Dust: An Elysian Tail

There's not enough sex to be a furry game.

Dust: An Elysian Tail was the first game I ever bought on Steam. I have no idea why! Of all the RPGs, adventure games, or highly touted experiences on the client in 2014, I chose a side scrolling beat 'em up about anthropomorphic animals. I'm not saying Dust is a bad game, but it was a strange decision, even if it was perfect. Besides that, I have nothing else to say. It was developed by one dude who only had help with music and voice work. It's a really short game, hence why it was an Xbox Arcade release, so let's do a fairly concise review.  I'm also coming off a weeklong illness, so double this up!

Plot: surprisingly good. You play as Dust, an amnesiac fox (?) who was summoned to wield a talking sword. The blade's guardian, Fidget, a flying fox, is along for the ride. The goal is to figure out who Dust is, why he wears his uniform, and why the Blade of Arhrah keeps testing him.
Dust has a great twist in his story, and it helps to guide the main plot. It's also filled with a deep side story or two. There are only two bosses I can see as being actually villainous, which left something to want. It's also back ended with exposition, so the pacing isn't great. 9/10

Gameplay: Castlevania with stubby swords! Dust is a sword user, and Fidget casts magic. You can combine the two with the Dust Storm to deal big damage with massive combos, gaining extra experience for doing so! Along the way, Dust learns new movement abilities to make backtracking give fun rewards. But before you reach those abilities, you can master a few Beat 'em Up combos. So the game is like a meshing of Castlevania and Streets of Rage.

Dust is a love letter to Metroid, Golden Axe, and Ys. I don't get the Ys vibes, but the other two are pretty obvious. And it works very well! It's fun and exciting, and the dungeons keep you on your toes with their unique stage hazards and mobs. Because it's a strong emulation of other games, it doesn't reinvent the wheel. I'll leave that up to you if that's actually a bad thing. There's also no other side content besides fighting and platforming. 6/10

Sound: hit and miss. The voice acting is usually pretty good, but Fidget annoyed me. She was usually fine, but there were negative moments. The OST also isn't my thing. The music was good, but it was more symphonic than anything. The game lacks traditional loops, which I prefer. If you're a band nerd, you'll probably dig this Hyperduck Productions. 8/10

Art: perfect. Every dungeon looks great and unique. The magic spells, all three of them, looked and played differently. Everything else hits. 10/10

Charm: mostly there. The world references itself often, and there are several areas that exist solely for side quests. There's also plenty of fun and cute dialog in those missions. Weather effects exist for some reason. It's a Metroidvania, so, of course, exploration is rad! NPCs have the tendency to feel important, but they're kinda not, and it's only a fifteen hour game. Not sure if that's good or bad. 6/10

There are negatives, though. I often found myself annoyed at trying to interact with things, the save point being the most dominant. I try to press up, but nothing happens. I also hate fourth wall breaking stuff. Guess what Fidget does a number of times? -3

I had a lot of fun with Dust. It was a quick call back to some games I also enjoy. It's another game that feels like a better score than it got. But, in my eyes, Dust: An  Elysian Tail is a 35 out of 50 game.