I said it before in Mercenary Kings review, but this PS+ subscription I have is more than paying for itself in the number of free games I've been getting. Between two consoles, getting 4 games a month is pretty sweet and considering how much the triple A's have been knocking it out of the park (they haven't) it's really a great deal.
It's allowed me to build quite the little pile of shame of games I've downloaded and maybe sat with for like a hour or two. Today I would like to talk about a recently released title on ps4 (originally on the 360 in 2012) that I downloaded, expected nothing from, and honestly knew nothing about....
It's allowed me to build quite the little pile of shame of games I've downloaded and maybe sat with for like a hour or two. Today I would like to talk about a recently released title on ps4 (originally on the 360 in 2012) that I downloaded, expected nothing from, and honestly knew nothing about....
DUST: AN ELYSIAN TALE
The game opens up with a narrator recounting the tale of warrior who lays waste to a village, and the power contained within his weapon. It is a brief exposition as the game then cuts to a ronin looking character passed out in the woods. He is awoken by a floating, glowing sword. When the sword introduces himself as the Blade of Ahrah, the ronin is unable to identify himself. The sword tells him that his name is Dust, and that he was it was he who summoned the blade.
Before Dust can make sense of the situation, he is approached by a flying Nimbat who calls herself Fidget. She apparently the sword's guardian. So when it became sentient and floated off, Fidget gave chase. The three make a mutual agreement to figure out who Dust is, the purpose for the sword's summoning, and the eventual returning of the blade to where it belongs so Fidget won't get in trouble. The trio makes for the neighboring town of Aurora, but there is no shortage of monsters trying to impede their progress.
It's funny how my opinions on a game can boomerang on me in a matter of moments simply because of some subtle changes. The game started out and I was pretty impressed with the visual style, but then I was turned off by the characters being anthropomorphic, then I was impressed with the play control and combat engine, then I was turned off by some of the voices, then I was enjoying the tongue and cheek manner of dialog. I'm sure it won't be the last time my opinion changes on it.
So, the game bills itself as an Action-RPG, but more accurately I would say that is more of Action-Platformer with RPG elements. I would akin the entire games style to that of Odin Sphere or specifically Muramasa: The Demon Blade. You are given a reasonably large 2d map to cover with platforms you can use to scale up and down on, which allows the grid based map to move in multiple directions. Enemies appear on the screen and your job is to hack and slash them as you move along. Sometimes you have to fight, sometimes you don't.
The combat is all very fluid and fast paced, which is a big plus for me in game like this. I like my combat to be fast and frantic. While the combos don't seem overly detailed as to where I've played (say like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta), there is enough variety to it that I don't find myself getting bored or just mashing the attack button. There are essentially a few simple moves to guide you through combat. Obviously, you can run and jump, and there is also a set of dodge buttons to let you quickly roll left or right. You need to not forget those buttons so you don't get wailed on by an a surprisingly tough enemy. Then we have our offensive abilities.
Your basic attack which allows you do a quick but heavily damaging combo, can be done while in the air. Your storm abilities, which is basically your super move button. At a stand you spin the blade furiously for light but continuous damage, but it also pulls enemies and items to you. When done in the air it produces a corkscrew attack that hits multiple times, but can also jump further distances.
In addition to that there is also a parry mechanic. If you can time your strike right to the moment an enemy swings, they get stunned back for a second or two and take more damage during that time, There are usually too many enemies on screen to really time this right, but there are some that insist you parry before you can do any damage to them. Typically, the game is well designed enough to not stick one of these guys into a horde of other enemies.
There is also a "magic" button that allows Fidget to enter the fray causing her to spray little magic bolts out, but when working in conjunction with Dust's storm abilities, her bolts burst into many and can wail on a baddie for 50+ hits. Low damage, but fun to do. As you play on, you unlock other abilities which allows you to create towers of fire, or chain lightning. And I have to admit, tearing up a group with chain lightning is super satisfying.
