Dust: An Elysian Tail (Video Game Review)

Dust: An Elysian Tail is one of those very rare few games which lives up to the hype. By all means that's a term which should be derided, downright hated, but it does apply in a scant few cases. With Dust, the tight Action-RPG combat blended with a charming setting and surprising moments of drama delivered exactly what its audience (and developer) wanted: A culmination of the best 2D games of its genre can offer.

The Story

The narrative here starts with what should be a cliche - An amnesiac hero awakens, with no knowledge of who he is, where he is, or how he came to hold the sword in his hands. The sword's guardian, Fidget, soon arrives trying to get the weapon back. However, the semi-sentient sword, the Blade of Ahrah, has other plans and stays with its new owner. Taking the name Dust, the hero sets out to uncover the secrets of his past.

The Good

So, the story is one of cliches. Yeah, there's no denying it, as every part of the above point really brings to mind any one of a dozen games if not a hundred stories. This only becomes more prominent as the game goes on, but that is ultimately by design. In the wrong hands it could have been a crutch, or simply a sign that the writer didn't care for a substantive story, but it ultimately works out. Much of this is down to how it emphasizes theme, atmosphere and emotion over anything else, trying to offer a mixture of mystery and fine detail which made many past games come to life. It's something only a few other games in recent years have achieved, but it's a quality which made the likes of Golden Sun and even Journey so engaging.

The basic story is, however, undeniably enhanced by both the excellent ensemble of voice actors and glorious visuals that Dust offers. There honestly isn't a bad performance found in any character, as the actors typically find a way to give their roles more depth. Dust easily could have been a none-note "I'm Batman!" wannabe anti-hero, but Lucien Dodge's quiet tones and the varied writing helps to give him more depth. Equally, Fidget could have easily fallen into the same trap as Navi, but Kimlinh Tran is able to offer a more charming quality to her high pitched antics. While part of the praise on offer here could be down to the fact this isn't the same four or five voices found in most AAA games - Yes, I love hearing Steve Blum and Jennifer Hale, but there's sometimes too much of a good thing - even discounting that fact, the talent on display significantly improves many of the game's dramatic moments.

The visuals speak for themselves. Honestly, they're bright, bold, colourful and yet retain the capacity to be dark, haunting and remarkably grim at times. This is all done without changing the aesthetic or doing more than merely altering the lighting or basic tones, which makes it all the more effective. This isn't simply an effort to shift gears from one extreme to the other, either, as you wander through meadows, underground cavers, hellish fire pits and ruin dotted mountain ranges. Each has its own tone, its own emotion, but they blend together seamlessly without the same sense of distance or divide you might expect. It's a harder thing to pull off than you might think, especially given how many environments seem to intentionally clash with one another. Yet, for all their conflicting elements, the fine details have enough trace elements, and merge together so well, that it feels like a single cohesive setting.

With all of the praise leveled at the game's presentation, you might expect that the core gameplay would be a major shortfall. Well, it's quite the opposite. It's just that it works so well with the aforementioned elements that it really needs to be broken down in terms of its strengths. For starters, the nature of an Action-RPG game (or Action Platformer as a few have called Dust) typically comes down to a few core elements above all others. It places an emphasis on speed, a few rapid repeatable actions and basic scaling skill-sets. This is all true of Dust, but there's far more to it than just a merely competently executed system. The combat system itself is incredibly responsive, and even on a mouse and keyboard the fluid nature of its mechanics makes it keep pace with your every action. It lacks the usual mouse acceleration or interface problems you would expect of a game ported from a console, and offers an incredible amount of precision with each strike.

The combat system itself offers a few basic moves, with a spinning blade attack, a spell-spam move and basic jumping then slashing strikes. However, the addition of the combo system and how easily each of these blends together into a mixture of air dashes, downward attacks and room clearing homing spells. When you are facing off against a multitude of opponents, playing it feels less Diablo than it does Street Fighter and the addition of a parry system only enhances it further. You can certainly get away with button bashing, but you'll soon see that learning precision controls and attacks are the best way to keep advancing through the game. Part of the reason for the game's responsiveness is how it can interrupt its own animations, allowing for the player to respond to possible threats at a rapid pace. The fact that Dust can offer this without it ever seeming janky or out of place is a true testament to how well it's put together.

The actual exploration element of Dust offers a variety of challenges and surprises at each stage. While many easter eggs serve as shout outs to other releases (both classic and then-current) the nature of each environment always adds a twist onto its predecessor in some way. In one area you need to hack through enemies to reach higher platforms, but in the next you need to do so while fleeing a larger one. Then, in another, you need to trigger an avalanche to progress further, dodging about incoming projectiles to stay ahead. It's a good way of keeping a sense of progression without ever overwhelming the player with details or new ideas, while also offering reasons to re-visit older stages.

Finally, and quite prominently, we have the options menu. This isn't simply a good menu, it's one which puts those in most AAA releases to shame on PC. In fact, it does that with almost all of them. Just for starters, Dust features a mode which accounts for colourblind individuals, which is an extremely rare consideration. Then you have many elements which helps to fine tune your experience for personal preferences, such as completely re-working the HUD's size and positioning to the player's satisfaction. You can even re-work the visual quality of character portraits and details such as depth of field, post processing and weather effects. It's quite possibly one of the single most impressive versions I have seen in an indie game to date, and shows just what we should be getting with options to tailor your experience.

Unfortunately, with all the good comes some bad, and Dust has a few undeniable shortcomings.

The Bad

It takes quite some time for Dust's failings to become apparent, thanks to both its charming nature and strong start. The big one among these is the lack of comprehensive answers for all of the story's points, from the driving conflict to the villain in question. While it doesn't pull a Lost, it does verge on a Big O, as you have a definite end to the core conflict but there is so much left unanswered. In fact, the main villain's motivation might as well boil down to "Because I can" for all we know, and there are definite gaps within the narrative. The fact that this only becomes evident toward the end - during a very action packed finale - helps to disguise this somewhat, but you can easily reflect on the story and pick apart its flaws. 

The narrative really are the big one here, but it would be difficult to explore even a small fragment of the most pressing without spoiling the entire story. As such I will simply say that there are multiple times when the narrative seems disjointed, and certain elements are introduced only to be forgotten later on. For most sidequests this is typically fine, every game has its one-shot ideas. However, then you have characters whose role is implied to have a greater impact only to be forgotten for most of the game.

Furthermore, beyond the core story and side quests, elements of the game's content is notably lacking. The big one is the various challenge areas, Cirelian Trials, which prove to be more frustrating than engaging. These lacks the sort of presentation and reward which makes many such bonuses worthwhile in other releases, and it's difficult to feel any need to race through them. Well, that's not entirely fair. A few initial ones certainly work out well, but they are notably hit and miss.

Surprisingly, the other notable flaw stems from the very thing which might drive you toward the Trails in the first place - The game is incredibly easy. Even if you're someone who typically plays on the lower settings, you'll want to crank it up with Dust as you can easily breeze through the whole experience with little opposition. This becomes all the more evident if you plan on re-visiting past locations, as you quickly become so overpowered that dealing with enemies is more tedious than it is rewarding. You don't gain the sense of increased power, just time wasted when you need to deal with them. This is especially true of the haunted area of the world which, despite the developer's best efforts, is a breeze to go through if you have boosted any of Fidget's magical abilities.

Yet, most pressingly, is how tonally inconstant Dust is at times. You can be in a moment of serious drama or pathos only for it to be undercut by childish humour or an odd joke. This is typically down to how the game stages its side-quests and character moments, as both are well written but the two cross paths with a frustrating frequency. This is at its most obvious during the events in Aurora, but even later on there are odd moments of conflicting tones.

The Verdict

Dust has its problems to be sure, but the game makes it extremely hard to hold those against it. When the story works, it works incredibly well and the atmosphere, questions and characters all help to deliver a great experience. It's a credit to the game's execution that it doesn't leave you feeling cheated, but instead for a sequel to help fill in the gaps and explore what we missed. While it can be easy to get through, the higher difficulties do help to offset that, and the details of the combat system means you can often overlook this.

With all of its problems, it's still an essential addition to any gaming library and a shining example of what an indie developer can accomplish. With its recent port to the Nintendo Switch, I can't think of a better excuse to play through Dust one more time.