Anodyne 2: Return to Dust

When you go to buy a game, the choice is often between traditional 2D sprite graphics or a more modern 3D polygonal look. But Anodyne 2: Return to Dust doesn't want to make you choose, because this inventive new adventure game is the best of both worlds. On one hand, it's an open-world 3D platformer, the likes you might have seen on the original PlayStation or Nintendo 64. And then suddenly it will switch perspectives, giving you an overhead 2D quest similar to early Legend of Zelda games. Toss in a lot of great humor and a surprisingly emotional story, and you end up with a sequel that I had a hard time putting down.

This is the odd and often perplexing adventure of Nova, a young Nano Cleaner who is born with a very important job. She's told at birth that a special kind of dust has infected New Theland and has distorted the emotions and desires of the inhabitants. Nova's job is to explore the open world helping strangers and busting dust in an effort to reinforce the vertical Dust Prism and bring peace to the sick world.

This is a confusing world for both Nova and the player. We're purposely kept in the dark for most of the game, making us feel as much like an outsider as our young hero does. All she knows is cleaning up Nano Dust, but she's curious to find her place in the world. As we get to know the colorful cast of characters, Nova begins to wonder if she's more than her destiny dictates. It's a relatable story that is handled with a whole lot of hearth and love, and it's clear that the developer has a lot to say in a tight, compact story.

At first glance, Anodyne 2 looks a lot like an old 32-bit platformer. You run around a simplistic city with rudimentary textures and basic characters. But once you've found somebody in need of your dust busting help and beat them in a short rhythm-based mini-game, you'll shrink down to the size of the dust and get to work. This is when the game switches to a 2D adventure game, complete with basic sprites and a more confined aspect ratio.

It's in this shrunk down state where most of the action takes place. This is a chance for the game to mix things up, offering quite a few different types of levels and challenges to work out. At first it looks like you're going to use your vacuum to suck up enemies and shoot them around the room, but there's a lot more going on here. Some of these stages are about puzzle solving, while other missions will have you matching outfits for picky fashionistas. There's an especially cool section where you explore a map that's easily the size of the original Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. It's a large fantasy world when you sail to different islands and battle monsters. This feels completely different from what we were doing just an hour earlier, and that's what I love about this game. The 16-bit content isn't just filler or an afterthought; it's one wildly inventive vignette after another.

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While the 3D platforming isn't as strong as the 2D stuff, there's still a lot of fun to be had in running around the open world of New Theland. One of the nice (albeit weird) things is that Nova is able to literally transform into a car at the push of the button, which makes getting around a whole lot faster. This is a good idea, since there's so much to discover by exploring every inch of the land. A lot of the fun comes down to finding and collecting all of the two dozen cards. A lot of these come from solving problems and cleaning the New Thelanders of Nova Dust, but you can also track down a fair amount of cards, as well as other items, by simply climbing on rocks and poking around the weird and often atmospheric locations.

It helps that I had no idea where this game was going from one moment to the next. A lot of the charm comes in the unknown and constantly being surprised by the short and personal stories the game wants to tell. Sometimes the game will completely break free of its perspective and influence to look like a completely different game. There's an odd bit where we're running through an isometric world that reminded me a lot of the original Persona. There are even times when you'll have to shrink inside the 16-bit level, showing you a world that looks almost exactly like something you would see on the Atari 2600. All this is done for a reason, and seeing how effortlessly the game jumps from one thing to another gives Anodyne 2 an energy you don't find in most adventure games.

Unfortunately, this playfulness can cut both ways. While I love the direction the game goes, I was frustrated by the some of the middle half. There's an extended part of the game where our hero feels especially lost and gets caught up in a wrestling racket. This is an interesting story thread that brings up a lot of introspective questions, but it goes on for way too long and ultimately brings the momentum to a screeching halt. And that's the thing you have to keep in mind about Anodyne 2, it's often a lot wordier than it needs to be. You don't just have one conversation with a character, you just keep hitting that interact button until they've told you a full story and given you a reason to shrink to microscopic levels and clean up.

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There are a few other minor problems I ran into, especially when it comes to the technical side. While I didn't find anything game breaking, there were definitely a few moments that left me scratching my head and forced to accept that a game this ambitious is bound to have a few issues. I was also disappointed by how much grinding you have to do towards the very end to collect enough dust. I enjoyed the ride and all of the inventive twists and turns, but wanted to see Nova learn more moves and grow as an action hero. Don't expect any massive 3D battles, because all of the excitement and intrigue comes from puzzle solving in the old school 2D world. And I'm find with that.

While it's often confusing and holds you at arm's length, Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is also an engrossing, funny and emotionally satisfying journey that has no problem bouncing from a 3D open-world platformer to an overhead 2D adventure game. You've seen some of these elements before, but definitely not like this. The different problems you solve and levels you explore are endlessly creative and varied, sewing together a relatable story about finding your place in a confusing and chaotic world. Who knew that a game about dust busting would end up being so deep?