Dust: An Elysian Tail

ended up a bit shorter than i expected, but good game overall
knockback is way too high though, it was a bit irritating
id probaby reccomend the game

from dust to dust, ashes to ashes

What a great game, the story, the art, the music, the voice actors. I enjoy the battles in hard mode and the exploration. A interesting plot twist. The games is not perfect but definitely I enjoyed the game a lot. I definitely recommend it. Thanks to Dean Dodrill for this excellent game.

Probably one of the first ever games added to my Steam library, and in my favorites to this day. The scenery is gorgeous, the combat is fun (if a little repetitive), for being made by a single person the quality is off the charts.

In one sentence:

Somewhat generic, but still entertaining rpg platformer with some metroidvania elements.

Heads:

The voice acting for this game is on-point and really cool to see. I think it’s one of this game’s best aspects. The characters are well written.

The “traditional-animation” / hand drawn graphics for everything is also really cool and unique. The animated background critters are cool to look at, and I really like the weather cycles.

The fact that this was also fully created by one person (Dean Dodrill) is really cool. It doesn’t contribute to the gameplay, but it does make me appreciate the game more.

Tails (heh):

While the voice acting / dialogue is really good, it does also feel really cheesy and over-dramatic at times. Feels like the way they talk in anime. More of a personal-taste thing, but I found it a little hard to listen to at times. While the characters are interesting, I feel like some of them could have seen a return in the late game. As it is, once you finish business with a character, you never really see them again.

I appreciate that there are multiple combos in order to perform special attacks, however I feel that they are usually only useful against singular enemies, which occurs somewhat rarely.

I was also a little bummed that there wasn’t anything to gain by 100%ing everything, even if just a random tidbit of dialogue.

I had fun with this game, once upon a time. It tries so many things and nearly succeeds, but never quite manages to be great. Solid work for a solo developer, but hard to replay now.

Fun platformer/beat-em-up. The sidekick is kind of annoying but overall the game is good.

For a game from more than a decade ago, it holds up surprisingly well!
The story itself feels slightly cliche, but despite that, main character and his sidekick are a joy to listen to. I love Fidget's personality :D and Dust is pretty cool as well. I've expected him to be a typical edgy character, but I was pleasantly surprised. The two have some funny banter going on.

The game is quite pretty, too. Maybe it's not Ori/Hollow Knight level of pretty, but it still has its charm. Not to mention it's obviously made by fans of furry media <3

Combat is not too difficult (I've played on Normal difficulty). It's pretty easy to reach a point where one could just cheese through almost all fights. Honestly, I had more difficulty with platforming rather than combat; although platforming isn't that difficult either.

Exploring in this game feels nice. It has some "metroidvania" elements, where you are encouraged to re-visit previous maps after unlocking new ways of dealing with obstacles. It offers enough things to find to keep me entertained, while also not being overwhelming.

Finishing the entire story and finding all secrets has taken me 14 hours,

Beautiful and fun. Art, sound design, voice acting, and controls are all top notch.

It really doesn't just look and sound amazing, but the crisp controls make you feel like it's YOU fighting and moving. That makes the challenges fun instead of frustrating. I've seen reviews saying the boss fights are easy, and I think it's because of the quality of the controls, not the difficulty. This guy spent some quality time on them.

At over 11 years old, this game's only sign of age is the lack of micro-transactions.

10 out of 10. Get it.

Not a fan of the combat and parrying system.

In spite of appearances, this is a solid platformer/metroidvania (loosely, its hard to miss most upgrades which are on a fairly linear path but do allow returning to old areas to find new secrets), that many years later is still fun to play.

Mostly played on PC but I believe I tested on Steam deck and had no issues.

Come on, bring out a sequel already, some life of this series was teased not that long ago but sadly no announcements yet.

Very nice game indeed, if you don't mind anime style dialog :)

Last time I played this was back around when the game just came out

I didn't get around to finish the game because my friend mentioned how no one in the game is wearing pants, that took me out of the experience so bad I never came back to this game again lol

10/10 recommend if you don't let the fact that on one wears pants bothers you.

holy freaking crap dude! I used to watch my dad play this when I was very young, like 5 or 6 maybe, and this game made my imagination run fucking wild! I can see why, this game probably blew my tiny 5-year-old mind to bits! I played a bit a few months ago in casual mode, and I got some nostalgia then, and eventually got bored and stopped. I just beat the game, it was in normal mode, and I kinda sorta accidentally beat it all in one sitting. of course, I didn't get everything 100% complete, but I beat the game. my heart was POUNDING when I ran out of good healing items during the final boss. this game had a similar effect to me when I beat Undertale or Salt And Sanctuary, fucking love this game! I will hold this game in my heart, as few have done before it. with a combination of nostalgia and really cool gameplay and awesome story, I would ALWAYS recommend people play this game!

