If you’re looking for your next retro-themed adventure on PC, then maybe this sequel from Analgesic Productions will satiate that need.
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust will launch on PC, Mac and Linux via several storefronts – Steam, Kartridge, GOG, Itch.io and Humble – sometime this August for $19.99. The game is a sequel to Anodyne, released back in 2013 and is described as a classic Zelda-like title.
While the first game, Anodyne, replicated the 16-bit era of games, Anodyne 2: Return to Dust will take a step forward to tell its story with a lo-fi 3D and 2D world highly reminiscent of old PlayStation and Nintendo 64 titles. Check out the game’s trailer below to see what I’m talking about.
Above anything else, the art direction and graphics will take you back to a very innocent time. The soundtrack is very decent as well, and it serves to highlight this strange, strange world. The transition from 3D to 2D, as I viewed it from the trailer, felt a bit out of place though – but it did provide a really nice contrast to both of them, with the vibrant colors of 2D clashing with this worn out palette of the 3D world.
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust seeks to combine the thrilling-for-its-time scale and cinematic storytelling found in earlier 3D adventures with the tight mechanics and gameplay of 2D Zelda-like games. It’s set in the island of New Theland, a placed infested with Nano Dust that infects the locale’s inhabitants, distorting their emotions and desires. You play as Nova, a Nano Cleaner who’s out to explore this strange island and help the inhabitants by finding out who’s sick and shrinking inside their bodies to clear them of the Dust. What a very trippy concept.
The 3D part of the game is set within the many cities, valleys and wastelands of New Theland, and the trailer showcases Nova transforming into a car in order to explore the island. The 2D part takes place inside the mindscapes of characters, which I assume are those afflicted with Dust.
The game looks incredibly interesting, and is sure to appeal to players who want a relatively unique experience. You can wishlist Anodyne 2: Return to Dust on Steam right now, or pick from the other various storefronts it will be releasing on.
