I first found out about this game from a fairly popular YouTuber by the name of Iteachvader. In his videos, he makes a few jokes and references to this game here and there. So eventually, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to try it for myself. And let me just say, the fact that this game was developed in most part by just one person is honestly astounding. This game does so many things that are impressive on all fronts. The story is amazing (serious tone with plenty of fitting themes such as loss and redemption, but it also knows when to be light-hearted and humorous), the characters are loveable and memorable with lots of great interactions and dialogue (Dust and Fidget make a great protagonist duo, technically trio if you count Ahrah), the environments are all visually breathtaking and fun to traverse and explore, the combat is fluid, responsive and fun to execute (simple and easy to learn, but tough and satisfying to master), and that soundtrack. Oh, that soundtrack. Hyperduck Soundworks and Alexander Brandon really killed it making the music for this game. Each and every single piece does a great job serving its purpose and is absolute ear candy to listen to (seriously, the second I first booted up the game, I just sat there in awe listening to that menu theme. To me, that was the first sign that I knew this game would be something special).

My only real issue with the game is the third area in the main story. For a Metroidvania-inspired title, backtracking is never really an issue in Dust since you can get through areas pretty quickly and have plenty of opportunities to return to the world map from save stations (provided you have the required item to do so) and revisit areas from other entrances for ease of access. But in the third area of the game, getting back to the main section after taking a branching path takes forever, and since said main section is placed right in the middle of the area, warping back to one of the entrances doesn't really shorten that travel time at all. This is especially annoying if you enjoy doing item cleanup when arriving late in the game and have to constantly wander through several long rooms just to pick up one item on one path, only to backtrack all the way to the main section and repeat the whole process on a completely different path. This may seem just like a completionist thing, but doing this is also required in order to beat the main story. And it's the only part of the game to branch out into such long paths with no shortcuts or ways to ease that travel. Personally, that's the only part of the game that kind of bogged down the experience. But that doesn't stop me from loving the game to bits regardless.

All in all, Dust: An Elysian Tail is a breathtaking, heartbreaking experience that stands the test of time thanks to its smooth and responsive controls and combat, memorable story and characters (huge props to the voice director and all actors involved, phenomenal job here), and incredible soundtrack and art design that rival that of most modern day triple-A studios. I absolutely recommend this game to anyone who enjoys Metroidvania-esque titles, sidescrolling hack-and-slashers, or story-driven games. You will have a blast with this one.