My trinity of Metroidvanias has been completed: Hollow Knight, Axiom Verge and Dust.

My gods, what is it that I just played? Look, like Metroidvania, I think Dust doesn't do as well as Hollow Knight or Axiom Verge, because his world is very limited and doesn't have as many secrets or extreme difficulty mastering the controls to achieve anything. However, his differential is that he mixes all this with elements of Hack N 'Slash and is RIDICULOUSLY fun. Anything you hit is a different satisfying sensation and if you had a training doll in this game (those to train skills), it would be endless entertainment.

Dust: An Elysian Tail tells the story of a rabbit/fox/ninja who wakes up one day with amnesia and goes out to find out what happened to him. The journey is a lot of fun and with a great world of fantasy and charismatic characters (for the first time I saw a Navi clone that I loved, it's the best character in the game). The story too, even though it has its plot peak at the end, during the game continues to captivate you by the atmosphere of mystery created around it. And as expected, it's accompanied by an impeccable soundtrack.

I recommend this game to everyone, and consider it a spectacular gateway to the Metroidvania genre, as it avoids the complexity of it. Its simplicity is the brilliance of the whole work and definitely one of the most fun things I've ever played.

This title is a visually stunning 2D action-RPG with strong Metroidvania influences. The game immediately stands out with its hand-painted backgrounds, fluid character animations, and richly detailed environments, which give it a distinctive, almost storybook-like aesthetic. Every area feels vibrant and alive, from lush forests to eerie caves, and the attention to visual detail demonstrates the dedication from the development team. The OST complements the visuals beautifully, offering melodic themes that enhance both exploration and combat, creating a captivating atmosphere throughout the journey.

As for the combat, it is responsive and satisfying, featuring a combination of melee attacks, magic, and the assistance of Fidget, a small, flying companion who adds an extra layer of strategy. Early encounters feel engaging, and the progression system allows you to unlock new abilities and upgrades, giving the gameplay a sense of growth. The game is also accessible, with controls that feel intuitive, making it easy for newcomers to dive in without feeling overwhelmed. The pacing is generally well-balanced, alternating between exploration, platforming, and combat encounters to keep the experience fresh.

The narrative follows Dust, a mysterious warrior on a journey to uncover his past, accompanied by Fidget and other colorful characters. While the story provides enough context to drive the adventure, some may find the writing and voice acting uneven. Though in my opinion, this is an acceptable level of quality due to the fact that this title was developed by a single person. Dialogue can occasionally feel forced or simplistic, and certain plot points are predictable, but the character designs and world-building help maintain engagement. Side quests and hidden areas encourage exploration. I encourage this game to be played 100% since it isn't very long and there aren't a lot of side-quests, so each and every single one of them is a significant and worthwhile experience.

For an indie game developed primarily by one person, the ambition, polish, and charm are remarkable, making it a standout in its genre. Overall, this game is a beautifully crafted, engaging action-platformer that combines fluid combat, gorgeous visuals, and a charming world. While it may not challenge hardcore people with deep mechanics or complex level design, it offers a highly enjoyable experience for fans of 2D adventure games and indie titles. Its accessibility, style, and polished presentation make it a memorable journey that is well worth experiencing.

There is a certain charm to a game that's ultimately a culmination of Newgrounds flash games and beginning internet overlap with sections of the furry fandom, but that charm itself is far from cushioning a game that has certainly not aged well.

You can really pick and choose which parts of Dust to analyze and you'll see cracks if not the entire foundation fall apart. The hack and slash combat turns into mashing after about an hour, a moveset that seems fun to utilize the first few times but eventually turns into your most optimal move, slashing through enemies with such relative ease that boss fights don't do much at all to alleviate. They do throw a curveball near the end of the game with armored enemies but those also have endemic problems, because parrying before followup is just as easy to do and if anything adds more annoyance to the equation.

The metroidvania structure is barebones, with not a single bit of interesting level design or backtracking that doesn't just feel like outright padding. Exploring mostly leads to more of the same boring combat, which ultimately means more wasted time spent. This extends to the gameplay of the sidequests too, which honestly I'd recommend outright skipping.

