Dust: An Elysian Tail

 PC
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 538 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 440 out of 538
  2. Mixed: 67 out of 538
  3. Negative: 31 out of 538

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  1. QAOSbringer
    Feb 25, 2023
    9
    Combination of Metroidvania, RPG, Hack&Slash and Action Platform in a single game. The story feels very childish, but it presents a tale-like atmosphere inside the game. You can choose different difficulty settings, and this gives you a chance to play with your own play-style. You can taste the story, or just challenge yourself to the max. Character movements are smooth enough, and youCombination of Metroidvania, RPG, Hack&Slash and Action Platform in a single game. The story feels very childish, but it presents a tale-like atmosphere inside the game. You can choose different difficulty settings, and this gives you a chance to play with your own play-style. You can taste the story, or just challenge yourself to the max. Character movements are smooth enough, and you regularly get new abilities during the story. You can play the game as a button mashing Hack&Slash, or just an exploring platform game, no matter what is your choice, it gives enough content for that specific purpose.

    9: Must play - One of the best games of the year it came out.    … Expand
  2. SergeiZ
    Oct 22, 2021
    10
    Wonderful Metroidvania. Interesting, albeit predictable, plot, characters. Of the minuses, I note not the smoothest mechanics (sometimes opponents can throw the player into the abyss or lava), and in some places not the most beautiful graphics. But the game was essentially made by one person, so I'm ready to forgive those flaws.
  3. GandalfCzarny
    Jun 2, 2021
    10
    From whatever perpective I look from I see masterpiece. I love everything about this game - story, characters, lore, graphics, music, voice acting, nearly everything is perfect. This is truly one of my top 5 games of all time
  4. Lepetitroig
    Nov 15, 2020
    8
    Bonito y emotivo, un beat'em up plataformero con un dibujo que te dejara enamorado. Tanto la jugabilidad como el escalado de nivel se siente fiel al avance del juego, y la historia no queda atrás, que acompaña al arte en una espiral de sentimientos que nos dejarán algo roto.
  5. Inuyasha17
    Jun 22, 2020
    10
    It feels like watching an animation.
    It's a well-made game with great care.
    Especially, action and hitting sense are excellent.
    Aside from the story, I recommend this game even if you want to enjoy the action.
    But the story is also a very good game.
    It's probably like a sword fight game set in the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea.
  6. BobTheViking
    Feb 10, 2020
    10
    This game is an excellent 2D Action RPG. It is definitely one of my all time favorites. The gameplay is tons of fun. The graphics are pretty. The soundtrack is AMAZING! And I also really liked the story as well. Given that its a pretty cheap game to buy, I would have to say its a great value for what you are paying!
  7. Yanarsen
    Apr 11, 2019
    10
    Stunning game! Its beautiful from all aspects. Amazing 2D action RPG. Storyline is so surprising, map is fairly big, soundtrack is complete killer! A lot of different equipment, even achievements on Steam are not just based on "Complete the game and you have all of 'em". Combat system is solid, and all opponents (especially bosses) are quite unique. Boss fights are maybe weak point of thisStunning game! Its beautiful from all aspects. Amazing 2D action RPG. Storyline is so surprising, map is fairly big, soundtrack is complete killer! A lot of different equipment, even achievements on Steam are not just based on "Complete the game and you have all of 'em". Combat system is solid, and all opponents (especially bosses) are quite unique. Boss fights are maybe weak point of this game (they are not that hard, but not so easy neither). And thing that impresses me the most is that this game is entirely made by ONE SINGLE PERSON! Hope we will see some sequel at any point!… Expand
  8. Devazrael
    Nov 19, 2018
    8
    Positives: Graphics, music are great. A lot of hours to play for the value. Combos, combos and more combos, its adctive. RPG elements !

    Negative: Sometimes i fell like im in the same map I was before and gets confuse. But its not a big issue.
  9. GolovA
    Sep 11, 2017
    9
    I have yet to see a more abysmal save/checkpoint system and a more annoying Skip dialogue mechanism than in Dust. Yet the game is swift, dynamic, a bit childish, but with a solid though stereotypical and cliché story/names/character depiction, well drawn, and generally well put together.