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| Using the Parry is tricky, bigger enemies telegraph their attack but small ones move to fast. |
In addition to that there is also a parry mechanic. If you can time your strike right to the moment an enemy swings, they get stunned back for a second or two and take more damage during that time, There are usually too many enemies on screen to really time this right, but there are some that insist you parry before you can do any damage to them. Typically, the game is well designed enough to not stick one of these guys into a horde of other enemies.
There is also a "magic" button that allows Fidget to enter the fray causing her to spray little magic bolts out, but when working in conjunction with Dust's storm abilities, her bolts burst into many and can wail on a baddie for 50+ hits. Low damage, but fun to do. As you play on, you unlock other abilities which allows you to create towers of fire, or chain lightning. And I have to admit, tearing up a group with chain lightning is super satisfying.
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| Chain Lightning can really clear out a screen in a hurry, |
Now, I've made the comparison to those two wonderful Vanillaware titles I love so much, but another apt comparison to the game are some of the newer 2D Castlevania games like most of the DS titles or Symphony of the Night. The maps as I walk through them give me the distinct signatures that there are locations that I can't access to start, so I am going to need other skills or abilities to find before I can backtrack and continue on such as an ability to slide in tight spaces, or a walk climbing ability.
But unlike a Castlevania or Muramasa its not one one large continuous map for me to travel. There is a world map of the various sections you pass through which allows you to fast travel through them as you need to for huge distances. In this particular case I feel it works better than having one giant world because its cuts down travel time and allows me to bounce around to tackle side quests. Some sections are the map are much larger than others, so it tends to have a good variety about it.
But unlike a Castlevania or Muramasa its not one one large continuous map for me to travel. There is a world map of the various sections you pass through which allows you to fast travel through them as you need to for huge distances. In this particular case I feel it works better than having one giant world because its cuts down travel time and allows me to bounce around to tackle side quests. Some sections are the map are much larger than others, so it tends to have a good variety about it.
Let's talk characters for a moment. I have to be honest, I have a real real hard time taking anthropomorphs seriously in almost any context. It works in Disney movies but in any other circumstance I just think furries and I become tuned out of the story. Things were not helped much when Fidget became a staple to the story. She's kinda part cat part squirrel with bat wings, big green eyes, and an incredibly squeaky voice. To be totally honest, it almost turned me off to the game completely.
But then something happened. For the most part, all of the dialog in the game is fairly straight laced and serious. It does a good job of painting that I am about to go on some kind of epic adventure. Fidget however doesn't fit that mold. Hilariously, you could almost compare her to Marvel's Deadpool because she has this nearly 4th wall breaking sense of awareness that she's in a video game, and its made for some pretty hilarious exchanges. Sometimes she'll tell you to hit a certain button and the characters won't get what that means, other times she'll reference that enemies didn't save their game.
My favorite exchange so far comes from when you meet the merchant for the first time. He is explaining to you what his wares are and that if you find blacksmiths they can make you new weapons and equipment. He mentions that you need to have specific materials to do so, but if you sell him the materials you find, he can restock them for sale later. Fidget immediately responds in an incredibly raspy version of her voice "Ah! You'll buy them at a high price?!" To which the merchant confusedly says "well yes?". This is was a clearly overt nod the Resident Evil 4 merchant. Once I gathered she was that kind of character, I found myself looking forward to hearing her talk and didn't care about how she sounded anymore.
But more than that, I find that the dialog in this game is pretty competently done over all. All of the voice actors portray their parts well, and none of it to this point has felt hokey or cheesy (not like say, The Evil Within). When in dialog segments it does sort of the still character RPG exposition, but they aren't just stills. The character images sway, have reactions, have a bunch little tiny movement nuances to them that make the exchanges feel more alive. Mugen Souls did this and it was the only good thing in that game, something I wish Disgaea 4 had picked up on.
Since we are on the topic of sound, lets talk music a bit. I've been a very firm advocate that a perfectly placed and well done score can drastically change a games feel. Some games hit it brilliantly, like Final Fantasy X where every song has its place and fits its mood. Some games miss the mark completely, like Mugen Souls where it feels out of place, or is just grating and annoying. And then you have the games that have music to just have music. Flat, uninspired, and unmemorable.