The aesthetic is.... well there's a lot to unpack there. The music is probably one of the better components here but the art style doesn't really work for very long before it becomes very tiring and not really that interesting. The best things you'll see on offer here in terms of a feast for the eyes is in the first couple hours.

The most damning thing however, is the story. It's a self-insert narrative tied around weak characters with a VA production far below even a 80s cartoon affair. It doesn't work, if anything it can lead to some jokes at the game's expense but I don't think a single hour passed where a few lines whether by writing or voice acting took me completely out of the game and into high orbit wincing all the way.

Dust: An Elysian Tail is, other than its timely charm, basically a subpar metroidvania and hack and slash that ultimately is better left forgotten about. (3/10)

I starting playing Dust way back in October 2014, sometime around when it became a PS+ game. I played it for about 2.5 hours then I put it down for 8 years. I picked it back up about 2 weeks ago, started the game anew and plowed my way through this fine game, getting pretty much 100% completion (according to the game I had 117% completion even before I went to beat the final boss), as well as the Platinum Trophy on PS4.

The game takes you on a journey with the titular named Dust, a talking sword and a little Tails like sidekick named Fidget. Dust has amnesia and you go about the side scrolling world fighting monsters and saving villages all coming to a head against Dust's past.

It's a pretty game with passable voice acting and some good looking animated cut scenes, which kind of look like an HD version of "Chip and Dale" if the creatures were all at war in a medieval age.

The battle system isn't anything you're going to tell you family about but it's not awful either. You got a hack and slash button so you can smack the hordes of monsters around along with a special "Storm" ability that allows you to use projectiles that your little buddy Fidget throws out to do mass damage to the enemies. I found Storm + Fidget ability not very useful in the early game but as I upgraded that through level up it became more viable in the later game (there is also a super annoying necromancer enemy in the Sorrowing Meadows later in the game that can only be hurt/killed with this combo).

One major gripe I have regarding the battle system is that you don't really feel yourself getting hit by an enemy and generally you are fighting a large amount of them at once. When Dust is in the middle of the fray and the only way I could really know i got hurt was seeing that my health was blinking red or that my combo ended because of being hit. It just doesn't ever FEEL like you get hit and I think the developers could have given this a little bit more love and time.

RPG elements are also baked into this game where when you level up you can allocate a skill gem to one of four attributes (HP, DEF, ATTACK & FIDGET). You also can find and equip a couple different items including Armor, a weapon boosting item, two rings and a pendant. In the later game you can find and craft (via the blacksmith) items that are so strong that the game will become laughably easy. NOTE: I was playing on the Tough difficulty which I believe is one above normal but one below the hardest difficultly called Hardcore.

Dust is a metroidvania at heart with various areas not accessible until you unlock other abilities such as a double jump or a ground slide. All the areas aren't particularly big but you can only enter or exit from one of the ends of the area maps so when backtracking to pick up missed treasure you will have to grind through the level until you get to the proper room (this is probably another reason why I was so overpowered once I reached the final boss since I can't just skip enemies...they all must die before I can move on). There are a couple well hidden rooms which you will only find either by reading through notes you will find along the way which hint and kneeling before a grave for example. I discovered one of those hidden rooms naturally by remembering that I had read about a grave in an earlier note, decided to kneel down and then i was being magically whisked away by a Tornado ala Dorothy.

There is also 12 characters locked in cages throughout the game that are from various other indie games like super meat boy, the bastion kid, some ducks that are DJs and others I didn't recognize that you can save and receive an HP boost for each one you release from their small steel prison. Why? I have no idea. The game never explains why these characters are here.

All in all not a bad game by any means. Pretty middle of the road Metroidvania w/ a good (not great) story, good (not great) battle system and some bits fun exploration mechanics. Unless you've drained your Metroidvania pool and you're just a dry mouthed beggar looking for another fix then I think you can find a better game in the genre to spend your time with. It is a pretty easy platinum for those of you just looking for a 15-18 hour game to ping that dopamine injection if you're a sicko like myself.