dust is a great game, with an amazing storyline and a very nice combat system. One thing kind of bothered me about it, though. I'm someone who plays games primarily for the storyline, and much like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Dust: an Elysian Tail is a game that keeps a sense of urgency throughout the whole storyline, to push you on into the next part of the story. The problem there is that it might push you too fast; in my urge to see the storyline completed I ended up in the boss stage at a far too low level to actually beat the boss. I had to go back and grind to get my level up before I could actually beat him. Though, once properly levelled, this was fairly easy. So, yes, I absolutely love this game, but people playing it should take note to take their time, no matter how much the story urges them on. ;)

I already own this on Steam and what a gem of a game it is, a true masterpiece and to think it was made by one person too is truly remarkable. We need more games like this, highly recommended 10/10

Dust is one of those games that mix genre rarely mixed, creating something rather unique. Unlike most of these cases, the final outcome of it is very pleasing. I'm a big RPG fan and "hack & slash" titles rarely grab me for long... but Dust did - don't kid yourselves, it is an action game with just a tad of RPG elements, but you get swallowed in it quite fast. The gameplay is rather simple: you move around, much like in a platformer game and fight monsters using elaborated combos. These combos may even bring to mind "Devil May Cry", "Prince of Persia" or "Bloodrayne" with their specularity and all, but quite often it basically comes down to mushing buttons as any, more complex techniques are hard to properly implement in the midst of battle. For an action game, you are given a surprising freedom in roaming the world and even get side-quests that AREN'T necessary to complete the game. A nice touch, though again be warned: plotwise you don't get to influence the outcome of events, even though you sometimes get directly involved into dialogue. This is generally a movie that you're guided through, though you get to choose the order of the scenes to some extend. The RPG elements comes down to the likes of original Diablo: when you level up, you can improve your health, attack, defense or Fidget (you'll play, you'll know)... and that's where RPG basically ends. An interesting touch is that there IS equipment and you can upgraded it; the trick is that, for your blacksmith, to prepare an item, she must have both blueprints and materials for creating the thing (both are found on dead enemies). That kinda pushes you to explore the world, especially since there are a lot of "secrets" scattered around. Generally the game grabs you. It may not be the most sophisticated and deep experience out there, but its unique, fluid and beautiful. It's a good way to pass the time, just keep an eye on the watch: this game can eat your time up without you noticing ;)