Quick Look: Dust: An Elysian Tail

Hm... Not a big fan of the character design. But I was really turned off by what was basically a bad anime stereotype the flying rodent thing did at the "knifehands" bit.

DeviantArt: The Game.

I'm not too crazy about the artstyle and the character designs but everything else about this game seems awesome.

How I wish Vanillaware games were as lovingly animated, I'd die a happy man.

Whoa.... 7 minutes in.... How many of you saw the lesser spotted Ryan Davis Mouse

I think it looks pretty amazing. Not a fan of the gradient airbrushed kinda (I'm clearly not an artist) backgrounds, but that's more of a taste thing. And I always thought that the people who enjoy anthropomorphised animals are considered furry's, not the anthropomorphised animals themselves. Any anthropomorphised animal could be considered 'furry' by someone who takes an interest in that sort of thing. The focus should be on the fact that Summer of Arcade finally has a good game this year though.

Looks like Disney or some shit. Eh.

@bushlemon said:

I've got nothing against anthro characters but the character design in this just seems to be a little too... deviantart-y for my taste

Yeah... I feel that way too. The gameplay and the visuals look outstandingly good. The only thing that really bothers me about furries is the huge amount of sexual fetishim that is often attached to them. This game seems to have none of it, luckily. The DeviantART/Neopets-y art style is not really my cup of tea, but the gameplay seems to really outweight any off-putting the character design may create on me.

I was about to buy Trials Evolution on XBLA... but now I don't know if I should get this game instead. Darksiders II is being released in Europe next week, though. I wouldn't want too much overlap between two combo-heavy-combat-based games...

What a great birthday present. Thanks Microsoft.

looks anime as all hell

The close ups during the dialog sequences are cringe worthy. But the rest of the game looks fine. Gameplay seems alright too, if a bit too easy but there tends to be a spike in most metroid vania games. Still not a huge fan of the tone or the music, Which are my favourite aspects of the Metroid and Castlevania games.

@Yorec said:

As for the character designs they don't bug me all that much actually. I guess growing up with shows like Looney Tunes, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, etc. got me used to anthropomorphic talking animals. Overall I'd say the aesthetics are very pleasing to the eye and that is definitely something that piques my interest when it comes to 2D games. Heck 3D games too, but that's going off topic.

This made me think because I enjoyed Looney Tunes, etc when I was a kid, hell I love them now. I've come to the conclusion that it's the Anime eyes that are off-putting.

The assets and barkgrounds are gorgeous.

This game makes me depressed that I don't own a 360. The only other time that has happened was when Limbo was first previewed.

It's almost irresistible. Almost. I really don't like the character design at all... and the way they animate in cut-scenes. It's really off-putting for some reason. Cannot stand the character design, actually. Everything about the aesthetics - both atmospherically and environmentally - seem extraordinarily well-crafted, but some childish anime-mals lie in amongst it all, and couldn't look more out of place... why?

No sale.

Holy shit, is that Ryan's self insert furry fanfiction character at 6:55?

Mechanics seem decent. Closeups look like horrible flash cartoons with motion tween though. And I do not care for the characters at all. Hate to say this but it looks just like deviantart with the cutesy, oddly-proportioned designs.

I SOOO want this on PS3/PC. Pretty please? :(

I don't understand why female foxes have boobs.

Guys and gals... gaming is still alive and well. That one man was the driving force of this really shows how much potential is out there for great games now and in the future. Fantastic, and really encouraging. :)

I really like the chest opening QTE

This game is interesting but between the amateur furry artwork and how the screen looks like it was smeared with vasoline I cannot see the beauty in it.

Some good references to other games in there. Mysterious wall chicken got a genuine chuckle out of me.

Man, if only the art style would be different...

Will get it, liking what I see!

I'd be more interested in this game if it wasn't for the character design.

It would actually be more interesting to look at if it was insanely furry-centered. Like Second Life amounts of sexed up animals. Go for the gusto.

This is a little too much 'average of every cartoon animal ever'.

I'm super excited to play this when I get home from work today! Looks awesome. I can't imagine how much work it was for Dean to crank all this out, but good on ya, sir.

