Immerse yourself in a gorgeous hand-painted world on a search for your true identity. As the mysterious warrior, Dust, your action-packed journey will take you from peaceful glades to snowy mountaintops and beyond.
Modeled estimate, not a reported figure. How we estimate →
Prices
Each in the currency that store quoted — not converted: the gap between two rows is the publisher's pricing, not an exchange rate.
Availability
We put this game to every storefront we collect. A market that answered not sold has told us something about the game; a market we never asked has not, and the two are never drawn the same.
About
Genres
Sums Steam only; PlayStation, App Store, GOG publish no volume signal, so the true total is higher by an unknown amount.
| Store | Price | Audience | Score | Chart | Est. revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SteamYou are here | $14.99 | 19.1Kreviews | 95% | — | $7.5M |
| $14.99 | 42.9Kratings | 89% | — | not modelled | |
Updates
Build ids and update times come straight from Steam's PICS — the same source SteamDB reads. Patch history grows as we record new builds.
Engagement
Reviews
Themes across 840 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
Reviews
Dust: An Elysian Tail is a game that leaves me conflicted. It is clearly the product of talented people who cared deeply about what they were making, yet it is also a game that constantly reminds me of how much potential was left unrealized. The result is a good game with genuine heart, but one that falls short of greatness because its gameplay never reaches the same level as its presentation. The first thing that stood out to me was the voice acting. Normally I do not pay much attention to voice performances in games, but the cast here is so strong that it becomes impossible to ignore. Every major character feels believable and memorable. The writing deserves equal praise. The dialogue is well written, the characters are likable, and the world has a charm that kept me interested from beginning to end. Combined with the excellent animation work, Dust creates a cast and setting that feel alive in a way many games struggle to achieve. Unfortunately, the gameplay tells a different story. Dust is a 2D action Metroidvania built around extremely fast combat. The protagonist can launch enemies into the air, juggle entire groups, and tear through large crowds with flashy attacks. Initially this feels exciting, but over time it exposes one of the game's biggest flaws. The combat is built around fighting waves of enemies rather than carefully designed encounters. Nearly every screen throws large groups of opponents at the player, often so many that individual enemies stop mattering. Because the game expects the player to fight entire crowds at once, enemy design remains extremely simple. Different enemies may look unique, but many behave almost identically. Their attacks rarely force the player to adapt or think differently. This creates a fundamental problem. If an encounter contains twenty enemies at once, there is little room for complex attack patterns or meaningful interactions. The player cannot realistically read and react to a large number of unique attacks happening simultaneously. As a result, enemies become simplified and repetitive. The combat remains flashy throughout the game, but beneath the visual spectacle there is surprisingly little depth. Personally, this reminds me of a common anime trope where a single stylish hero effortlessly defeats entire armies. I have never found that idea particularly interesting, and Dust leans heavily into it. The protagonist spends most of the game mowing through huge groups of enemies rather than engaging in thoughtful encounters. The game wants the player to feel powerful, but that power comes at the cost of meaningful combat design. This weakness becomes even more noticeable because Dust is a Metroidvania. The genre is built around exploration, progression, and backtracking through a large interconnected world. Such games need variety to stay engaging over many hours. New abilities, new enemy types, and new challenges constantly refresh the experience. Dust struggles in all of these areas. The protagonist receives very few transformative upgrades, meaning the core gameplay remains largely unchanged from beginning to end. Enemy variety is limited, and many encounters blend together. Because the game is fairly long and requires frequent backtracking, this repetition becomes increasingly difficult to ignore. The RPG and crafting systems are similarly shallow. Most equipment upgrades simply provide larger numbers rather than introducing interesting effects, unique mechanics, or alternative playstyles. There are few pieces of equipment that genuinely change how the game is played. Progression becomes a matter of increasing statistics rather than discovering new possibilities. The level design is another disappointment. While the environments are visually attractive, they rarely feel alive or memorable. Exploration lacks the excitement and sense of discovery that define the best games in the genre. In some ways the world design feels less refined than classic Castlevania titles released more than a decade earlier. The game also suffers from a lack of polish. Small but noticeable issues such as seeing enemies' drop intersect with the environment occur throughout the adventure. In a large 3D game, occasional physics problems can be understandable. In a 2D platformer, however, such issues stand out far more clearly. They contribute to a feeling that the game needed additional refinement before release. What makes all of this frustrating is how much potential Dust possesses. It has excellent writing, memorable characters, strong voice acting, beautiful animation, and an appealing world. It contains many of the ingredients that would later make the Metroidvania genre incredibly successful. Yet those strengths are never fully supported by the gameplay itself. The lack of polish also raises questions about the project's development. The game often feels like something that may have been released without all the time or resources it needed. Whether that was due to publisher pressure, financial realities, or other production challenges is impossible to know from the outside. However, the rough edges are noticeable enough that they become part of the experience. At the same time, I do not believe every issue can be blamed on external circumstances. Many of the game's shortcomings appear to stem from design decisions rather than production limitations. What is especially telling is that several years later the studio released another game in an entirely different genre, yet many of the same complaints resurfaced. Despite changing genres, the combat still lacked depth, progression remained simplistic, and the overall design felt shallower than it should have been. That suggests a broader design problem rather than a genre-specific one. This is why Dust leaves such a mixed impression on me. The artists, writers, animators, and voice actors delivered something memorable. There is real passion behind the project, and that passion is visible throughout the game. Yet passion alone cannot compensate for shallow mechanics, repetitive encounters, weak progression systems, and uninspired level design. In the end, Dust: An Elysian Tail is a good game. I enjoyed my time with it and would give it a 7/10. It has soul, charm, and a memorable world. What it lacks is a deeper understanding of how its gameplay systems should support those strengths. The game succeeds because of the talent of the people who brought its world and characters to life. It falls short because the design never evolves beyond a collection of good ideas that are only partially realized.
