Heaven Dust II Review
Release date: Jan 5th, 2022
Developer: indienova
Platforms: Steam, Switch (Reviewed)
Price: $14.99
The sequel to the well-received game of 2020, Heaven Dust 2 brings more of the survival horror to the indie genre. This game can be best described as a mini Resident Evil and that’s not a bad thing. The game should scratch the itch for fans and newcomers to the genre.
The first game took place in a mansion and the 2nd game features a research facility. Players awake with a fuzzy memory out of a cyrotube with a note saying hey come find me and I'll explain everything. Players then have to wander the facility, finding more notes, collecting parts for guns, shooting zombies and other monsters, taking down a few bosses here and there and trying to escape. There are two endings and unlockables to ensure the game has some replay value. Most gamers should get through it in 10-15 hrs. Most of the puzzles consist of finding this piece that fits this door, or using this code or pushing this object. Nothing too hard which made me think of the early Resident Evils. There are some traps that players must avoid, but these can be turned against enemies.
The game has an isometric view and controls like the original Resident Evil. Players will have to stop to shoot and can't shoot while moving. Combat is easy, just aim and the zombies and the game will auto aim for the body; hold the trigger for a few seconds longer and it goes to the head. Headshots will take down most zombies quickly, some zombies can have protective bone armor and players must shoot them in the body vs the head until it breaks, other zombies can only be damaged by certain grenades. There is a knife for melee attacks but I never used it. I wish ammo had been more plentiful but players do have the option to craft more ammo and grenades. Gun-wise, there is a pistol, shotgun, heavy piston and a submachine gun. All of these can be upgraded and newer versions can be picked up along the way. Boss battles were interesting, most of them have players evading attacks and using something in the environment. The bosses appear to be damage sponges and this is where I usually died once or twice, but once players figure out their weakness it's not so bad.
I enjoyed what I played and at $15 I would recommend it. There is also a bundle on Steam that has the first game. My only gripe is the game crashed some on the Switch probably 3-4 times? I thought that was a bit much. I also wish the controls were a little tighter and there were more secrets. Thanks to the publisher for letting us review it.
Final Score 4/5
Pros
Short
Nice slice of RE
Combat is easy
Story is interesting
Cons:
Controls could be tighter
Crashed a lot on switch