![]() ![]() ![]() Instead of the gameplay focusing on speed and reaction time, Dustforce revels in making platforming a slow and deliberate fare. This is also one of the rare platformers to put a heavy emphasis on momentum and combat rather than just quick reactions. The game utilizes this mechanic brilliantly, often placing dirt on the side of a death-defying drop and daring you to try and slide down toward it – all in the hope that you’ll clean enough of the level to achieve that life-affirming S rating. Where Dustforce differentiates itself from other games in the genre, is in the characters’ ninja-like ability to briefly slide down and across walls. Each level sees you following a trail of dirt as you run, jump and slide your way across them cleaning everything in your path. Like most good platformers, the story here is minimal and essentially just serves as a background to set up the game’s core mechanics. The game sees them hopping from locale to locale, cleaning everything from dust, to fog to slime and taking on whatever (presumably) dirty enemies they face. The game revolves around a team of four cleaners called – you guessed it – the Dustforce. Then, half an hour later, it bludgeons you with its difficulty curve and you realize how inferior your skills really are. Initially the game is quite gentle with you, easing you in with a nice tutorial and some relatively simple opening levels – until it lulls you into thinking you’ve mastered the basic mechanics. Taking its cues from sadomasochistic platformers like Super Meat Boy, Dustforce demands nothing less than pinpoint precision and perfect timing from the player at all times. For every multi-billion dollar action game that holds your hand and goes out of its way to make you feel like a gaming badass, there is a 2D platformer made by four people that will come along and put you firmly back in your place.ĭustforce was originally released on Steam in 2012 to great critical reception, and has since gained a respectable enough following for Capcom (of all people) to decide to publish it on PS3, 360 and Vita – which is nothing short of a fairy tale-esque triumph for developers Hitbox, especially when you consider what type of game this is. A group of four janitors have taken it upon themselves to free their homes from the treacherous, evil pollution.The fact that games like Dustforce exist reaffirms what I love about this industry. Woodland creatures wear coats of fallen leaves, gargoyles have been coated in a thick carpet of dust, and toxic sludge coats every surface imaginable. Dust, dirt, and pollution have spread across the world, corrupting everything it touches. Its concept is equally as adorable as its artstyle. When I lost access to my Steam account because I didn't understand two-factor authentication as a child, the first game that I bought more than once was Dustforce, a gorgeous platformer that stole my heart the second I laid eyes upon it. Occasionally, exceptions must be made to this rule when a game's creators have gone above and beyond in creating a a phenomenal work of art. As a recent college graduate, I have never had much of a disposable income, so each game I add to my collection needs to be important to me. It is incredibly rare that I purchase a game more than once across multiple systems.
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