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14 of 15 markets; the rest we haven't asked for this title, not markets where it is unavailable.
14 on sale1 answered “not sold”0 we did not ask
The 1 “not sold” market is read from the Steam price pass of Sep 10: that day the store answered for this game elsewhere and gave no price there. The 14 priced markets are the same rows as the table above — each the latest price we hold, dated here when it is older than that pass. The 0 marked “not asked” were not put to this store at all — either it has no storefront there or we do not collect it yet, and neither is a statement about the game. A refusal is a refusal on one day; a store can list a title again tomorrow.
Stats
All-time low is the lowest price we've recorded for this game since we started tracking it.
Languages: English*, French, Italian, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, German*languages with full audio support
| $5.99 |
| 950ratings |
| 94% |
| — |
| not modelled |
| $2.99−80% | 807ratings | 92% | #214 | not modelled |
Matched by title — a reused name can pair the wrong games. * is a critic aggregate. Prices and positions are each store's United States storefront; Epic charts worldwide. Audience and Score too, except Steam's, which is worldwide.
Hours played at review time, across 844 reviews with recorded playtime.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
Beautiful art design, amazing characters, amazing sound and music... Dust has always been a game that I would always recommend even non furry fans to play as it's such a fun and interesting experience to have. I cannot recommend this game enough especially if you're a fan of metroidvania type of games.
The gameplay's fun, Fidget is adorable, and her dynamic with Dust makes sure there's never a dull moment. The art is good too and so are the sound effects. The only downside is that I can't play much of the game due to the almost continuous flashing white light, especially during the thunderstorms. It'd be great if the camera shaking can be turned off too. I suffer from chronic migraines, so my eyes are a bit more sensitive to flashes of light and movement like the camera shaking. It'd be great if there's an option in the settings where you can turn those off.
[h3] 100% Achievement Review: Based on my experience completing all the (available) achievements. [/h3] Feel free to follow my [u][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45897386/]Steam Curator[/url][/u] & [u][url=https://www.youtube.com/@Awijii]Youtube Channel[/url][/u] for more 100% reviews, videos & achievement content! [h3]Title: Dust: An Elysian Tail[/h3] Summary: Hack n slash metroidvania game Personal notes: Dust is a fun hack and slash adventure. You are Dust, someone who cannot recall who or what they are. You are awoken by a mysterious sword that leads you on a well produced story along with a handful of interesting side quests. This story takes place in a beautiful hand drawn world with loads of different biomes and characters. I had a blast with the combat and thought learning all the new skills over time(as standard in metroidvanias) was implemented very well with not excessive amounts of backtracking. I played this years ago on xbox 360 as I believe it was free but I never got far so I decided to complete it fully and i'm glad I did. I would also like to point out that this game was made pretty much by a single person which I think is crazy considering how well made it is. Achievement wise, this game isn't too crazy. Most are story related with a few excluding. You do have to complete the game on Tough or Hardcore which can be a bit of a struggle but considering you can grind levels it should be not too challenging. The arenas are also an area I struggled, they are hidden time trial areas but with practice is also attainable. You will also have to find twelve hidden friends from some other Indie games which I thought was a super cool addition. Overall this game is a fun short and beautiful metroidvania....Yes the characters may be furries but don't let that take away from a great game. I would recommend this game full price but It does go on sale often. Sequel when? Time it took to complete: 18hrs Most difficult achievement(s): - Above and Beyond the Call (Complete the Game on Tough or Hardcore setting) - The Stuff of Legends (Earn a Four-Star Rating in EVERY Challenge Arena) - Baker's Dozen (Hang out with Twelve Friends in the Sanctuary) Difficulty rating: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ 5/10 Overall rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10
An amazing game that continues to hold up even in the year of 2024. The only bad thing I could ever say about this game was that we never got a sequel for it. I desperately want a sequel.
