- Visually the game is splendid, stand out backdrops for me were within the caves, the mountain and the statues of the Archer's Pass. Dust has one of my favourite main character designs from this gen, he stands out quite easily among the sea of bald gentlemen I can tell you that much and the colour scheme of his outfit grew on me despite seeming perhaps a bit garish at first.
Weather effects like rain and mist that could seemingly drop in at anytime was a great touch, rain is always welcome in my games.
One of the points buzzing around this games look is "oh it's deviant art furry dreck", well talk about selling things short, it's a damn shame that these days you come under great scrutiny by some for "daring" to use human styled animal designs. I'm not asking anyone to like it, hell you may not like it at all but if the reason is because you're scared it's too furry or some nonsense like that then boo I say, this was fresh to me because you just don't see it anymore and i'd welcome more stuff like it that gives of that more whimsical vibe.
The only gripe I have with it is there seems to be a lack of eye variety at times with most folks having those big bright eyes, notably i'd say General Gaius looks not so intimidating with those big old eyeballs.
- The core combat, well this was mostly fun with a few down points that i'll get to in a minute. Now first of all I can say is it's damn enjoyable, easy to grasp and soon enough you will be whizzing around the screen as a lightning storm of death and destruction, nothing is quite as exhilarating as being flung high in the sky with the aerial dust storm, grabbing an enemy at the top of the screen and plunging back down to earth with a mighty crash that obliterates the poor sod who was in the impact zone. Parry mechanics are always welcome, across the board the combat nails that satisfactory feeling whether you're completely overpowered mowing armies down like fodder or toughing it out for your very life with each move proving vital to your survival.
The downside is that the combat is kind of limited, Dust only has so many combos, i'm far from expecting Ninja Gaiden here but in a game with this many enemy brawls it can get a bit long in the tooth.
- Dust himself controls very well, it's satisfying just to move him around, the fancy animation does not get in the way of things, each jump is well placed, just the right level of height and airtime. I played through the game on normal, while this was pretty simple (I know the above setting was more recommended but I prefer to play it safe) it still presented moments of challenge, fortunately there are save points everywhere so if you suddenly find yourself say caught by an exploding zombie creature at least it doesn't set you back very far at all.
- The main draw of the game for me outside of its looks was the whole Metroidvania term being thrown around, I love me a good metroidvania and as some have said the layout is quite similar to Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia which is no bad thing as that's one of my favourite DS games. As such Dust presents a variety of settings to dig through in the name of lining my pockets with trinkets and the self satisfaction that comes with discovery, while the rewards tended not to be much to trumpet there was always joy in finding a key or opening a chest, oh and I don't use the 360 too much so it was a good way to learn the face button positions with the chest opening minigame. There were a few odd choices in hidden item locations, one key inside one of the mansions that required a double jump felt like a bit much of a retread for something so minor (unless I was doing it wrong).
But none of the items are hidden in such a way you can't figure things out, having also spent this last week jumping all over the mushroom kingdom in NSMB2 searching for some very questionable secret exits this was a huge relief. Even the Castlevania 2 homage wasn't that cryptic thanks to the note.
Of course the other game Dust gets compared to is Muramasa, another game I quite enjoy except for the repetitive structure of the world map, this game dare I say feels like what Muramasa should've been on this point.
- Music is okay, i'd like to say more on the subject but noting particularly stood out to me outside the cavern music which was great and a few others, the music is of good quality and can set the atmosphere well, I had to turn down the sound effects a bit in order to hear the music over the sound of enemies being slashed, fried, bolted and so on.
As for the sound effects, there are the small things like the satisfying jingles as you progress through a menu and the death scream of that irritating Necromancer fellow.
- The plot, ah it was enough to keep me playing though nothing particularly groundbreaking, I felt that Gaius was a bit tame for someone who commits such dastardly deeds, though maybe that was sort of the idea, more depth on the General would have been nice, I was half expecting a swerve where he would've been the good guy all along or something but I guess not.
Fidget was a great companion character, with just enough wit and the odd fourth wall breaking joke, a suitable voice and never felt annoying like numerous characters that fall into this role. I do wonder what the deal is with the other blades of Elysium.
Voice acting on the whole is good, various accents and variety, well voiced lines, I have no complaints and a great job from Dust's voice over.
Also the best merchant since the Resi 4 merchant, hell throw in the other merchant with the funny hat from Aurora as well.
- So to conclude this text dump i'd say this is a fine game, it brings together a lot of aspects and while it may not knock any particular detail straight out of the park (bar perhaps the visuals, those are some really nice backgrounds) they all are well above average and come together to create a game that's truly enjoyable, it really feels like a game made out of the love and desire to just make a memorable and entertaining experience which is fantastic.
Well worth the money I spent, i'm glad to not have succumbed to refreshing for the many handouts.