Designer Dean Dodrill has created an amazing side-scrolling action game.
The first few hours of Dust feel more like a brawler than a platformer. Mobs of monsters are thrown your way, mounting the only threat to your hit points. This changes soon enough, and Dust's trials of agility can even be somewhat unforgiving.
The result is a well-rounded challenge that brings the gameplay up to par with Dust's ambitious story. It also exudes polish the HUD layout and size can be changed to your liking (this feature made me happy enough to hope that other game-makers are taking note). There's another detail that somehow multiplies Dust's appeal, an endearing moment that works to make you feel like a hero rather than a player. As you look to your world map between bouts of war-waging, you can shift your gaze enough to see Fidget, either sleeping peacefully or roasting foodstuffs by the campfire.
The freedom of those pleasures is what you fight for in Dust, and between its quiet times and its bloody ones, the game makes a strong invitation for any fan of platformer and RPG genres.
Score: 9 / 10
