Dustforce Review

Dust and grime surround us. Every day, game avatar they collect atop coffee tables and in forgotten kitchen corners, but nno more. In Dustforce, it's time to fight back. Filth falls before four nacrobatic janitors--each equal parts ninja and handyman. Their world is nbuilt on speed and has you building momentum while sweeping away patchesn of leaves and battling waste-covered foes. It's up to you to determine nhow these chores piece together to earn the best score, and when you do,n it's immensely satisfying.

Slip and slide your way through these two early stages from Dustforce.

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Theren is a unique economy of movement in Dustforce that must be mastered to nsucceed. Running and jumping are simple. It's when you start zipping naround in midair that things get tricky. For instance, most characters ncan either double jump or dash while in the air. That is, unless you ndefeat an enemy while airborne. Then you can either dash again or make an third jump. And once you touch the ground, the whole system resets. If nthis sounds confusing, don't worry; the game eases you into game avatar cho android this system through a comprehensive tutorial stage and several basic early stages.

Atn the end of each stage, you're graded on completion, finesse (a blanket nterm that factors in your combo meter, whether you defeated all enemies nand the like), and speed. If you perform well enough, you earn keys thatn unlock doors leading to more challenging stages. Each stage also has ntwo unique leaderboards: one for overall score and another for time. nHowever, the best feature is the replay support for each entry on the nleaderboards. These can offer insight into surmounting the tougher nstages. They also offer plenty of "That doesn't look so hard" moments nand feed into the game's already addictive nature.

Compared to nother 2D platformers, such as the masterful Super Meat Boy, Dustforce nfeels slower and heavier. This weight stems from the extra layers of ncomplexity afforded by the game's movement and combat. For combat, each ncharacter has a light and heavy attack. By chaining light attacks ntogether you can propel your character through the air while striking ann enemy. Hitting a foe with a single, heavy attack is faster; however, nthis leaves behind a patch of filth for you to clean up. nEverything--from cleaning to combat--feeds into your combo meter. Once nfull, this meter can be used to unleash a screen-clearing attack. Using nthese elements together makes the stages feel like puzzles. You're game avatar tren iphone constantly experimenting with different combinations of dashing, attacking, and jumping to find the fastest route.

Dustforcen is supported by outstanding audio and visual design. The music feels nespecially fitting: a calming, trancelike soundtrack that is akin to ninMomentum and Mirror's Edge. The music has the added psychological neffect of calming you down when you hit attempt 50 on the same level, nand its subtle nature prevents it from becoming grating after listening nto it for long stretches. The visuals are just as rich. Each of the ngame's four settings has its own style and is rendered using a soft, npastel color palette that complements the soothing tone set by the nscore.

This harmony is interrupted by a lack of explanation of some nbasic features. The two most striking examples of this have to do with nthe differences among the four playable characters and the game's nmultiplayer. Of the four playable characters, the blue character with nthe broom appears to be the most well-rounded one, while the purple ncharacter with the feather dusters is quicker but can't jump as high. nThis lack of information only serves as a detriment to the game and addsn unnecessary confusion.

The multiplayer mode is even more nbaffling. This local-only mode supports up to four players in a nking-of-the-hill type of match. This is not explained, and when you nfirst load it up, chances are you won't know what to do. Thus far, the ngame has taught you to clean up everything in sight as quickly as you ncan. In this mode, some players play as the four cleaners, while the nothers play as their messy counterparts: spreading dust, leaves, and then like across the map. Therefore, your first instinct is to game avatar nap the gi clean and fight until one side dominates the screen (which is almost nimpossible). Gradually, it becomes obvious that cleaning and fighting nare not the focus of this multiplayer mode--and unless you have a keen neye, chances are you won't know what to do next.

Being able to disable checkpoints is a welcome feature when aiming for the fastest time.

Theren are a handful of other, smaller issues that drag Dustforce down from ngreatness. On one computer, the game performed without issue, while on nanother similar setup, it suffered major performance dips when ntraversing the overworld and would infrequently crash on specific nstages. There is also a mysterious video tab in the options menu that nhas been left completely blank. Being able to perform the basic nfunctions of resizing the game or playing in a window would be a welcomen addition. While these issues do reveal some rough edges, the game nproper is left largely unaffected. Sliding through the world of nDustforce is a fun, free-flowing experience, and it's easy to get hookedn on it.