This game is actually one of my favorite platformers, but all I remember is spinning around with fire and lightning and traveling faster than Sonic games. It's all a blur, story is ight/good. 8/10 game 10/10 mechanics

I first played Dust on my family's Xbox 360 and was sad that I never got the chance to beat it before we put it away. Steam gave me a second chance, and now I'm farther than I was.
Gameplay: The hack-n-slash swordplay is good. Few combos, but that keeps the game in it's simplistic style, and they get the job done. Also Dust Storm + Fidget go brrrr. Platforming is clean & exploration is rewarded. Grind isn't required, and if you're good, healing items will be plentiful, especially the mysterious wall chicken :3c
Display: The artstyle is lovely, and the designs are great. The scenery encapsulates the mood perfectly, and the music is... well, music to my ears! The dialogue and voice acting is well done and can be pretty funny, especially the occasional 4th wall breaks. Characters are created quite well, and Fidget is my favorite. That is not the furry in me speaking, she was my favorite before I even knew furries were a thing. Dust and Ahrah are cool as well tho.
Story: The game immediately makes you ask questions, mainly about Dust and Ahrah. It very much creates a need to know more. My little 6-year-old brain didn't care for it at the time, but now I do.
Conclusion: If you're looking for a story-driven game and don't mind the simplistic gameplay, this is a great game for you. Worth the small-ish price, but definitely don't pass up on it during a sale.

This is one of those games that they just don't make anymore, I knew that the moment I saw the old Micro Soft logo and after some playing i can assure you, it's amazing. The combat flows incredibly smooth for it's age and the hand painted graphics are just amazing to look at with detail in every corner. Don't let the fact it was on the Xbox 360 fool you, this game is a high quality that goes beyond the ages. So if you're looking for a classic to play, this is one.

This game means a lot to me. Back on XBLA, it was the first real gaming challenge I took on. I certainly took way more time to finish that playthrough when I was 7 years old, grinding for max level just to be able to beat it on tough as a kid. I realize now if you're decent at games, the enemies you kill along the way give plenty of levels even on tough difficulty.
It's not very long, I got all achievements in just under 14 hours on this playthrough. The story, art, and voice acting are very good.
My one complaint is the difficulty curve. The game starts off fairly difficult (again, on the difficulty required for the achievement). Save points only heal you to around 1/3 HP, so going into early boss fights you spend all your money on the healing you need. This all changes once you unlock regen gear. Regen gear heals you infinitely, albeit slowly. The game becomes mostly trivial once you unlock even your first piece of regen gear, since you can spend gold upgrading yourself rather than on healing.
This is a must-buy at its sale price of $4.
Design- 9/10
Gameplay- 7.5/10
Fun- 9/10
Overall score: 8.5/10
Bumping it up to a 9/10 though for nostalgia ;)

A very cute game with nice art, and a decent story. 8/10
The hack and slash action is good and fun, some platforming and exploration, although I think what mostly shines of this game is the visual style, characters, and set pieces.

The final boss is quite fun and memorable.

I only have 2 hours on Steam, but I played it a lot more in another platform.

Its not an EPIC game, its not a 10/10, but its a VERY solid 8. Recommendable for sure. I wouldnt miss it in a good sale. And even at full price its worth every penny if you like these sorts of games.

It was alright.

Wasn't expecting this game this game to be good as it is. Voice acting is phenomenal and is always present in every cutscene which was a nice surprise. The combat feels so powerful to control and is just fun! Overall a good game. I can see where some people might not feel this might be a game for them but I'd say give it a shot! It's essentially Devil May Cry with 2D Platforming.

9/10

juego de dios

Fun metroidvania that isn't super hard.

The first time I played Dust was on the PS3. It was one the first games that hooked me when I started getting interested in indie titles. Don't let the playtime fool you, I've played this multiple times over the years and it's worth revisiting every time. The passion, effort and soul poured into this game is something you have to experience yourself. I highly recommend that you give this timeless classic a chance to give you a thoroughly memorable experience that you'll remember for years to come.