    En Resumen:
    Solid Dynamic Well Designed and Fun 2D Slasher.
  10. Jord
    Aug 10, 2017
    10
    One man made this game. ONE MAN. This game was one of the greatest under the radar games of its time. So much love was put into this game and I'll never forget my experience with it.
  11. triptop
    May 29, 2017
    10
    A beautiful example of indie gaming done right. You can see just how much of the creator's soul was poured into this work, from its gorgeous art, diverse environments, tight controls, fun and varied combat, humorous story, and clear direction from beginning to end. You absolutely should not pass this one up, It still runs for $15 on Steam, and it's one of those special exceptions thatA beautiful example of indie gaming done right. You can see just how much of the creator's soul was poured into this work, from its gorgeous art, diverse environments, tight controls, fun and varied combat, humorous story, and clear direction from beginning to end. You absolutely should not pass this one up, It still runs for $15 on Steam, and it's one of those special exceptions that feels like it deserves that price point even years after release. I sincerely hope that the creator's success and profit here results in more games of this caliber down the line.… Expand
  12. Claytality
    Apr 7, 2017
    9
    Dust has great metroidvania action, superb voice acting, humorous moments, and a great story.

    A few small flaws:
    1. occasionally imprecise parrying
    2. the cartoon cut scenes are somewhat poor quality

    As a metroidvania fan I highly recommend this game. Bought for $2.99 on sale, played 25 hours. Will play again every few years for the rest of my life.
  13. DaydreamR
    Apr 6, 2017
    9
    Wow This action RPG video game that I found for a long time. Cuteness animation, all of character are neutral face. The story is great until ending, make me happy 9/10
  14. seifershneider
    Feb 16, 2017
    10
    Dust: An Elysian Tail is a fantastyic beat'em all that draws inspiration from the great Muramasa. This game has everything that a player looks for in a video game: poetry, wonder, quality gameplay, smart ideas and fantastic implementation, powerful sensations and great pleasure/satisfaction. I strongly recommend this game for the following reasons:

    Pros: + Both an enchanting and brutal    Dust: An Elysian Tail is a fantastyic beat'em all that draws inspiration from the great Muramasa. This game has everything that a player looks for in a video game: poetry, wonder, quality gameplay, smart ideas and fantastic implementation, powerful sensations and great pleasure/satisfaction. I strongly recommend this game for the following reasons:

    Pros:
    + Both an enchanting and brutal environment/story.
    + A magnificient artistic direction.
    + A speedy and nervous gameplay.
    + Over 10 hours to finish the game.
    + A good soundtrack
    + A low price for the quality of the game. Seriously, there are some garbage games out there for $49+.

    Cons or Tips:
    + Start with higher difficulty if you want a serious challenge.
    + Combos could have been made more complex.
    + I loved the game so much that I didn't want to finish it. I didn't want the story to end... And that's a mark of an outstanding artwork.

    Verdict: A+    … Expand
  15. Toalbooth
    Jan 16, 2017
    10
    For a game made by one man who had no experience in coding, and a budget of $40,000 out of his own wallet, this has to be one of the, if not THE best game I have ever played in my life.
    When the game first came out onto Xbox Live in 2012, it later got ported to Steam in 2013: the version I've played, which is also the best PC port of any game I've ever seen, fantastic PC controls which    For a game made by one man who had no experience in coding, and a budget of $40,000 out of his own wallet, this has to be one of the, if not THE best game I have ever played in my life.
    When the game first came out onto Xbox Live in 2012, it later got ported to Steam in 2013: the version I've played, which is also the best PC port of any game I've ever seen, fantastic PC controls which don't require a controller, and even re-recorded lines in some cases for the PC controls, not to mention instant recognition when you hook up a controller to it.
    Dust is a Sidescroller Beat 'em up, you fight to save the Moonlblood race from General Gaius, as you go on, the game is also a form of Metroidvania, a set pathway but will reward you if you're curious to go off the beaten path.
    The visuals are absolutely fantastic, the voice acting is perfect in portraying the characters and the music is ear warming deliciousness.
    I don't want to say more without going into my hype rant mode, but please do buy this game, whether it's on Steam and PS4 for £11 or iOS for £4.99, you will have an amazing time playing it.
    You can thank me later    … Expand
  16. Dbgarza
    Nov 4, 2016
    10
    This is a game that got me really hooked that I played it from beginning to end on the same month I bought it. The visual part is simply amazing. The combat system is solid and easy to dominate, and this is comming from someone who sucks at making combos, but on this game I made them fairly easy that I even unlocked the 1000 combo achievement (it is called Combo Breaker if my memory servesThis is a game that got me really hooked that I played it from beginning to end on the same month I bought it. The visual part is simply amazing. The combat system is solid and easy to dominate, and this is comming from someone who sucks at making combos, but on this game I made them fairly easy that I even unlocked the 1000 combo achievement (it is called Combo Breaker if my memory serves right).

    I loved the anime style videos that play on certain parts of the game that tells us more about the game's plot, even though in PC they're compressed as Windows Media Videos, the quality is quite high.

