ANODYNE 2: Return to Dust Review for Steam

Heads up fans of retro and nostalgic titles – Analgesic Productions’ Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is another August surprise on the Steam marketplace! As shown in the photo below, the game acts as a spiritual successor to the original Anodyne from a few years ago. Either game can be played first, so do not worry about not being up to speed on the series, and both are fantastic throwbacks to classic action-adventure games, The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy coming to mind most prominently.

The story is about Nano, a girl/being/vacuum cleaner extraordinaire, who has been created in order to stop the Dust, which is exactly like it sounds like…sort of. Dust looks like dust does in real life, but it acts as a corrupting agent, a virus if you will, that once inside the body of another being, will make them angry, sick, and in general just change their personality to an evil version of their normal selves. Overseen by Palisade and C Psalmist, Nano embarks on a quest to save all of the Sanctuary. Though the story unfolds in classic fantasy fashion, the humor is also very prominent, which poked fun at fantasy worlds and character, but in only the most endearing of ways.

The visuals are fantastic in that they cover two eras of gaming perfectly. The overworld and exploration sections harken back to a late 1990s, early 2000s rpgs from the Nintendo 64 or Playstation 2 eras (Zelda and Final Fantasy still being the primary series I think of, but of course, there are many other examples that will come to mind!). It is glorious in all of its boxy and unrefined 3D modeling. When playing a cleaning mission inside of a character, you will get that bird’s eye view (or to WWE fans, the “Wile E. Coyote camera” from ladder matches) as you solve puzzles and take on enemies with your trusty vacuum cleaner. The music only enhances the experience further, as once again, it will remind you of those classic titles from the era in a soothing and very nostalgic sort of way. I really felt like a kid again playing a game from two decades ago.

The gameplay is solid, and though there is support for a controller, which I am sure works better for a game like this, I was able to have just as fun a time with the keyboard controls. I also enjoyed the fact that Nano could turn into a car like a Transformer in order to traverse the world faster. It is a really unexpected but cool and fun way to make gameplay less of a slog. The 16-bit sections play just like A Link to the Past but instead of a sword and shield, you can use your vacuum cleaner to suck up objects and enemies and shoot them out to defeat other entities and solve puzzles. Think Luigi’s Mansion, but without the ghostbusting!

Anodyne 2 is a very solid game clearly made, written and composed with a lot of heart and love for classic genres and ages now past that are gone but never forgotten and always loved. If you are looking for a unique game that will hold your interest in a multitude of ways in the dog days of summer, or you are a big fan of the original game, Anodyne 2 is a must buy!

Graphics – 9 (style!)

Audio – 10 (fantastic music!)

Gameplay – 9 (Love the dual modes!)

Story – 9

Overall: 9.3

Check Out the ANODYNE 2: Return to Dust Trailer:

Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms for $19.99 on Steam, Kartridge, GOG, Itch, and Humble.

Matt O'Toole

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Your local neighborhood nutjob, gamer, and teacher! I'm an avid fan of many genres such as platformers, shooters, horror, etc. I am also an avid tabletop gamer - hugely into the worlds of Warhammer and all of their spinoffs. I'm a big believer in being objective - even if something is not my cup of tea, I want to talk about it on the objective level - is it well made, crafted with love, and with care for the fans? If so, that's a good game in my book for someone and well worth their hard earned dollarydoos!

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