久仰大名，终于玩了。我还是更喜欢那种在现实和梦境的缝隙中有所塑造的创作者，而不是纯粹的造梦者，尽管他的置景、手绘风格、地图变化都非常优秀。尤其我对Dean Dodrill所怀念的那个昨日世界并不感同身受，即使那套文化符码也影响着我们。Ginger和Dust，象征着伟大的母亲和反叛的孩子，她/他们对应着民族的框架和世界革命的气息。不过写母亲的等待要比写孩子的责任更出彩，所以故事的结尾，生活如溪流般继续，孩子消失在汹涌的火海。美术风格令人惊叹，所有的角色、场景、动画都由开发者Dean Dodrill一人以纯手绘方式完成，视效独特且细腻。音乐也优美，一直到蔓延到人物内心，那种推己及人不求回报的深情。又突兀又合理。一位曾经的战争参与者，其寻求救赎的旅程，探讨了个体责任、历史罪责与和解的可能性，而结局那段自毁，又何尝不是自救？他传达的信息早早就超越了简单的复仇逻辑，指向了宽恕、疗愈与共建未来的伦理诉求。这是创作者的自由，是他给出的希望与安慰。我对这一部分更感兴趣。
Still the most impressive XBLA-era game. The fact one person, with exception to voice acting and narrative, made this entire game is absolutely incredible especially when it was done at a time indies weren't booming the way they are now. A fun, metroidvania-like romp with a gorgeous art style and a simple, but satisfying combat loop. I played this in 2012 on my 360 and 100%'d it then, did it again this time round on Steam. My only gripe is in windowed mode, your mouse can sometimes click out of focus, but that's not the end of the world. Well worth the money, even if like me, you're not necessarily a fan of anthropomorphic characters/furry characters. Now that Microsoft have delisted it, Steam/GoG are your only ways to play this labour of love.
That's one of the games we are still begging for a sequel. Simply awesome! Fun fact, the dev previously worked on a platformer classic, Jazz Jackrabbit 2! 🐇🐇 Native Linux version runs great. 🤘🏻
It is hard to put into words the impact this game has left. This game is the ultimate answer to the "are video games art?" question. Every single thing about this game is perfection in a game. The story is one of the most engaging and interesting I have ever come across. I genuinely loved every single second of it from start to finish. Certain moments will hit you like a shotgun slug to the chest and hit the feels button hard. Simply impeccable. The Gameplay. Simply put, its the greatest gameplay I have ever seen in my entire life. Everything works so well. It is fluid without fail, smooth as butter. In some games, the gameplay will sometimes lose you or cause you to make a mistake and die. Here, however, I have never once had it do something like that. It is an outstanding achievement in how to make a proper combat system. The voice acting here is world-class work from every single VA. The direction and performances on display to me are the gold standard when it comes to voice acting in any creative medium, not just video games. Many of these VA's have gone on to great success in the industry and for good reason. D-Mac and the crew shine like the sun here. The art direction. I already said this is the ultimate answer to the "are video games art?" question, but it bears repeating. The art and level design is top notch. Promoting exploration and having no areas where it feels tedious. Every screen, which looks like a masterpiece, gets you hyped up for either a fight or the amazing exploration that comes. It really adds to the immersion of the game. Which leads me to- The Music. One of the best video game soundtracks of All-time. Chris and Dan of HyperDuck hit every level of excellence possible in a soundtrack. Somber, spooky, awe-inspiring, hype, and happy. Every emotion is on full display here and they are placed perfectly throughout the game. Pure auditory bliss. (I'm a musician myself as well LOL) To sum it up, This is the Best Video Game Ever Made. I say this with no hyperbole whatsoever. This is what gaming should be. Gold standard doesn't begin to sum it up. This is the DIAMOND standard for gaming. Next to the names Miyamoto, Kojima, and Meier. Dean Dodrill's name will stand tall among them. Thank you, Dean for giving us this Holy Grail of gaming. TL;DR. Best Game of All-Time. Get it. You will love every second of it! (Been playing this game for a Decade to this point too lol)
I found this game through an Instagram post about how Stampylongnose's Minecraft skin has been a Minecraft version of the bat character (Fidget) from this game the whole time.
Players by region
Where this game's players are, estimated from review languages.
Players also reviewed
The games this title's players most often review too — audience affinity.
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