    The characters's personalities were quite good. Kudos to the voice cast because of how much effort they put into recording the dialogs, each actor recorded their dialogs on their home studios while the voice director was directing them via Skype call.

    I really can recommend this game. Actually I recommended it to a friend of mine and he fell in love with it.

    This is how a good game should be done and best thing is that you can play the PC version even on a old Core 2 Duo PC with 2GB ram, so no one will be out due to not having a good PC :)    … Expand
  17. DanySK
    May 12, 2016
    8
    Very nice fast paced action platformer with RPG elements. Despite being a game available also on mobile, the graphics is extremely polished (2D surely helps a lot), and the game is solid and fast also on old systems, and also on not-so-common operating systems (I've played it entirely on Linux). The game can be enjoyed best with a gamepad, I used a Steam Controller and it worked like aVery nice fast paced action platformer with RPG elements. Despite being a game available also on mobile, the graphics is extremely polished (2D surely helps a lot), and the game is solid and fast also on old systems, and also on not-so-common operating systems (I've played it entirely on Linux). The game can be enjoyed best with a gamepad, I used a Steam Controller and it worked like a charm.
    The plot is very enjoyable and the characters lovely (how can't you love Fidget?). The RPG elements are an interesting addition, that keeps the player more interested in the game. There are lots of easter eggs (if you have played Bastion or Fez, keep your eyes open...), and the map that tells you how much you have explored of each area saves the player from wasting lots of time in searching where nothing is present, or from giving up searching bonus and conclude the game.
    Overall, I warmly recommend it.    … Expand
  18. Nemo84
    Feb 12, 2016
    10
    Great game with great gameplay. Good music, good levels, good characters i can't find anything bad about this game. I played it over and over again. All i need to say is play it for sure you will enjoy.
  19. gamedefy
    Aug 23, 2015
    8
    Dust An Elysian Tail developed by HumbleHearts is a action adventure RPG set in the hand painted word of Falana. Falana is a world full of lore, surprises, and danger. Most areas of the game are large enough to encourage exploration, full of enemies of varying types and attributes. While the enemies are not the most challenging you definitely cannot let your guard down. Snow Dust

    You    Dust An Elysian Tail developed by HumbleHearts is a action adventure RPG set in the hand painted word of Falana. Falana is a world full of lore, surprises, and danger. Most areas of the game are large enough to encourage exploration, full of enemies of varying types and attributes. While the enemies are not the most challenging you definitely cannot let your guard down. Snow Dust

    You play through the game as the character named Dust. Who finds himself without an identity or much recollection of his past. He is aided by Ahrah a majestical talking sword, and Fidget, a squeaky orange Nimbat with her own set of powers, both of which aid Dust in finding purpose. As the story progresses the main objective becomes very clear. A tyrannical General named Gaius has been conquering the lands, and performing genocide on a particular species known as Moonbloods. Dust and his companions finds themselves morally compelled to put an end to these monstrous actions. While the plot of the game and its characters in a whole are really nothing new, the presentation and the qualities of the characters, make them endearing and hold your interest until the game’s conclusion.

    The RPG elements are there but are very simple. As you progress Dust will acquire better equipment and weapons, and will also level up. You can use this progress to enhance your health points, attack rating, defense rating, and Fidget’s magic skills as well. The streamlined RPG elements are arguably one of the charms of the game. Some will wish that the RPG elements were more in-depth, while others will be thankful for this more simplistic approach. With each level comes a sense of empowerment, as foes who used to take 5-6 strikes before falling will now take 1-2. Chaining Dust’s attacks into a furious fray is an awesome spectacle and you are the catalyst. As higher combinations are strung together the experience bonuses become significantly greater. What is superb about the gameplay is your control over Dust. You feel agile, responsive, and efficient. Your movements are swift and exact, and it is up to you to put these excellent controls to proper use.

    Primarily everything we have against the gameplay are just small gripes. Arguably the biggest issues are the boss battles and the game’s ending. Bosses are essentially just enemies that have increased health points, and can be easily dispatched by spamming your attacks. It would have been great to have some more added complexity, or more cinematic qualities to these particular battles. It is unfortunate, as most quests lead up to these fights with a sense of urgency, only to be let down that you can spam the bosses to death.

    Also the game’s ending feels rushed, and the ending cinematic adds more confusion than conclusion. In the grand scheme of things the finale does not feel nearly as polished as almost every other aspect of the game. A meaningful conclusion should have been a major focus, as this is a more character driven story than just a straight brawler.

