All Articles: Dust: An Elysian Tail

Hyper Light Drifter, Gone Home, SNK Heroines, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on September 6, 2018 by John Scalzo

Switch owners will be able to stock up on another big batch of classic indie games with this week’s Nintendo eShop update…

Heart Machine’s visually-distinctive (and critically-acclaimed) Hyper Light Drifter leads the way this week. The Zelda-like action RPG is now available to download in a “Special Edition” that includes new weapons and a new Tower Climb area.

The Drifter will be joined by several other indie favorites this week including Gone Home, Fullbright’s narrative adventure; Broforce, Free Lives’s insane side-scrolling shooter; and Dust: An Elysian Tail, a hand-drawn action RPG from Dean Dodrill.

If you’re looking for something new, NIS America will bring their one-on-one fighter, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, the Switch eShop beginning tomorrow. And it’ll be joined by a deluxe edition of 2K’s latest basketball simulation, NBA 2K19: 20th Anniversary Edition.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including Yo-Kai Watch Blasters: Red Cat Corps and Yo-Kai Watch Blasters: White Dog Squad for the 3DS) after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, Switch | Tagged , , , , ,

Dean Dodrill’s Dust: An Elysian Tail will be released for Switch on September 10

Posted on August 27, 2018 by John Scalzo

Dean Dodrill first launched Dust: An Elysian Tail on the Xbox 360 in 2012. Since then, the developer has brought his side-scrolling action RPG to the PC, PS4, and iOS-based mobile devices.

And on September 10th, it’ll become the latest indie darling to make its downloadable debut on the Nintendo Switch:

A physical version of Dust: An Elysian Tail is also in the works at Limited Run Games, and pre-orders will open on August 31st.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged

PS Store Today: Alien: Isolation, NBA 2K15, DriveClub, Vib-Ribbon, more

Posted on October 7, 2014 by John Scalzo

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The Fall gaming avalanche comes to the PlayStation Store this week. Some of the biggest games of the season are now available to download on the PS3, PS4, and Vita as well as a bona-fide classic, and a handful of smaller titles as well.

A trio of AAA release are now available as of today. Alien: Isolation (PS3, PS4) is Sega and Creative Assembly’s attempt to bring the “haunted house in space” atmosphere of 1979’s Alien to the video game realm. It’s joined by DriveClub, Evolution’s ambitious PS4 racer, and NBA 2K15 (PS3, PS4), the latest game in 2K’s long-running sports simulation series.

Even though all these new titles are now available to download, today’s real surprise if the release of Vib-Ribbon, a PSone Classic that was originally only available in Japan and Europe. Vib-Ribbon is a rhythm game from the creator of PaRappa the Rapper that uses a unique line-drawing art style. It has appeared on multiple “Best of” lists and is considered by many to be one of the best games never to come to America. Thankfully, that changes today.

Finally this week, a few indie games that are definitely worth a look have popped up on the PlayStation Store. Dust: An Elysian Tail, a side-scrolling action-RPG that was originally released for the Xbox 360 in 2012, is now available on the PS4. Dust’s hand-drawn artwork would serve as a nice complement to Spelunky, which has also been released for the PS4 today. Divekick, a rather unique fighting game (“First You Dive, Then You Kick!”), rounds out this week’s batch of indie PS4 ports.

A complete look at all of this week’s new releases (including a few additional titles) can be found after the break. And a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita | Tagged , , , ,

Dean Dodrill (very vaguely) hints at new Dust announcement

Posted on January 14, 2013 by John Scalzo

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The whole world missed this one last week, but even the vaguest hint about the future prospects of Dust: An Elysian Tail is something you want to follow up on.

Dean Dodrill, the one-man-band behind the Xbox Live Arcade hit, took to Twitter and revealed that he actually has two projects in the works, one of which is related to Dust in some way:

First announced in 2009, Dust: An Elysian Tail wasn’t added to the XBLA until this past August, so Dodrill might have a different definition of “soon” than you or I. That said, any announcement will probably be worth the wait.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Dust: An Elysian Tail Review: Usagi Yojimbo Would Be Impressed

Posted on September 7, 2012 by John Scalzo

Dean Dodrill’s Dust: An Elysian Tail was announced as the winner of the second annual Dream.Build.Play Challenge in 2009 and, after securing a publishing deal with Microsoft, he spent the next three years designing and coding it himself. With the game finally complete, it recently took its place as the finale to this year’s Summer of Arcade promotion.

