Pay no attention to the ears and tails.

A passing observation might leave you concerned that Dust: An Elysian Tail is steeped in "furry" subculture fandom. This really isn't true at all; at most, Dust is in the same vein as Disney's Robin Hood, a mostly-human story and setting that's told using anthropomorphs. It's quaint, maybe, but not excessively weird or esoteric -- especially because there's so much more going on in this game.

At its core, Dust is both a character-action game and a Metroidvania-styled platformer. The game world is split into multiple regions, each with a grid-based map that shows rough treasure locations, quest objectives, et cetera; and progress is frequently gated by Metroid-style ability upgrades, like a slide and a double-jump. (Significant backtracking is never explicitly required to progress in the game, although it is highly recommended for collecting extra treasure.) Within each map area, hordes of enemies stand in the way of the exit -- fortunately, titular protagonist Dust is equipped with a magic sword that makes total mincemeat out of them. There are a handful of combos and special attacks, but the combat system is mercifully simple, allowing even hopelessly mediocre players like myself to feel completely badass.

Said combat gets mixed up further by character attributes - which can be boosted after gaining enough experience points for a level-up - and equipment, which can be bought or crafted using item drops. Like the fighting itself, these stat-game systems are kept simple enough to be very rewarding with a minimal investment of time and attention. Stat previews clearly show what will happen with each change; the pause menu even allows you to purchase crafting materials directly from the blueprint screen. The whole affair is pleasantly streamlined, at the risk of, maybe, feeling a bit too "easy." But it's still satisfying enough to put the pieces together and see stat numbers go up, and to subsequently overpower enemies with overwhelming force.

(Relevant anecdote: I felt like I was pretty smart maxing out my attack stat and largely ignoring the stat attached to magic, up until about halfway through the game, when I encountered an enemy immune to physical attacks. Learn from my mistake -- invest in all the stats. They are all important.)

If it seems like I'm glossing over the explanation of Dust's game systems, that's because I am; they don't really need very much explanation. In truth, the secret "shame" of Dust is that - like Darksiders - it is just an amalgam of mechanics from other standout titles. There isn't really anything in Dust that hasn't been seen before. But Dust succeeds, with flying colors, at bringing these mechanics together and polishing them all into a cohesive whole.

Unfortunately, there is one aspect of the game that really suffers from that lack of creativity, and that's the narrative. Dust's setting and plot, while phenomenally executed for an indie game (with full, generally-good voice acting), are too generic. It's a relatively-shallow fantasy world with a hackneyed premise that, while fulfilling the requirement of moving the game along, doesn't stand out enough to be compelling. It's a real shame, because it's obvious that no small amount of effort went into its writing and production; it certainly isn't under-developed. But it isn't, fundamentally, very interesting. (Fortunately, almost all the story sequences can be fast-forwarded or skipped outright.)

That aside though, Dust's collection of tried-and-true components is a joy to partake in. Jacking up Dust's stats, and scouring the map for collectibles, make for some of the best Metroidvania-ing in recent memory. Dust may not be very innovative, but it's admirably well-implemented, full of content, and just plain fun to play.

Better than: Shadow Complex
Not as good as: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Gotta give some extra respect: to yet another indie game with in-game callouts to other indie games (Super Meat Boy, Braid, et al).

Progress: Finished on Normal, 113% (?) completion.