LUNA The Shadow Dust

 PC
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. PC Gamer
    Feb 14, 2020
    72
    An enchanting adventure that boasts some magical hand-drawn animation, but will inevitably leave some players perplexed.
  2. The Overpowered Noobs
    Mar 9, 2020
    70
    Though a little on the short side, this beautifully drawn puzzler is full of variety and well worth checking out.
  3. Adventure Gamers
    Feb 19, 2020
    70
    LUNA: The Shadow Dust is an audio-visual delight, with charming hand-drawn animation accompanied by a stellar soundtrack, though its gameplay isn’t very inventive and is ultimately more a case of style over substance.
  5. GameSpew
    Feb 19, 2020
    70
    There’s no question that LUNA: The Shadow Dust has been a passion project for Lantern Studio. The care and attention that’s gone into even the smallest details is plain and clear to see. While its puzzles can be quite obtuse at times, any video game enthusiast will be happy to turn a blind eye to experience what this game has to offer. It isn’t perfect, and it isn’t for everyone, but it’s a true accomplishment – of that I have no doubt.
  6. Meristation
    Feb 18, 2020
    70
    Beautiful and short point and click adventure with gorgeous visuals inspired by the works of the Ghibli studio, with some good puzzles that could have offered much more in their mechanics.
  7. CD-Action
    Mar 17, 2020
    60
    The gameplay tries to accomplish too many things at once and would use more simplicity in exchange for a more interesting, unique story. [04/2020, p.82]
    All this publication's reviews
  8. Cubed3
    Feb 18, 2020
    50
    Too easy, too simple, and more often than not, too dull and slow, LUNA The Shadow Dust counts on its beautiful, fairy-tail, dreamy graphics, and soothing OST, a bit too much than it should. It's not a bad point-and-click adventure, sure, and those who can look past its heavy flaws will be entertained for about two to three hours, but if it weren't for its stunning hand-painted world, few would give it a second look.
  9. Slant Magazine
    Feb 12, 2020
    50
    Its point-and-click adventure elements eventually feel alternately rudimentary and more than a little tedious.
This publication does not provide a score for their reviews.
This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation.

In Progress & Unscored

?
  1. Eurogamer
    Feb 25, 2020
    From its winning art to its calming music and puzzle design, Luna has a lot going for itself. [Eurogamer Recommended]

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 52 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 52
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 52
  3. Negative: 12 out of 52
  1. GamerGuysNGals
    Feb 17, 2020
    8
    “Luna the Shadow Dust”

    Reviewed By: Mouseboy Platforms: PC, macOS, Linux (Steam) Developer: Lantern Studio Publishers: Application    “Luna the Shadow Dust”

    Reviewed By: Mouseboy
    Platforms: PC, macOS, Linux (Steam)
    Developer: Lantern Studio
    Publishers: Application Systems Heidelberg, Coconut Island Games
    Release Date: Feb 13, 2020
    Price: $19.99 US (Steam)
    Players: 1
    Genre: Point-and-click Adventure

    Game reviewed on PC (Steam).

    Luna the Shadow Dust is the kind of game that you have no idea why you’re playing, but you enjoy it every step of the way. A classic point and click adventure, with minimalist design, lacking any narrative, voiceover or dialogue, Luna still manages to get its point across with great animation and superb game development.

    Created by a Chinese team from Shanghai, this game exudes the love of its designers, from hand-painted incredibly detailed backgrounds, to instantly loveable characters to the thought-provoking puzzles in every level. While similar in game design to classics like Botanicula and Machinarium, it’s clearly visually inspired in part by Miyazaki films and the Little Prince and the combination goes well together with the overall art style and direction.

    The music is phenomenal, orchestral and rich, and the sound design is clean, with just the right amount of sound effects (and good use of audio positioning). It’s the kind of game you just want to leave running in the background for the soundtrack alone.

    The game itself follows a boy named Üri and the strange cat-like creature he rescues, Layh, as he climbs a tower full of mysteries. Each room of the tower has different challenges, puzzles that often involve interactions between light and shadow or pattern matching using the environment. Clues to solve the puzzle are often hidden in the background, though sometimes they are too obscure to be very useful.

    There are 24 easy-to-medium difficulty achievements on Steam for those achievement hunters out there, and the game as a whole can be finished in 4-6 hours (with another hour for completionist achievement hunting). Although the game lacks native game controller support, as a point and click game, all that is really needed is a functioning mouse. The settings menu is remarkably simple as a result of this choice.

    Although the game seems short it has a variety of interesting puzzles and a beautiful story told through animated cutscenes.

    Pros: Amazing hand-painted backgrounds, but still low-impact graphics, could play on a computer built out of canvas. Diverse variety of puzzles. Beautiful cutscenes.
    Cons: Some puzzles lack the clues necessary to proceed without random clicking. Occasional mild bugs. Puzzles often require overly-repetitive actions.

    Overall: 8 of 10
    A beautiful work of art to point and click through.    … Full Review »
  2. paol0
    Feb 14, 2020
    10
    Amazing illustration style, a bit like Shaun Tan's artwork. Very enjoyable, not-too-hard puzzles, ambient music, overall great family game.
  3. farkasdavid01
    Feb 13, 2020
    10
    LUNA The Shadow Dust is one of the very best indie game I have ever played. Charming art style, beautiful music and great story.
See all user reviews »