So… one man development team… critical acclaim… and a big push from Big Redmond itself… can a side-scrolling action RPG really live up to all that? (more…)

Posted in Reviews, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged

XBLA Today: Dust: An Elysian Tail

Posted on August 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade promotion comes to a close this year with Dust: An Elysian Tail. Dust is a side-scrolling action RPG featuring the “Metroidvania” style of exploration within a hand-painted world. It also stars talking rabbits, a furry fairy, and a sentient sword. So… yeah…

Dust: An Elysian Tail is priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) and is available to download now:

Immerse yourself in a gorgeous hand-painted world on a search for your true identity. As the mysterious warrior, Dust, you must master the ancient Blade of Ahrah to battle dozens of enemies with an intuitive combat system, take on a variety of quests, discover powerful upgrades throughout the massive, open world, and uncover the story of an ancient civilization on the brink of extinction as you fight to uncover your own past.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Summer of Arcade 2012 begins July 18; all games priced and dated

Posted on June 20, 2012 by John Scalzo

We already knew that Deadlight, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Hybrid, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, and Wreckateer would be included in this year’s Summer of Arcade. But now, thanks to Major Nelson, we know the promotion will begin on July 18 as well as the release schedule and how much each game will cost.

Ready? Here we go…

  • July 18: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD (1200 Microsoft Points)
  • July 25: Wreckateer (800 Microsoft Points)
  • August 1: Deadlight (1200 Microsoft Points)
  • August 8: Hybrid (1200 Microsoft Points)
  • August 15: Dust: An Elysian Tail (1200 Microsoft Points)
Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , ,

Summer of Arcade 2012 includes Tony Hawk HD, Hybrid, Wreckateer, Dust, Deadlight

Posted on June 5, 2012 by John Scalzo

Microsoft has announced the games that will make up this year’s Summer of Arcade and the fifth iteration of the annual promotion is already looking like a contender as one of the best:

Deadlight (Tequila Works/Microsoft Studios): Deadlight is a puzzle platformer, where the player must take advantage of the main character’s agility to solve obstacles, and dodge zombies, manipulating the many interactive elements of the scenery. With more walking corpses than bullets, the feeling of danger is constant.

Dust: An Elysian Tail (Humble Hearts/Microsoft Studios): As the mysterious warrior, Dust, your action-packed journey will take you from peaceful glades to snowy mountaintops and beyond. Battle dozens of enemies at once with an easy-to-learn, difficult-to-master combat system, and uncover the story of an ancient civilization on the brink of extinction as you fight to uncover your own past in a gorgeous hand-painted world.

Hybrid (5th Cell/5th Cell): Hybrid is a pioneering third person shooter set in the near future, where global conflict exists between a species known as the Variant and a rebel human faction known as the Paladins. 5TH Cell strives to give players a completely new gameplay experience never seen before in the genre.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD (Robomodo/Activision): Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD takes the best elements of the classic THPS games and gives them a fresh update to create an all new skateboarding experience. Tapping into fans’ muscle memories, and combining sharp visuals with the best controls ever in a Tony Hawk game, the feel is cutting edge yet timeless.

Wreckateer (Iron Galaxy/Microsoft Studios): Wreckateer uses Kinect to put you in control of a massive castle-wrecking ballista. With the help of Wreck and Tinker, travel the land and destroy 60 castles using six magical projectiles, and explore the infinite ways you can wreak havoc with Wreckateer’s fully-dynamic destruction.

A release schedule wasn’t announced yet, but Microsoft typically starts the Summer of Arcade by mid-July. As in years past, if you purchase multiple Summer of Arcade titles, you’ll receive a bit of a rebate. This year, players who purchase three or more Summer of Arcade titles will receive 400 Microsoft Points.

Hit the jump to see the funky Summer of Arcade 2012 trailer. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , , ,