#anodyne 2: return to dust

[dragongirltongue]

sending some mutual love!!! <33333333

have you played any games recently?

Oh there are a few I wanna yell about!

Starting with!!!

Cassette Beasts really hit a chord with me as someone who wanted something new and interesting from the Pokemon formula.

It completely rethinks the concept of weaknesses and resistances that define elemental com6at strategy, allowing for some new interactions.

It also almost always uses Double battles which is something I've always thought Pokemon could benefit from.

The story is also really fucking good, felt a lot on my journey through New Wirral.

Another is Anodyne 2, my friend @bogmonstergirl sent to me for my birthday and at first I actually wasn't feeling it. The way the story was shaping up was reminding me a little too much of my time as an actual cultist but as the story unfolds and I realized that discomfort is intended I absolutely fell in love with it and the lovely characters it introduced.

Nova also feels like such a well rounded character despite being a silent protagonist, the way the story builds her perspective on things really gives her a sense of personhood even if she's very much a blank slate. I'm not going to go into detail on the hows though because I feel getting to know Nova is part of the core experience.

Speaking of the word Nova...

Another one yet is Super Lesbian Animal RPG, a game I've been wanting to check out for a long time, I had followed early development back when it was a horse game but drifted away from it over time. Coming back to it in it's fully finished form now I'm really glad I got back on it, it does one thing I never expected a turn based RPG to do.

It makes healing feel powerful

building the story around Melody's journey to be a paladin for her gf really helped the story and gameplay synergize in a wonderful way, using Melody's healing magic to keep her friends and partner alive felt exactly as good as slicing a monster in half with Alison.

So many games leave healing feeling like an after thought but by working it so well into the gameplay and story @ponett did something incredible and I'm so glad I played this game. There are times where I outright cheered over getting out of a tough fight while using Melody to keep everyone alive.

[rolli-zolli]

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!

[prnsn001]

Anodyne 2: Return to Dust (2019)

[perfectlyinadequate]

This game had no reason to throw this whole section at you

[cosperclick]

After quickly finishing Anodyne, I’m immediately in love with Anodyne 2

[iomoonofjuputer]

i'm kind of obsessed with anodyne 2's subtitle (return to dust) because before you play it or know anything about it, it's like "ohh its cause anodyne 1 you sweep up the dust so its return to dust cause like return to dust cause its again lol!" but then once you get to dustbound village it gets Recontextualized. and then the game is really good

[kittenchomp]

EVERYONE PLAY Anodyne 2: Return to Dust RIGHT FUCKING MEOW!!!!!

[doomed-era]

anodyne 2 return to dust...save me...

[amethystsoda]

ahhh Anodyne 2 is working on a Nova plushie!

(They need 200 to get it made, and it's at 60 rn with 20 days left. Hopefully some fans here can see it and help too!)

[elegybeatty]

should i play anodyne 1 or 2 first?

MY PROPAGANDA WORKS!!!

Ehem, very good question! Short answer, start with 1, there's a few parts of 2 that'll make more sense if you have the context one 1 and, if you've bought any of those massive itch.io bundles from the past few years, you already have the game. Long answer below the read more.

Although there's plenty of thematic ideas the two games share, there's almost no over-arching narrative shared between the two, so order isn't super important, it's moresoe up to whichever you feel would appeal to you more.

Anodyne is a 2D action adventure game filled to the brim with surreal locations to explore and npcs to meet. It's most often compared to a mix of Link's Awakening and Yume Nikki, and I think that's a near perfect explanation. The game definitely has its flaws and doesn't have the same cohesive narrative as its sequel, but it's a fun time and the post game is great if you're into hunting every crevice of a game for secrets.

Andoyne 2: Return to Dust is far less focused on exploration and far more focused on narrative, with each dungeon taking place within NPCs across the world, allowing you to get to know these characters far more intimately. The game also has a fantastic over-arching story exploring themes of individuality, trauma, religion, and more. That said, there's def still the same secret hunting in the form of collectables scattered throughout the world and cool out of bounds locations to explore, as well as plenty of mystery to be found in certain dungeons, though I won't spoil any of that.

Both games have their strengths and weaknesses, so it's more down to which game sounds more appealing and which you have easiest access to. I'd still suggest starting with 1 either way as there are a few thematic elements and callbacks in 2 (as well as a REALLY cool postgame area) that'll be far more impactful if you've played 1 (also, like I said, there's a good chance you already own it), but if the game doesn't interest you and 2 really does, there's nothing TOO big you're missing out on by skipping it besides a pretty solid Zelda-like.

[annelidist]

3 5 6 7 8 and 9

3. 1-3 games you’ve played in the past 12 months that you really enjoyed

i played A Lot of games that i really liked last year, so this is hardly an exhaustive list, but

i picked these three mostly because they're really good in ways that don't overlap at all

5. game(s) coming out that you’re looking forward to

ive been waiting for this thing for. god. uh. i think maybe six or seven years? its aesthetic and tone are just incredible, it's a game whose visual identity sits lodged in my imagination even though neither i nor anybody else has played it. sacrificing mice, goats, etc for a 2023 release

an incredible atmosphere, crunchy ps2-era visual sensibilities, and it's about getting killed by velociraptors. extremely good. can't wait

i'm so excited for this. i don't think it's going to be """"good"""" but i believe in my deepest heart that it is going to fuck hard. a perfect crystalline prism of imsim jank.

i feel like this one is pretty self-evident

6. a series you’ve enjoyed since your early days of gaming and still enjoy to this day whether it still has games coming out or is one you return to

jeez, i don't know... i loved sonic as a kid, but i don't go back to those games much, and i fell out of love with pokemon a while ago. i don't have much loyalty left for the series i used to like the most. that's a little sad

7. a series you’ve lost interest in

speaking of which

pokemon

:[

:[

8. a series you haven’t played but are interested in trying

every day i say to myself. "i should play panzer dragoon." and yet here we are

EDIT: I HAVE ALSO BEEN DOING THIS WITH DEUS EX FOR SOME TIME

9. a game you played completely blind with no prior knowledge of and enjoyed/loved

ANODYNE 2... i mean, i knew a couple of things about it (sequel to anodyne, something about dust?, you can turn into a car), but anodyne 2 is... a hard game to just like, say things about. it's so much and so heartfelt that knowing the mechanical framework or even the premise on paper isn't going to tell you what it's like. i adored it. i think about it a lot.

[siverwrites]

Game Log 2022

And here's how that game log for 2022 went. I had changed things up from previous years with three lists. The main To Play, knock 5 off my To Play itch.io collection and continuing with my journey through Dragon Quest.

To Play:

Disco Elysium (PC, GOG)*

The Messenger (PC, Epic)*

Ara Fell (PC, Steam)

Forgotton Anne (PC, Steam)

Machinarium (PC, Steam)

Moon: Remix RPG Adventure (Switch)

The Night of the Rabbit (PC, Steam)

Persona 4 Golden (PC, Steam)

Primordia (PC, Steam)

Wandersong (PC, Steam)

Book of Travels (PC, Steam)*

Metroid Dread (Switch)

Toem (Switch)

Tangle Tower (PC, Steam)

Later Alligator (PC, Steam)

Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Switch)

FAR: Changing Tides (Switch)

Sea of Stars (PC or Switch) (Removed for delay)

Return to Monkey Island (Switch)

Knock at least 5 10 games off the To Play collection on itch.io (complete or retire)

10mg: SNAAAK

A Bird’s Tale

a garden on the sea

A Good Snowman is Hard to Build

Anodyne

Astrologaster

ᗢ

Baba is You

Backbone

Beasts of Maravilla Island

Book of Eos

Button City

Bug Favor

by constellation

Celeste (Removed)

Chalk Gardens

Chook & Sosig: Walk the Plank

Cloud Gardens

Coffee Talk

Cookie’s Bakery

CrossCode

Eselmir and the Five Magical Gifts

Fairy Song

Falling Awake

Friendly Fire

Get In The Car, Loser!

