Dust: An Elysian Tail

DUST: AN ELYSIAN TAIL

Microsoft Studios ~ Humble Hearts

HyperDuck Soundworks

For the first episode on our new game review series, we are reviewing a game I got 117% on and completed it in it's entirety; Dust: An Elysian Tail. Be warned, this game contains a ridiculous amount of furries, meaning that the game only features furries and no humans at all. So if you are disgusted by this sort of thing, turn around or... just close this window, or load up another episode.

THE PLOT [7.5 / 10]

You are Dust, a man who wakes up in the forest with no idea of who he is or how he got here, he cannot remember anything at all. Suddenly, a sword flies towards him and says that he is the blade of Arah, and that he will help Dust along his journey to get his memory back. You soon meet a little orange bat named Fidget, who also helps you along the journey to help get your memory back.

THE ARTWORK & DESIGN [9.5 / 10]

The game is entirely hand-painted and is absolutely gorgeous. The scenery is fantastically done as in of detail and really getting the player immersed into the area. Though the characters being furries (which I am completely okay with), they all look rather interesting and kind, each character being original and neatly designed as of the character they are trying to be.

THE SOUNDTRACK [9.5 / 10]

While playing, you will hear a lot of music, and it is the best soundtrack to a game I have heard in a long time. The soundtrack is composed by HyperDuck Soundworks, and let me tell you, they did a good job! A really good job! I sometimes got creeps in my body for how epic the game was becoming from the great cutscenes or gameplay, mixed in with beautiful music, I couldn't love this game anymore than I had already.

THE GAMEPLAY [8 / 10]

This has some of the best gameplay in a videogame, ever. By watching someone play, you think to yourself, "Jeez, that looks pretty difficult. They must know a bunch of advanced combo moves and play this game all the time." With the 'all the time' you may be right, but it has simple to use gameplay and combat that you no longer need to mash buttons to look absolutely bad ass and be good at the game while doing it.

AWARDS AND COMPLETIONS

2009 Microsoft Dream.Build.Play Challenge

RATINGS

Official Xbox Magazine (9.5 / 10)

Vincent Ingenito from IGN (8.5 / 10)
Tom McShea from GameSpot (7 / 10)

SALES

August 2012 - 45,000 copies sold.

End of 2012 - 83,000 copies sold.

February 18th 2014 - Included as part of Humble Indie Bundle.

March 2014 - Over one-million copies sold.

TPOD RATES DUST: AN ELYSIAN TAIL

9.5 / 10