This was a game I had kept my eye on ever since it was first announced, as it seemed to be the very environmental-based sandbox game I had acquired the desire to play within recent times. Now, the important thing to consider is that From Dust is somewhat misleading in this aspect, because it isn't much of a sand-box game at all. Though I was disappointed at this realisation initially, IThis was a game I had kept my eye on ever since it was first announced, as it seemed to be the very environmental-based sandbox game I had acquired the desire to play within recent times. Now, the important thing to consider is that From Dust is somewhat misleading in this aspect, because it isn't much of a sand-box game at all. Though I was disappointed at this realisation initially, I was still impressed at what the game turned out to be. Perhaps my misunderstanding was due to a lack of research pre-purchase, but From Dust offers a more strategic and linear experience. You start with a small tribe of men and women, and you control 'The Breath', which is essentially a glorified cursor integrated into the game's loose plot. 'The Breath' AKA you, the player, are able to manipulate the land and the sea by taking it and depositing it elsewhere. You use this power to manipulate the environment in order to provide a safe haven for your villagers. For example, your homeless villagers are on an island, and the totem they require to create a village is across a small portion of sea. Using 'The Breath', you extract masses of sand from a nearby beach, and deposit it over the water, creating a bridge for the villagers to cross the ocean and reach the totem on the other side.
Obviously this is the game at it's most simplistic. As you progress, the complexity increases, and you're introduced a number of things. There's other powers granted by creating villages, such as the ability to temporarily 'Jellify' water, which makes water behave like land, other elements such as lava, manipulation of plant life and natural disasters such as volcanoes and tsunami's that can destroy your efforts in one fell swoop. The primary objective remains to keep your people and villages safe by protecting them from the elements at all costs. There's also a secondary objective of spreading vegetation throughout the land, a process which happens automatically, but will cleverly still require to you to have some input in some shape or form to avoid hazards such as forest fires. The campaign is a lot of fun. However, the main thing about the game though that really, really impresses me is the dynamic nature of the environment. Ubisoft have gone through great lengths to ensure each world almost acts like it's alive. When playing other games, you see land, you see ocean, you may see volcanoes and lava, but they're just for show. You never really stop and think about it. It's this mindset gained from playing other games that will make you almost wonderfully stumble into naive error. Taking land and putting it in water to make a bridge means that the water that was there originally needs to go somewhere else. Blocking a stream in order to cross it means the stream continues to move, but elsewhere. Before you know it, you've made a nice bridge of land, but your water-level village has been destroyed by flooding because that water had to go somewhere! That stream has now relocated to block the path of the levels exit! And don't get me started on the nasty things that lava can do! You've always got to be on the ball and that's what really gives From Dust it's wow factor. From Dust is not without disappointments though. I found the difficulty curve on the campaign to be far too steep for my taste, going from tutorial-level easy to intermediate within a single level or two. While I do enjoy a challenge, I felt the challenge came too soon. I was still learning the controls and basic features while playing a level that should have really been further on in the campaign. I think this steep curve has an explanation in that the campaign itself is very short, another disappointment. I got the impression that Ubisoft rather added in the harder levels sooner, than put the time in to make a more consistent and longer campaign mode. Granted, the game boasts 50 challenge mode levels, but ironically only 3 or 4 provided any significant challenge. While I've praised the dynamic nature of the game, it's also one of it's downfalls in a way that almost can't be helped. Let's be honest, there's nothing more frustrating than all your hard work and progress being wiped away by renegade lava or water flows you took your eye off for a minute or two whilst dealing with another problem. I found some of the harder levels were only able to be completed by following a self-made structure from trial and error as a consequence of the dynamic hazards. I'd restart for the fourth time and know to put this much land here, redirect this flow here etc. It's disappointing as it removes part of the spontaneity the game endeavours. With the exception of a steep difficulty curve, relatively short length and the occasional infuriating hazards, From Dust is a wonderful little game. It looks beautiful, it feels fresh, and the environment mechanics are out of this world. Definitely worth a go.… Expand
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