Hidden Folks

How We Got Here

inbento

Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia

Lonely People Potion Shop

Mable And The Wood

miniNATURA

Minit

Momodora II

Monkey Warp

Moon Hunters

Night in the Woods

Nonsense at Nightfall

OneShot

Papersaurus

Panmorphia

Pendula Swing – The Complete Journey

Pillars of Dust

Quench

Rusty Lake Hotel

Satan Loves Cake

Semblance

shrubnaut

Signs of the Sojourner

Spring Falls

Star Surveyor

Symphonia

Tales Across Time

Tales from Windy Meadow

Tenderfoot Tactics

the bell shrine

The King’s Bird

The Old City of High Walls

The Search

The Stillness of the Wind

The Sweater Thief

The Tale of the Cartographer

Underhero

Where the Snow Settles

Wonderflower

Ynglet

Dragon Quest:

Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation (DS)*

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS)*

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (3DS)*

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (DS)**

*Has been started before or currently playing (note I have played DQ VIII before but on PS2) **Replay

Currently Playing:

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (3DS)

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN, emulated)

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (PC, Steam)

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 3rd (Steam)

Pokémon Violet (Switch)

Chained Echoes (Steam)

–

Finished:

January:

Later Alligator (PC, Steam)

TOEM (Switch)

Disco Elysium (PC, GOG)

Nonsense at Nightfall (PC, itch.io)

February:

shrubnaut (PC, itch.io)

the bell shrine (browser, itch.io)

The Sweater Thief (browser, itch.io)

a garden on the sea (PC/browser, itch.io)

Papersaurus (PC/browser, itch.io)

Bug Favor (browser, itch.io)

March:

Cloud Gardens (PC, itch.io)

inbento (PC, itch.io)

Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster (PC, Steam)

10mg: SNAAAK (PC, itch.io)

Disco Elysium (PC, GOG)**

April:

The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition (PC, Steam)

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (PC, Steam)

The Curse of Monkey Island (PC)

Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation (DS)

May:

Tangle Tower (PC, Steam)

Pokémon Snap 64 (N64, emulated)

FAR: Changing Tides (Switch)

June:

Chrono Trigger (SNES, emulated)

She and the Lightbearer (PC, Steam)

Sorcery! Part 1 (PC, Steam)

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC (PC, Steam)

July:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

This is a black parallelepipedon in a yellow field (browser, itch.io)

Tales of Monkey Island (PC, Steam)

The Secret of Monkey Island (PC, Steam)

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (PC, Steam)

The Curse of Monkey Island (PC)

Hidden Folks (PC, itch.io)

A Bird’s Tale (PC, itch.io)

Crash/Impact/Contact (browser, itch.io)

August:

Everything is Garbage (PC, itch.io)

Trapped with Jester (browser, itch.io)

Late Night Talks (browser, itch.io)

Celeste 2 Classic: Lani’s Trek (PC, itch.io)

Satan Loves Cake (PC, itch.io)

Sort the Court (browser, itch.io)

ᗢ (PC, itch.io)

Wonderflower (PC, itch.io)

Mimi’s Delivery Dash (PC, itch.io)

Burly Men at Sea (PC, Steam)

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling (PC, Steam)

September:

Return to Monkey Island (Switch)

Persona 4 Golden (PC, Steam)

October:

Final Fantasy X (PS2)

November:

Donkey Kong Country (SNES, 3DS Virtual Console)

Baba Is You (PC, itch.io)

Symphonia (PC, itch.io)

Live A Live (Switch)

King’s Quest: Quest for the Crown (PC, GOG)

December:

Hot Pot Panic (PC, itch.io)

◫ (browser, itch.io)

Solomon’s Box (browser, itch.io)

King’s Quest II: Romancing the Thrown (PC, GOG)

Sisão (browser, itch.io)

beachcombing (browser, itch.io)

King’s Quest III: To Heir is Human (PC, GOG)

Nothing to Say (browser, itch.io)

Cookie’s Bakery (gameboy emu, itch.io)

Resonance of the Ocean (PC, itch.io)

Towerbag (browser, itch.io)

Mario Party 2 (NSO)

King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella (PC, GOG)

2023 Log

[thatneilj]

Review - Anodyne 2: Return to Dust

Originally posted August 2019

When Anodyne came out in 2013, all I knew was that the gameplay was inspired from classic 2D Zelda games like Link’s Awakening. The world Analgesic Productions crafted was so much more than that, though. A place that is full of beauty, but also pain and fear. I was drawn in by the fascinating world and the incredibly evocative soundtrack. Now the sequel is out, and Anodyne 2: Return to Dust revisits many of the themes from the original, and with a bit more focus.

