Ducktales for the NES was one of these ‘underrated’ classics you probably heard about once the internet and nostalgia gaming became a thing. Sure, many gamers probably had the same experience I did: expecting a game based on the “Ducktales” series to suck, then being pleasantly surprised by it being a competent platformer with a neat pogo-stick-y kinda gimmick. It was a good time. Of course, I was…7 years old when that game came out, and if there’s one thing retro gaming has taught me, it’s that pleasant surprises are worse the second time around.
If you have an Xbox 360, Xbox Live Gold, and anything resembling a noggin' in your head, stop reading this and go download Dust: An Elysian Tail right now. For the next 11 days it's free, and it's worth every penny.
Functionally, Dust is a hack-n-slash platformer with light RPG elements,
telling a surprisingly well-acted story about a mythical sword, a
nebulous mystery, and a group of heroes that are possibly trying to save
the world.
And on paper that all seems nice, but we've all been here before, right? Metroid, Castlevania, and countless (and I do mean countless) games have come and gone that delivered an iteration of a formula without really transcending it. Of course they said that about 'Avatar' on paper, too.
Like Avatar you need to experience 'Dust: An Elysian Tail' to 'get' it. What is there to get? Only the best 2D animation in the history of gaming.
Really.
Yes, even better than Dragon Quest.
