Dust: An Elysian Tail

This year we decided to collectively look at each of the Summer of Arcade games. So all this week we’ve been posting roundtable discussions of the games in order of release (Tony Hawk, Wreckateer, Deadlight, Hybrid). Today we end with the most well received game in the line-up. Humble Hearts’ Dust: An Elysian Tail, takes a tried and true formula and adds some oft-times breathtaking art to make an incredibly solid package.

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This week there’s a whole lot of game talk, including a good portion about Dust and sadly a fair bit about The Expendables 2. I stumble through the news in Perry’s absence and then we fire through the Community Corner.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast on iTunes. We appreciate it! Check us out on twitter (@XBLAFans) where you can win codes for games, give us feedback or just ask a question. You can do the same on Facebook, and hey while we’re plugging stuff be sure to check us out on YouTube and Twitch.TV. We are also now on Stitcher, so you can stream the show on your smartphone, give it a go!

Big thanks to Chris Green for the awesome theme music, be sure to check out his site BlurredEdge and why not follow him on twitter too @BlurredEdge.

[podcast]https://xblafans.com/xblafancast/XBLAFancastEp75.mp3[/podcast]

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Humble Hearts’ Dust: An Elysian Tail wrapped up this year’s Summer of Arcade yesterday, and in just over 24 of your standard Earth hours the leaderboards have jumped to …
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UPDATE: Video’s here. Right there! Look! Click it! – Todd

As we come to a close on this year’s Summer of Arcade, it seems like we’ve saved the best …
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Dust: An Elysian Tail was developed by Humble Hearts and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on August 15, 2012 for 1200 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Dust: An Elysian Tail opens with a lone figure awakening in a forest with no memory of his past. The mystical, obviously powerful blade he comes into possession of assumes the dual roles of death-dealer and imparter of wisdom; its cagey words imply that it knows more about the main character and the quest he is destined to embark upon than it is willing to reveal just yet. A cutesy and somewhat annoying sidekick flies alongside, providing help and occasionally pointing out the obvious. Once the opening scene closes, players move left to right and merrily hammer away at face buttons to dispatch beasties marching towards them on a 2D plane, all of it accomplished in stunning effect thanks to gorgeous hand-drawn art. There are peaceful villages besieged by overpowering forces and inhabited by locals in need of a hero to carry out various quests, and it’s not long before the environment betrays the fact that the completionist player will be revisiting areas later on to accumulate all of the hidden goodies once more skills have been unlocked.

It all sounds fun, right? Of course it does, but it’s probably also sounding a bit familiar at this point. Here’s the good news: there is much more to Humble Hearts’ Dust: An Elysian Tail than can be summed up in a handful of broad sentences about its action-adventure game tropes. Yes, it shares much with other throwback side-scrollers, and the sole member of the game’s development studio, Dean Dodrill, is unlikely to hear any complaints about that fact. But his studio’s debut effort also establishes an excellent identity all its own. Dust is a joy to play and the star of Microsoft’s 2012 Summer of Arcade lineup. There are some issues with pacing, voice work and the framerate hiccup, but wonderfully charming artwork, a wealth of content and a combat system that just feels right will allow gamers to look past the issues and enjoy Dust for many hours.

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To make up for the rather short show last week, we’re back to a more usual length. We brought in our Video Co-ordinator Shawn Saris to help with that. This week Perry tells us all about the final Summer of Arcade game Dust: An Elysian Tail, which he enjoyed quite a bit. We talk a bit about Hybrid, including that metagame, then you can hear me rant about Star Wars for a little bit.

We have actual news this week, then Andrew rounds out the show with the ol community corner.

Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast on iTunes. We appreciate it! Check us out on twitter (@XBLAFans) where you can win codes for games, give us feedback or just ask a question. You can do the same on Facebook, and hey while we’re plugging stuff be sure to check us out on YouTube and Twitch.TV. We are also now on Stitcher, so you can stream the show on your smartphone, give it a go!

Big thanks to Chris Green for the awesome theme music, be sure to check out his site BlurredEdge and why not follow him on twitter too @BlurredEdge.

[podcast]https://xblafans.com/xblafancast/XBLAFancastEp74.mp3[/podcast]

RSS | MP3 | iTunes Read More

Weekly Roundup compiles all the biggest news stories, reviews, and releases from the week into one handy post on the weekends.

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A new launch trailer has been released for Dust: An Elysian Tail. The game, which marks the end of this year’s Summer of Arcade promotion, comes from the one …
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The Summer of Arcade isn’t the only news this week.
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If you aren’t excited about Dust: An Elysian Tail yet we don’t know what will get you excited. This trailer shows some serious action combined with some of the most …
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