The game opens with your character, Nova, learning the ropes of what they are being born to do, while teaching the player how this game will work. It is split between wandering a 3D space that feels torn out of early 32-bit games and diving into 2D isometric dungeons akin to the first Anodyne game. I say “diving into” because Nova’s purpose for being created is to shrink down into people (or sometimes things) to clean out the nano-dust in them. The Center created Nova for this purpose, and the followers of The Center are there to help you achieve that task.  There is an epidemic of dust that serves as the decay and disease in its hosts, and Nova is the fixer.

In the 3D spaces, you run, jump, and drive around to find people or nodes where you can spark these connections. While the graphics in these sections are filled with jagged polygons and rough textures, the only place it looks bad is the opening city. Once you enter the greater outside world, these low-fi looks actually serve the game quite well. It is always easy to pick out the areas of interest and people to talk to. Not to mention the design of the beachside cliffs or the spire in the desert are quite pretty and aesthetically striking. Once you find a node, it is time to get cleaning.

This process does not include the combat-focused action one might expect from the classic Zelda archetype. Instead the 2D cleaning sections are mostly filled with puzzles and avatars of the memories or feelings from whomever you’ve shrunk into. You use your vacuum to manipulate the environment or suck up enemies and objects which can then be launched back out. I connected to one sick old lady and found myself navigating a dusty old home while trying not to defeat the young slimes. In a robotic lab assistant I found myself manipulating a shadow that mirrored my movements to activate switches, and periodically watching the shadow roleplay some moments of social anxiety. In many ways these dungeons are like the mindscapes from Psychonauts—embodiments of who these other characters are. Exploring them isn’t just about solving the problems the dust is causing, but also about understanding these people and forging connections to each other.

That is really the focus of the game; making connections and learning about who people are. It is a game that encourages and supports Humanism, just as many of Analgesic Productions’ previous games have. This game does so more clearly than ever before. At the core Nova is here to help people, and it is through understanding the choices and agency of those characters that the world and its entire nature may be questioned. While Nova explores specifics depictions of depression, fears of failure, and more, the game invites the player to engage beyond Nova’s duty.

Anodyne 2: Return to Dust succeeds with flying colors in this. There were moments I felt seen in ways that can only come from deeply earnest and personal works. One particular section was actually hard for me to get through because of this. It is really well done, but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. Just know that I am glad that I experienced it.

[prnsn001]

Anodyne 2: Return to Dust (2019)

[blubbly-pizza]

I played - Anodyne 2: Return to Dust - 2019

"Like watching a play with a Q&A with everyone involved afterwards."

Play this game if you like games. It is so accommodating, playful, intriguing. They tell you how they made various decisions.

The only complaints I have relate to an ending I didn't need to pursue. And a bit of travel timing. But it also allows a bit of luxuriating in the world.

If music, clever gameplay, behind the scenes, or finding meaning in life stories are your thing. It's worth playing. Even if just one of those. Aren't good at games? Accommodated, they include a walkthrough they made on the main screen.

[copaxgame]

TG Games Limited #222 - 26.05.2022 - Abbiamo in anteprima la Playstation Q

Nuova ricca puntata del TG Games Limited che oltre alle notizie sulle limited oggi vi porta un riassunto del Playstation Shocase di 2 giorni fa e sopratutto vi mostra in anteprima la nuova Playstation Q, Buona Visione! Ecco i link dei giochi: Alien Isolation The Collection (SWI) https://limitedrungames.com/collectio… Anodyne 2 Return to Dust (SWI, PS4, PS5)…