Dust & Neon Review (Lloyd XMas)
I played this game at the end of 2023 for the first time, on mouse and keyboard. I think it is very fun. I read some comments and thought it may be pretty bad, but I found most of them are not completely accurate. Could be because there was some quality of life updates recently. It reminds me of The Ascent, but done slightly better IMO.
Some of the criticism I see:
You die and lose your guns: Yes, you will lose your guns but if you didn't there would be very few gun drops, limiting the legendary possibility and variation chances, also there would be no downside to dying. I am completely fine with this.
Aiming is poor: Yes, it can be, and when it is, it is brutal, and close to not playable, but I've only found that I had a inferior gun for one mission that I have played so far. It was right after I died and the revolver they gave me was doo doo. It was very hard to hit anything, and was not fun. Luckily it only happened the one time. I have spec'd into aiming to limit this possibility. Even a 51 accuracy gun is good enough to get the job done.
Maze like missions: The only one I found semi-confusing was the timed bomb mission. Combo'd with a gun that couldn't shoot, it made that mission impossible. I just avoid the bomb diffusal missions. This is the only time you will feel lost...because there is no guidance as to where the bomb is, so you just wander around and have to kill all the enemies, and hope you picked one of the right paths. In my one attempt at this, I couldn't kill anything because of the accuracy of my gun at the time (again, this was the only time I had this) and I timed out and still at the end after just hoofing it to try and find the bomb, I still had no idea where it was at. So, just avoid the bomb missions if you don't like this.
I think the cover system is nice. It's also nice that you don't have to hit a button to get behind cover, the character will automatically do it. Reloading was interesting right away, I didn't think I would like it but after a while it becomes pretty second nature and adds enjoyment. The shotgunners seem a little OP, because they can hit you from anywhere, their distance needs to be nerfed, but you can deal with them if you just are patient, have cover and don't get snuck up on by melee bots. They reload after 3 shots, thats when you attack. The game also prioritizes strategy and placement in the combat, as well as, shooting. It works well, you just have to take the time to understand how to avoid getting hit.
I am not sure if I like this version of a roguelite better than normal kinds...this game you slowly make progress without having to "start at the beginning" after dying. You maintain your levels and your place in the world when you die you just lose your equipment. It seems like once you beat a boss you don't have to beat that boss ever again...maybe there is a second loop, IDK. It would be interesting to see how they could make it where it was more a traditional rogue lite like hades or similar. Like I mentioned, I am not sure which would be better.
All in all, get the game its worth a try. I got it for $5 but after playing it I still would have been happy if I paid full price.