Dust: An Elysian Tail

I'm usually not too keen on melodrama. It always comes off as far too goofy for even me who listens to Sabaton who are just wonderful if cheesier than a pizza. Every so often however I can be taken in by a far too melodramatic story. My favorite game is Persona 4 after all so I can certainly appreciate melodrama in the right amount. The combat in Dust: An Elysian Tail is great, make no mistake, the art is breathtakingly gorgeous and the metroidvania gameplay addictive enough that I wanted to keep playing long after the credits. The story, and I do so love good stories, is what I really enjoyed in Dust however even if it rolled a few series worth of anime melodrama into a 12 hour experience. A tail of personal growth and finding oneself set against a genocidal war perpetrated by a very charismatic villain. It's great stuff.

The most readily apparent thing to take notice of in Dust is the art. It's absolutely stunning being reminiscent of old animated movies from the likes of Don Bluth with vibrant backgrounds, crisp and clean character models, and spell effects that fill the screen. Just watching Dust jump and the way he lands so smoothly is something I could do for a few minutes and just enjoy. The game looks great and there's only so much gushing I can do before devolving into repetition. Just watch a video of Dust performing the Dust Storm attack with the fire spell and loads of baddies on screen and enjoy.

Combat in dust is likewise enjoyable with simple mechanics and a few combos to pull off that'll have you feeling the role of badass right away. This is something that a lot of games with melee combat seem to miss out on and that is impact. Watching Dust land a strong attack on an enemy and watching said enemy fly across the screen accompanied with an audible impact really sells the fact how strong Dust is. Throw in the Dust Storm, an attack that can send Dust spiraling across the screen in a whirl of blades, and the magic of Fidget, Dust's often hilarious and adorable comrade in arms, and almost no enemy can stand against you for too long. The real appeal of using both the Storm attack and Fidget is that launching Fidget's spell while using Dust Storm is that it multiplies the spell to fill the screen and seek out baddies. Watching that combo counter jump from a few dozen hits to a couple hundred never gets old. Combat is often a balancing act of racking up a combo using Dust Storm and Fidget and dealing damage with Dust's regular attacks. It's not especially hard or nothing, but every game doesn't need to be Dark Souls.

I'd be loathe to talk too much about the story for fear of ruining it, but it really is the best part of the game. And Fidget. It takes the usual amnesic hero trope and actually makes it work and work very well. Throw in a talking sword, a war between two races, a very tragic journey underground (seriously almost made me tear up), some good fourth wall breaking and a hell of an ending and you're in for a killer journey. Routinely stellar voice acting from a bunch of amateur voice actors just sells the package all the more.

I was really surprised with Dust. It's a hell of a game and I haven't been so stoked from playing a game in some time. If it were worse than I could talk more about it, but I'm scratching my head trying to remember stuff and it all just comes back as a torrent of goodness. I guess that's as good an end as any.