An amazing game that continues to hold up even in the year of 2024.

The only bad thing I could ever say about this game was that we never got a sequel for it.

I desperately want a sequel.

i am really not beating the furry allegations am i

It's a beautiful fantasy world with a nice story, compelling characters, and much action. The attack combinations and speed you can go through the already explored areas are remarkably good.

fun

Relatively simple mechanics, a good story and great art.
Whished it explored worldbuilding a bit deeper, but a great game overall.

Been really enjoying this game, a fun albeit short metroidvania, would definitely recommend to fans of the genre.

It is hard to put into words the impact this game has left. This game is the ultimate answer to the "are video games art?" question. Every single thing about this game is perfection in a game.

The story is one of the most engaging and interesting I have ever come across. I genuinely loved every single second of it from start to finish. Certain moments will hit you like a shotgun slug to the chest and hit the feels button hard. Simply impeccable.

The Gameplay. Simply put, its the greatest gameplay I have ever seen in my entire life. Everything works so well. It is fluid without fail, smooth as butter. In some games, the gameplay will sometimes lose you or cause you to make a mistake and die. Here, however, I have never once had it do something like that. It is an outstanding achievement in how to make a proper combat system.

The voice acting here is world-class work from every single VA. The direction and performances on display to me are the gold standard when it comes to voice acting in any creative medium, not just video games. Many of these VA's have gone on to great success in the industry and for good reason. D-Mac and the crew shine like the sun here.

The art direction. I already said this is the ultimate answer to the "are video games art?" question, but it bears repeating. The art and level design is top notch. Promoting exploration and having no areas where it feels tedious. Every screen, which looks like a masterpiece, gets you hyped up for either a fight or the amazing exploration that comes. It really adds to the immersion of the game. Which leads me to-

The Music. One of the best video game soundtracks of All-time. Chris and Dan of HyperDuck hit every level of excellence possible in a soundtrack. Somber, spooky, awe-inspiring, hype, and happy. Every emotion is on full display here and they are placed perfectly throughout the game. Pure auditory bliss. (I'm a musician myself as well LOL)

To sum it up, This is the Best Video Game Ever Made. I say this with no hyperbole whatsoever. This is what gaming should be. Gold standard doesn't begin to sum it up. This is the DIAMOND standard for gaming. Next to the names Miyamoto, Kojima, and Meier. Dean Dodrill's name will stand tall among them. Thank you, Dean for giving us this Holy Grail of gaming.

TL;DR. Best Game of All-Time. Get it. You will love every second of it!

Disclaimer: my play hours are recorded inaccurately due to the steam deck not tracking my offline activity correctly. This is also a review for mainly steam deck performance.


Deck Review: The only issue I came across was just a simple audio quirk when adjusting volume via the buttons on the deck. It was kinda a weird stuttering in audio if that makes sense. Had no real noticeable issues when using the side menu and using the slider.


Game review: This was a nice game to come back to. I remember the ending making me mad as a kid, but now that I'm an adult I really enjoy the direction it went in. The gameplay may seem outdated for some but honestly that's quite the charm. It's more of a popcorn kind of game than anything else. Relaxing and not too demanding. Story is good even now and a lot of the jokes didn't really age badly. For this to be essentially a one man's passion project, I still would recommend buying it.

A fun and beautiful game all around.

I think I'm attracted to the merchant.

This Game is super fun and has the option for any skill level of player to play (with the difficulty levels). The story and characters within this game are amazing and well fleshed out (Especially Fidget). I would highly recommend playing this Indie game if your a fan of Metroidvania's

Beautiful story, fantastic artstyle and not too hard gameplay. Good game

Good story, great combat, challenging platformer...

Too short , but enjoyable sidescroller .

É um bom jogo pelo que se propõe, mas poderia ser mais ousado.

Pretty good game to start your journey with metroidvania games. Graphic style looks nice and aged pretty ok, the story is good enough to follow, with actually very good ending. Easy and not so annoying backtracking. Only downside for me was combat, after unlocking everything it became boring but game is not that long so it wasn't a big deal.