One of those rare times where I'm listening to Jeff and Brad not really getting it what they're seeing that I'm not. Everything about this game seems kinda mediocre and I won't get into the whole character design issue aside from saying that I fall on the side of people who don't like it. The guys seemed super hyped about it, but all I see is a side scroller with some neat effects. There isn't any particular niche hook in it as far as I can tell - like for instance Bionic Commando ReArmed where the inability to jump and swinging mechanics added just enough flare to the formula to differentiate it from other similar titles. Shadow Complex was excellent but that also had unique abilities and a great graphic style. This just seems like a Newgrounds flash game that got a full retail release without the retail depth - but I haven't played it so maybe there will be interesting fun puzzles or anything other than beating up on mindless drones that lumber towards you and getting giddy as a hit counter goes up.

I'm gonna play this because the gameplay and metroidvaniaishness of it look cool, but I have to agree with people not being that keen on the artstyle. To me its a bit cheesy, cartoon. I'm not bothered about furries or whatever but I just don't find it asthetically pleasing at all. Too much anime and unsubtle colours which just look like bad art you can buy at a Game Convention.

Aware that the developer is in the thread so hope you're not offended, its just my opinion, as I say gameplay looks great and as soon as I get paid its a buy.

Also: Why the fuck do we wait months with no games coming out and then 3 good ones turn up on the same fing day? Huh? HUH?

This game looks fucking amazing....dont care much for the art style but it is very unique.

Oh god - I hope it comes to steam some time soon (as these things tend to do).

@Noogy said:

Glad that Jeff and Brad seemed enthusiastic. Been watching Quick Looks for what seems like a decade and always dreamed of having one for my game. Gave me chills :)

Congrats on releasing Dust! I'll be sure to check it out!

Can't wait to play this later on today after work! It looks like something that I'd like.

The art in this game looks gorgeous but something about the art style looks like a bad anime

Man, fuck off. Furry or no, you should be able to appreciate the artistry.

I'd buy this immediately, but what are the chances of a PC version?

@Sanj said:

This game makes me depressed that I don't own a 360. The only other time that has happened was when Limbo was first previewed.

I own a 360 but I'm not dusting it off and paying for a new subscription just to get this game (there's just no room for it) - I'm holding out, and hoping intensly, that they'll consider a PC release.

The character art isn't all that, a bit too... bubbly? But the gameplay and setting looks awesome. I got some happy SotN vibes from the music as well at some points.

This is some Furry sex shit.

Uhhh. I don't like the character designs one bit. The rest of the game looks pretty good though. Maybe I can just try to ignore the artwork.

This guy must really love Korea

I'd be way more into this game if it wasn't for the damn furries

Who drew this game? A 12 year old with a furry fetish?

EDIT: LOL The person who made this game actually is a furry http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Dean_Dodrill

@skelington_ said:

It's almost irresistible. Almost. I really don't like the character design at all... and the way they animate in cut-scenes. It's really off-putting for some reason. Cannot stand the character design, actually. Everything about the aesthetics - both atmospherically and environmentally - seem extraordinarily well-crafted, but some childish anime-mals lie in amongst it all, and couldn't look more out of place... why?

No sale.

Based on your avatar, I'm surprised you don't like it.

The music and sound design alone may have me sold. That shit was beautiful. The combat looks fun but I bet it gets repetitive. Plus, while the art is definitely pretty, I'm not too sure about a world full of furries. Chillin' with Meat Boy in that pad might tip my scales though...

Wow, I'm surprised the art style is getting criticized by y'all. I think it looks goddamn incredible.

if / when this is on PC it will be day 1 for sure, looks awesome

Apart from the anime-animal characters, this looks ace.

G'damn... This game was made by 1 person?!

Furrier than I would like, but everything else seems great.

You people are weird. Agree with Jeff and Brad - this game looks awesome both in art and gameplay. A true gamer's game with all the systems and stuff people love (coincidentally coming out the same time as Darksider's 2, which is very much similar in that regard).

THIS GAME HAS MYSTERIOUS WALL CHICKEN. HOW COULD ANYONE DISLIKE THAT.

While I have to agree that I dislike the character design in this game (although Dust himself is drawn well enough, likely because you don't see his weird somewhat-anime eyes), I think the art style in general and everything seems to move fluidly. Not to mention, everything else about the game has consistently seemed amazing even from way back when it was still an XBLIG, so I'll definitely be picking this up later today.

There is more talk about the creators background being a turn off than there is about all the (ridiculous) work that one man put into this game. This is why we can't have nice things.