That's where I feel Dust falls under. Which is a shame because it does so well in all other areas, its all washed over with generic fantasy soundtrack you could hear in any RPG or Movie. A lot of the Tales games have this problem. Its not to say its unfixable, but you really should have one or 2 really strong songs to provide a memorable experience. Sometimes that's all it really takes.
Take Atelier Ayesha for example: like most Atelier games, the music is incredibly flat and generic. But there is one song that one that tends to occur fairly often, enough to the point that I recognized it when it played. Then, for the final battle, it gives me that same song only a more symphonic variation of it complete with vocal accompaniment. Suddenly a song I just recognized had this incredible emotional weight as I played the final boss. There was easily a few places Dust could have really used this to drive the point home on its story elements.
I felt that the combat in this game has that perfect blending point of complexity and simplicity. They give you only a small myriad of attack functions, but using the in different combinations allow for different combos, having multiple styles of magic allow you to play to one that is more your style, and the combat is fast enough that it allows you to dice through enemies at a quick pace without them being complete pushovers. Something like say Bayonetta will give you about 30 billion combos depending on what weapons you have. It can be overwhelming.
The only real major difficulty I had was in the very early goings of the game when I didn't have much in the way of equipment, nor did I have a good enough sense of how to level my character properly. I would find myself going up against of group of enemies and one of the large ones would take out massive chunks of damage. Learning that you can quick key healing items helped, but it took a little bit of grinding before the game of the pace started to pick up for me.
All in all, for a game of zero expectations that I didn't pay a dime for, I got a very good amount of replay value in Dust: an Elysian Tale, at the very least 15-30 hours of time. That's better than a lot of retail releases go. Nothing about the game is going to shatter any molds but it provided an entertaining experience with a twist or two without being predictable. I would say its story kinda fizzles out by the end but all things considered I'd say this one is worth a recommendation.
Since we are on the topic of sound, lets talk music a bit. I've been a very firm advocate that a perfectly placed and well done score can drastically change a games feel. Some games hit it brilliantly, like Final Fantasy X where every song has its place and fits its mood. Some games miss the mark completely, like Mugen Souls where it feels out of place, or is just grating and annoying. And then you have the games that have music to just have music. Flat, uninspired, and unmemorable.
That's where I feel Dust falls under. Which is a shame because it does so well in all other areas, its all washed over with generic fantasy soundtrack you could hear in any RPG or Movie. A lot of the Tales games have this problem. Its not to say its unfixable, but you really should have one or 2 really strong songs to provide a memorable experience. Sometimes that's all it really takes.
Take Atelier Ayesha for example: like most Atelier games, the music is incredibly flat and generic. But there is one song that one that tends to occur fairly often, enough to the point that I recognized it when it played. Then, for the final battle, it gives me that same song only a more symphonic variation of it complete with vocal accompaniment. Suddenly a song I just recognized had this incredible emotional weight as I played the final boss. There was easily a few places Dust could have really used this to drive the point home on its story elements.
I felt that the combat in this game has that perfect blending point of complexity and simplicity. They give you only a small myriad of attack functions, but using the in different combinations allow for different combos, having multiple styles of magic allow you to play to one that is more your style, and the combat is fast enough that it allows you to dice through enemies at a quick pace without them being complete pushovers. Something like say Bayonetta will give you about 30 billion combos depending on what weapons you have. It can be overwhelming.
The only real major difficulty I had was in the very early goings of the game when I didn't have much in the way of equipment, nor did I have a good enough sense of how to level my character properly. I would find myself going up against of group of enemies and one of the large ones would take out massive chunks of damage. Learning that you can quick key healing items helped, but it took a little bit of grinding before the game of the pace started to pick up for me.
All in all, for a game of zero expectations that I didn't pay a dime for, I got a very good amount of replay value in Dust: an Elysian Tale, at the very least 15-30 hours of time. That's better than a lot of retail releases go. Nothing about the game is going to shatter any molds but it provided an entertaining experience with a twist or two without being predictable. I would say its story kinda fizzles out by the end but all things considered I'd say this one is worth a recommendation.
The amount of Fidget fan art on the Internet is nothing short of ridiculous.