Stampy Cat. This concludes the review

This is a charming game. The music is great. I saw "Hyperduck Soundworks" and I was like, 'bruh what!' I love them. The combat loop is fun and forces you to figure out how to not get hit so you can get some sick numbers, which everyone loves.
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I decided to start on Hardcore difficulty, which is much more difficult but the learning curve in this game is pretty reasonable.
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And then I reached a part of the game where you have these weird bubble things that shoot red and blue stuff if you get near them. And that is where the frustration set in. I had died multiple times up until that point, but I NEVER once felt like 'nah I can't do this anymore.' And so I ran along and kept at it.
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And then I reached a part of the game where you have these weird bubble things that shoot red and blue stuff if you get near them AND you're in a small area that's blocked in by two hulking trolls. And that is where is said "nah I can't do this anymore."
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I have never been a fan of game mechanics that are just built for frustration. I mean, it could be that I'm playing on hardcore difficulty... maybe? And I doubt the juice (or poison maybe ) is worth the squeeze. To give you context, while the Fingerprint Shield is an awesome item, I'm not going to get it. It's not worth the frustration. While I'd love to understand the lore behind how the Hollow Knight became corrupted, I'm not doing the Path of Pain. It's not worth the frustration.

Good game though... at least till then. The last point that I'll make is that it feels like I needed to look up a video or guide to figure out the fight. Which means it's a poorly designed mechanic. But that's my opinion.

Solid action platformer, fully voiced cast, great music.

EPIC game .

The controls are tight and the graphics are mid to good, but the character design is terrible and the writing is insufferable.

Played this game when I was eight or something, glad I came back to it, loved every bit of it, specifically how it stylistically looked. Would suggest this to any furry considering they'd buy anything with an anthropomorphic character on it lmao.

Honestly, pretty fun game for it's time back when I played it. Here's to the forgotten indie games from over a decade ago!

I had a decent time with this game. There were a number of things I found flawed with the game, but I still enjoyed playing it.

The sense of discovery and progression were the best parts for me. There are multiple sectioned off areas with some branching paths and hidden things to find. You get to unlock abilities over time that allow you to both progress further and find previously hidden items and areas. Environmental dangers do not feel too punishing nor overly difficult to progress through.

In pursuing optional, hidden items, the backtracking felt tedious. A more robust fast travel system would have helped along with some kind of quicker movement ability unlock. There are teleport stones, but they have to be found, or more commonly bought, in order for you to use them to leave an area via save point. When entering an area, you can only go to the entrance or exit, barring the infrequent existence of shortcuts in certain areas.

The combat didn't click with me, and it just felt tedious. That's not great when that's the majority of the playtime. It's not necessarily badly designed combat. It just wasn't for me. Visual clarity in combat could get messy with a bunch of enemies to fight at once.

I played on normal difficulty. The beginning felt a little challenging, but that challenge quickly went away. There are difficulty options that can be changed in a menu at any time, but I didn't try them. I actually prefer having the option to become overpowered in a Metroidvania. And since I didn't enjoy this style of combat, I didn't mind the difficulty curve being so off. I was largely able to spam one singular attack button as I felt the combos just made things take longer.

The items dropped from enemies really should have just immediately gone to your inventory rather than having to be picked up. Even with the dust storm ability, it just felt unnecessary to have to pick them up. Though even that ability flung them around right out of your reach more often than not forcing you to walk over to them anyhow.

Similar to the difficulty curve, the gold acquisition wasn't an issue the further I played. I ended with a far excess of gold than needed, even for crafting and buying endgame gear.

The music didn't stand out. The voice acting and writing were fine. The art work is rough. Environment design can be pleasantly creative.

Gripes aside, it's a charming game that was worth playing for a Metroidvania fan like me.

When I went into this game, I knew practically nothing. I knew it had a lot of fighting, had anthropomorphic characters, and that one of them was what Stampy's Minecraft skin was based on. I knew nothing else. Usually when I pick up a game, I know a lot more about it from YouTube, following dev diaries, or just basic research before buying. I decided not to this time... and I don't regret it. Playing this game blind has been one of the best experiences in gaming that I have ever had. I enjoyed it from start to finish, all twenty hours of my first playthrough.
The ending in particular was amazing, though I won't go into any details as to why, since I don't know how to mark things as spoiler. Going in blind made my experience far better, and I don't want to take that away from anyone debating whether or not to buy the game while reading reviews. The game isn't perfect, but it's in my top ten favourites. There's a lot of charm to it, and I love most of the characters. A first playthrough will probably take you about 10-15 hours if you're not rushing or backtracking, though backtracking is rewarded well in some cases, which resulted in my 20 hours. Still worth it for the line which went really hard before the final boss.

ITS SO PEAK