I've always believed that 2D got pushed aside before its time had truly come. New tech arrived and forced things forward, leaving us to wonder what kinds of two-dimensional games might have been made with more powerful hardware to back them. Dust: An Elysian Tail, is a great example of such a game. Hand-drawn and animated by one lone developer, it's a beautifully penned love letter to fans of the Metroidvania sub-genre. Whether you play for an absorbing story, exciting combat, or the joy of exploration, Dust has you covered.
The first thing you're likely to notice when you start the game up is how it looks. Your journey begins in a magical glade, and brings you through dimly lit ice caverns, long-dead forests, snowcapped mountain ranges, and more. Each pops to life with a painterly beauty rarely seen in modern gaming. Dynamic weather effects and subtle use of ambient lighting provide a strong sense of mood in each new environment you visit. And as memorable as the locales are, the characters that inhabit them are even more so. The cast is populated by a variety of talking animals, strongly reminiscent of the Don Bluth animated films of the ‘90s. Their outlines are basic, but their exaggerated features and well-designed costumes make each of them stand out, none more so than the titular main character, Dust.
>> <<
