Publisher: Analgesic Productions

Developer: Sean Han Tani, Marina Kittaka

Platform: Switch (Reviewed), Windows (Steam), Linux, Mac

Release Date: August 12th, 2019

Players: 1

Price: $19.99

Do you like truly creative games that try things you’ve never seen before? Do you wax nostalgic for the days of 8-Bit simplicity? Do you like wondering if someone has added LSD to your water supply? If you answered yes to these, then you can play this game while waiting for those nice young men in their clean white coats to come drag you off to the asylum.

Your descent into madness begins when your POV character “Nova” awakens on a beach, and a helpfully placed television shows two uh.. people, telling you-you are inside an egg and destined for great things. After this, it gets weird.

Once you are born, uh… hatched.. whatever. You learn you are on the island of New Theland, where everyone worships “The Center” whatever that is, as a god. They (the whatsits from the beginning) have created you to remove “Nano Dust” sentient microorganisms, that feed on the Center, corrupting citizens and twisting their desires. To do this, you will use your special ability, shrinking down to microscopic size, and clearing the dust from the bodies of citizens by solving the puzzles, and beating the bosses within each. As you gather dust, you can recycle it to clear more of the island so you can reach more citizens. Think of it as “Fantastic Voyage” on peyote. .

What the heck is that and why is it playing the harp?

Snark aside, the game prides itself on creative surrealism, and believe me it hits creative and sureal right out of the park and down the street. Some examples include include a existential deep thinking tree (because Duuuuuude), and someone “watching the house” while their folks are away because the house is a giant, living, dog-thing made of house parts. One notable individual suffering from Nano Dust had his sense of taste increase- and his skin turned into tongue. Now he looms over a market, wanting to taste anything and everyone.

Half the fun is getting surprised by what you encounter. You are surrounded by weird people and quirky humor. Sometimes you want to go further down the rabbit hole and sometimes the “weird for weirds sake” just get old. But unlike so many “edgy” offerings nothing ever feels offensive or meanspirited, an accomplishment by itself. .

Gameplay is divided between exploration, where you open new territory and free the citizenry and platforming, solving the dungeons within each person. To speed this exploration up, you can transform into a car which for some mad reason reminds me of the now ancient TV Sitcom “My Mother the Car.” Exploration is rewarded with bonuses and health boosts. A fair bit into the game you also run into the game’s currency, unsurprisingly called “Meta Coins” You use these to buy extra content such as testing levels, developer commentary, early drafts of levels, and poetry. Yes, I said poetry.

Dungeon puzzles are not too difficult, with those involving timing being the most challenging. Early bosses have a long hit-stun which can be abused for your fun and benefit. Overall, the dungeons are the best part of the game. There is always something new to see. Completing these dungeons earns you cards and collected dust can be recycled and used to unlock more areas. Just remember to collect dust when you see it and you will be just fine. Infuriatingly you have to return to the center of the map to deposit your dust or all the way to the beginning to deposit cards, which gets old quickly.

Sadly, not enough attention was paid to creating cut-scenes, falling back on text instead. This sucks the air out of several dramatic moments. Some simple animation, particularly in a “retro-style” game, would not have been misplaced. Oddly, the 2D portions of the game are arguably better looking than the 3D, the well executed sprites hit the “Playstation One” art style out of the park but the 3D scenes are nothing to write home about.

Audio is as um… unique as you might imagine. The music is different and certainly an acquired taste, but it matches the game exactly. As you explore, it feels creepy and foreboding but brightens up for the dungeons, which works well. Sound effects are likewise appropriate.

Your inner existentialist is in for a treat.

Bottom line Anodyne 2: Return to Dust shows that the smaller developers can do things the big guys won’t touch. A unique concept supported by evolving gameplay. Say what you want but there is nothing quite like it.

The Good

Creative to the point of madness.
Dungeons introduce new puzzles every time.
Noteworthy for a mere two person creative team aside from music and QA.

The Bad

Many “what the heck did I just watch.” moments.
Story becomes predictable.
Some Cut-scenes would have been better animated, instead of text.

Anodyne 2: Return to Dust Review