    The quality of the animation will leave you with an appreciation for this style of art design. You can see the weight of the sword as Dust heaves to throw a strike. You feel the weight of an enemy as you grab onto them to slam their body into the ground. All of which leads to a satisfying triumph as you take on hordes and hordes of enemies.

    The game’s score deserves your attention as it was composed by Alexander Brandon and HyderDuck Studios. Each musical composition matches and enhances the tone of the situation being presented to you to great affect.

    Depending upon your skill level and desire to be a completionist makes a determination on how long your playthrough is. The game is roughly 10-20 hours based upon the aforementioned criterion. Each area you visit is re-playable, in that you can complete the main mission for the selected level but come back and grind for better equipment, more experience, or find more secret chests and areas to platform to. At the time of this review the game is currently $14.99 on Steam or GoG.com, with this amount of content the game is indeed a bargain.

    Dust an Elysian Tail is not without it’s faults: the rushed ending, and pacing issues, can definitely pull you out of the moment. However it is an amazing achievement, as one person developed the game over the course of four years. There are games that have full development teams that cannot get the controls to feel this slick or responsive. Throughout the experience I was compelled to keep going forward without feeling like I was just grinding to win, which is a design achievement in itself. Overall games like this are a rarity and should be discussed as a possible classic as experiences like these are timeless.

    An 8 out of 10.

    Feel free to visit us at GameDEFY    … Expand
  20. htetas
    Jul 8, 2015
    10
    I don't normally like indie platformer but this game is different and it is really beautiful and combat is really fun. It is impressive more so that every character has voice acting. I love the game and would recommend anyone in a heartbeat.
  21. ThePCGamer101
    Jun 24, 2015
    10
    A Fantastic Indie game, the creator at Humble Hearts should be awarded for all his effort and hard work, very good work a fantastic indie game... Recommend buying this game
  22. sdc
    Apr 5, 2015
    10
    Well worth the 15 bucks they charge nowadays. A fantastic story with twists and turns, a beautiful art design that reminds me of Disney when it was good, solid combat and slick controls, tight level design, ambient music, and I really love the graphics, if not washed out.
  23. hassenpheffer
    Mar 27, 2015
    9
    Excellent in almost every respect. I can go on and on about all the terrific gameplay and visuals but just find out how awesome it is on your own. A must own for old school platform lovers.
  24. FogCityRoller
    Mar 15, 2015
    9
    A thoroughly fun adventure through an anthropomorphic world with seemingly endless combos and enchanted swords. Well worth the money and another notch on the belt of fantastic indie games. A bit of a button masher but if you loved Odin Sphere for PS2 you will absolutely love this game.
  25. DreamerTG
    Mar 2, 2015
    10
    Dust an Elysian Tail may be rough here and there, and I admit I hated certain sgements, but looking back at the whole adventure, this is easily one of the best games out there, and a shining example of how a PC game truly should be.
  26. ForestBug
    Dec 22, 2014
    10
    WARNING: FAN BOY AHEAD

    The heck with the furry haters and internet trolls, this game is amazing. Let alone my favorite game of all time! The art style is amazing, the characters are well-developed, and the music is astounding. Yes, I may be a furry, but that doesn't prove the point that you'll be attached to certain characters. ESPECIALLY Dust himself. Even the development was    WARNING: FAN BOY AHEAD

    The heck with the furry haters and internet trolls, this game is amazing. Let alone my favorite game of all time! The art style is amazing, the characters are well-developed, and the music is astounding. Yes, I may be a furry, but that doesn't prove the point that you'll be attached to certain characters. ESPECIALLY Dust himself. Even the development was interesting, because it took 4 years to make by one guy (aside from the music, voice acting, writing, etc.) The game also has addictive gameplay and makes a unique use of the controls. Even though it is a RPG, you won't have to grind in it, which is less painful. The bosses are great and challenging fights that make you feel depressed at the end. Speaking of which, the game can get dark at times, even if it's rated E 10. All in all, this game is PLUPERFECT. PERFECT ART. PERFECT CHARACTERS. PERFECT STORY. PERFECT MUSIC. PERFECT GAMEPLAY. PERFECT QUESTS. PERFECT EVERYTHING!!!

    And to think, 29 people posted negative reviews of this game. All I can say is this: I know I'm supposed to be open to other opinions, but whoever hated this game is bound to face their demise.    … Expand
  27. lahjaunelmia
    Oct 29, 2014
    9
    This is a spoiler-free review. Very good game. Only one chapter was actually boring, the third one but other than that the gameplay was good. Every boss is very easy except for the final boss. It wasn't hard but at least gave me some challenge. As for the story it was fantastic and the voice acting was topnotch. Ending was just weird I mean the characters' reactions seemed kindaThis is a spoiler-free review. Very good game. Only one chapter was actually boring, the third one but other than that the gameplay was good. Every boss is very easy except for the final boss. It wasn't hard but at least gave me some challenge. As for the story it was fantastic and the voice acting was topnotch. Ending was just weird I mean the characters' reactions seemed kinda whatever-like somewhat. There could have been more emotion in the ending. Music is also amazing and there is a lot to do in this game if you want to 100% it. It took me like 10 hours just do beat the game.… Expand
  28. Reciter5613
    Oct 10, 2014
    9
    This was a fun 2D side scrolled. The DMC like fighting is simple and very engaging. The hand-drawn characters are nicely animated and I hope to see more games done like this. Most of the characters are very likeable (Especially Fidget).

    Only a few flaws I could see. Like how your almost never getting the crafting materials you need on a drop. Good thing they have the thing of selling it    This was a fun 2D side scrolled. The DMC like fighting is simple and very engaging. The hand-drawn characters are nicely animated and I hope to see more games done like this. Most of the characters are very likeable (Especially Fidget).

    Only a few flaws I could see. Like how your almost never getting the crafting materials you need on a drop. Good thing they have the thing of selling it to buy later. Also the last lever overdoes it on the enemies making it repetitive and annoying after a while. Finally the only flaw with the story is the Villain's reasons for the evil thing he's doing is very questionable and it didn't feel like there was enough build-up before the final battle.

    Overall I'm glad I played it and hope to see more like this.    … Expand
  29. clavinthecat
    Jun 23, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The ending where he dies and comes back brings great feels, this is a game with underline great graphics and great story line. Everything works out perfectly where you help people while unraveling the mystery of who the main character is and why he exists. Great mechanics and well everything at LEAST great and a squeal would be amazing and very possible.… Expand
  30. blaow
    Jun 3, 2014
    8
    I was excited when I heard about this game because I hadn't played a so-called 'Metroid-Vania' game in years and had the itch. Not much can satisfy like a good old school branching 2d platformer, so I snatched Dust: An Elysian Tail when it was on sale. It is an excellent game - ASTOUNDING when you consider it was made by one person who had to learn how to code as a first step! I'm notI was excited when I heard about this game because I hadn't played a so-called 'Metroid-Vania' game in years and had the itch. Not much can satisfy like a good old school branching 2d platformer, so I snatched Dust: An Elysian Tail when it was on sale. It is an excellent game - ASTOUNDING when you consider it was made by one person who had to learn how to code as a first step! I'm not taking that fact into account with my review (I'm tough but fair), nevertheless much respect to him for this amazing achievement.

    The biggest pro for me is the fluid and rewarding combat system. Everything is very smooth, the visuals are very entertaining and chaining together a big combo is very satisfying. The enemies towards the beginning are way too easy but as you go there are a few quite challenging enemies starting about halfway through. A tip for anyone with even a passing familiarity with 2d platformers - use at least the tough difficulty setting, otherwise this will be way too easy. The artwork is a highlight. Every environment is beautiful, with multi-level backdrops, beautiful plants, animals and settings. Game pace is good, secret areas are well done. The animation is very good, but Dust himself kind of runs around like he has a stick up his ass. The sound is pretty good. There are also several homages to old games (and I mean OLD, even back to NES games) that I enjoyed more than I thought I would.

    I only have a few minor complaints. First I found the story interesting but the conversations long winded. Probably 25% of the dialogue should have been chopped. It messes with the pacing of an otherwise great story. I think the complaints about Fidget being annoying are overblown. I also wish that there were more weapons to collect besides Fidget's three ammo types, especially since only one was useful. As good as the combat system is, another type of sword or boomerang or SOMETHING would have been nice. My biggest complaint is the amount of trouble I have to go through to get the game working with my Logitech Rumblepad 2. I had to use x360ce to emulate an xbox gamepad. It works great but was a pain to set up.

    That's all! Great game, would definitely recommend. I'm very much looking forward to a sequel, which I'm sure will address some of my minor complaints.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

22
#22 Best PC Game of 2013
66
#66 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
79
#79 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Sep 19, 2013
    100
    Dust is energetic like a tornado. It has its artistic touch to it. This gem is like the best of the video games history, to shine upon the present days. [Issue#232]
  2. PC Gamer
    Jul 8, 2013
    79
    Highly entertaining, substantial and a visual treat but with a slight whiff of Gorgonzola in the story department.
    Read full review
  3. GameStar
    Jun 6, 2013
    79
    Quotation forthcoming.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »