Dust: An Elysian Tail Review (ALL VERSE)
A GAME SO GOOD THAT IT MADE ME FORGIVE FURRIES FOR EXISTING
You may be thinking: “All Verse, are you crazy? Why let furries scurry about and let them do their thing?”. I say to you, my good friend, that furries have always been creative with whatever scratches their itchy neurodivergent brains, such as their fursuit’s attention to detail, fanarts, animations, and even video games. Zeekers is an example for creating Lethal Company, and so is Dean Dodrill’s creation – Dust: An Elysian’s Tail.
You play as Dust, an amnesiac Sasuke-esque character who seeks an explanation as to how he comes into existence suddenly. He is accompanied by the wise talking Blade of Ahrah, and Fidget, the typical small flying loud-mouthed sidekick (the trope that I’m not really a fan of *ehem* Paimon *ehem*). And together, they journey to find the answers to Dust’s existential questions whilst saving people along the way.
STORY 8/10
Do not be fooled by its childish furry artstyle. This game offers a compelling story that challenges gamers to tackle existential dread, identity crisis, genocide/ethnic cleansing, sheer failure, and loss - with hope, resilience, and kindness. I only wish they put the main antagonist more depth because the game hinted at his nuanced feelings about Dust, but was never explored, thus felt rushed
ART 9/10
The graphics, artstyle, and animations are just spectacular. The most surprising part is that it was made by one person. The fighting animations are also top-notch. Every swing of the sword and casting of spells have so much weight with its flashes, subtle screen shakes, and aftereffects. The walking animation is so smooth that every step makes you feel like a badass because of how cool Dust’s cape moves, with a big hat that makes him look mysterious. It’s a shame that the cutscene animations are often awkward-looking at times, especially in the revelation part.
Music 7.5/10
The music is not iconic, but it does the job done when matching the mood of the scenes of the game. Although they are not something that I would listen to regularly on Spotify. It's meh at best. EXCEPT at the part where Dust recites his final speech about being justice incarnate to General Gaius, and also when he “dies” – during moments of climax.
Gameplay 6.5/10
This is unfortunately where I think the game is weakest at. You can swing swords like a maniac and spam spells like an Elden Ring Mage user to feel like an all-powerful deity but I cannot deny how it feels repetitive. The metroidvania games in the market have difficult but rewarding bosses to kill, but not this game. It feels tedious, plain, and outright boring. Although, the voice acting of the bosses are just top-notch. To me personally, that helps me look past the shortcomings of the gameplay.
OVERALL 7.75/10
It's a game that made me forgive furries for existing, sure, but nothing revolutionary. To be fair, it was created by one person . I highly recommend this game to those who love to support indie games and would enjoy a really good story.