Friday, July 12, 2013

A Whale Of A Tail

Game Mechanics - 2/2
Story-line - 2/2
Graphics - 1.5/2
Soundtrack - 1/2
Replay Value - 2/2
 Total Score - 8.5/10

Well I must admit I have been a bit lazy of late with all the IRL (in real life) stuff that I been having to deal with at work and stuff so I had overlooked this title. Might have to schedule some vacation time soon so I don't burn out and such but we will see how that works out. With that being said shout outs to The Elder for putting me on to this game so I could see what I was missing. With that being said lets start our review of Dust: An Elysian Tail...



Dust: An Elysian Tail is an action role-playing video game developed by independent designer Dean Dodrill and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on the Xbox Live Arcade on August 15, 2012, and it was subsequently released for Microsoft Windows on Steam on May 24, 2013. Dust takes place in the fictional world of Falana, inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Gameplay is presented on a 2D side-scrolling plane. The player controls the titular main character, Dust, as he tries to remember his past. Dust wields a sentient sword, the Blade of Ahrah, as his main weapon. Fidget, the sword's guardian, acts as a companion for Dust and can use magical attacks. As the player travels the world, they can acquire power-ups that permanently alter gameplay, such as the ability to double jump or climb to previously unreachable areas. Incorporating elements of role-playing games, Dust can gain experience points by defeating enemies, and in turn may level up. These can be used to raise various attributes, such as health, strength, defense or magic. Non-playable characters can be interacted with throughout the game's world to sell items or receive quests.


What’s Good:
Game Mechanics - There is just so much content and expansiveness and depth to the inventory system and the combat system. Throw in a custom leveling system along with materials and crafting and you got yourself one hell of an RPG gaming experience.

Story-line - Keeps you guessing and interested as our unsung hero Dust struggles along on his adventures trying to regain his memory. Certainly a try experience generally but with his talking sword and companion Fidget they keep you engaged with information and witty banter as the game progresses.

Replay Value - Lots of replay value to go around as always since varying builds and approaches to game-play are possible. You can build a strength based character or alternatively a defense based one. The choice lies with the player and this helps give more freedom to customize your game-play experience as you see fit.

What’s Bad:
Soundtrack - Not necessarily bad but lacking somewhat in its entirety as it isn't really that memorable..

What Should Have Been Added:
Maybe a co-op mode where someone controls Fidget as you travel together or perhaps a different choice in weapon besides just a sword.


Final Thoughts:
Great game and guaranteed to give you a lot of gaming hours and is definitely worth your time and money. Listening to the banter between Fidget and Dust is entertaining on every level so go ahead and enjoy the game. You can find it for sale on Steam until July 22nd for $10.04 or just enjoy our game-play with commentary.


Thanks For Stopping By

Credits