We Play Dust: An Elysian Tail

[Mr Incredible]

1. What difficulty are you playing on?  I started on Tough to do it in one go
2. Do you think the opening battle scene is a location we see within the first chapter? I think it will be the final battleground of the game if I made the game
3. How did you find the games visuals and the fact this was designed by one guy?I love the varied settings and backgrounds. Kudos to the one man army
4. What did you think of the amnesia plot device and its use in this game? I usually hate the main character amnesia plot device. But considering its a one man made game. I'll let it slide and let the game unfold its story naturally
5. First impressions of Fidget, the sword and Dust? I like fidgets dialogue. The polar opposite of Dusts serious tone
6. What do you think of the combat system? It seems a little repetitive, and I hope it builds upon the basic, hammer square to kill things 
7. Have you been using the Parry or Dodge more? Only by accident in the prologue
8. How did you find the first boss fight against the giants/golems? Having not put an upgrade on my defense or attack. The first three of these guys took forever to take down.

 

 

1. After meeting the local population who is your favourite character out of the main cast and supporting cast? I like Figit the most. And for the supporting cast, it has to go the the trader. If only for the "Stranger" comment from the first encounter
2. What did you think about Ginger on your first meeting with her? Her shortness of commentary leads me to believe she will be very important by the end of the game.
3. Do you think Dust knows her seeing as she comments he seems familiar?Undecided at this point.
4. What did you think of Gianni and how did you handle his quest and why? I don't think I have done this quest at this time.
5. Do you think all of the townsfolk are trustworthy?None of them seemed shady to me. But I could be wrong
6. What do you think of the enemy types? Which is your favourite and least favourite enemy? I like the giants the most, and I loath the blobs that shoot spikes up in the air when you try to jump over them.
7. Did your opinion on combat change while playing the game? Still seems pretty straight forward with hammering the square button. I only seem to use the Triangle moves when directing the exploding fruit
8. How are you finding the dialogue in the game and what are your thoughts on the voice acting?For what i'm assuming was a small budget game, the voice acting is very professionally done
9. What did you think of the easter egg characters in the cages (There's at least 3)? I've only found super meat boy at the moment. I've not looked into who all there will be, I'll keep it a surprise
10. How are you finding the games difficulty?Adding points to health doesn't seem to matter much as 1 or 2 hits from enemies seem to be all she wrote in most fights. I only eat enough food to keep my health half was as filling the life bar doesn't seem to matter much to me either.
11. Thoughts on Haley, upgrade systems and equipment system? I'm still wondering whey the basic cotton shirt/armor I started with has better stats then anything from the trader
12. How did you find the boss fight against Fuse? What do you think his dialogue meant and do you think his comments can be trusted? As long as i stayed right up close. He was a push over. He was on his death bed so I doubt he had any reason to lie.
13. Did your opinion on Ginger change at all?
14. What do you think is in the box?
15. What level were you at the end of Chapter 1? Level 8

[MesopithecusUK]

I may be running a day or two behind on Checkpoint 3; going to finish the single player of Uncharted 4 tomorrow before someone else drops another spoiler to me 

 

My answers to the discussion points:

 

1. What difficulty are you playing on?  I started on Tough difficulty, not found too many problems so far but expect a steep increase
2. Do you think the opening battle scene is a location we see within the first chapter? I think it will feature during the game, but not necessarily the first chapter
3. How did you find the games visuals and the fact this was designed by one guy? I love it!  The art style is fantastic.  I've always been a big supporter of indie games and smaller developers and this just reinforces that.
4. What did you think of the amnesia plot device and its use in this game? I felt that it was used really well in the game
5. First impressions of Fidget, the sword and Dust? I love fidget She surprises me with some of the phrases she comes out with.  I think I'll have to see more of how the story progresses before I pass any opinions on Dust and the sword.
6. What do you think of the combat system? I have to admit, I was worried before playing it as I'm not so good at this kind of combat system, but I've picked it up pretty well I think
7. Have you been using the Parry or Dodge more? I've used parry a little bit, but only since everyone on the topic mentioned it
8. How did you find the first boss fight against the giants/golems? Not so bad, but I had spent some time levelling up a little bit against the weaker enemies before taking on the bosses.

 

 

1. After meeting the local population who is your favourite character out of the main cast and supporting cast? Fidget is my favorite character, based on the phrases she comes out with.  I like Ginger too, there was something about her which made me feel she was integral to the story development
2. What did you think about Ginger on your first meeting with her? I was intrigued by her backstory and wanted to find out more
3. Do you think Dust knows her seeing as she comments he seems familiar? Potentially
4. What did you think of Gianni and how did you handle his quest and why? He came across as kind of a douche, I did both options for the trophies but went with the poison ivy mainly (although I liked Fidget's idea of mauling his face off)
5. Do you think all of the townsfolk are trustworthy? Given my natural lack of trust for anyone, I see there is a potential for everyone in the town to be untrustworthy
6. What do you think of the enemy types? Which is your favourite and least favourite enemy? I dislike the flying things that silence Fidget if they hit her, my favorite are the things that explode when you get to a certain radius. Makes for easy work
7. Did your opinion on combat change while playing the game? I've started using a variety of different methods as I was reliant on dust storm a lot initially
8. How are you finding the dialogue in the game and what are your thoughts on the voice acting? The voice acting is really well done, along with the dialogue although it can be a little bit hammy at times
9. What did you think of the easter egg characters in the cages (There's at least 3)? I was surprised but I thought it was a great nod to other indie game developers
10. How are you finding the games difficulty? Not too bad, I've spent a lot of time levelling up though so that may make things easier
11. Thoughts on Haley, upgrade systems and equipment system? Haley was really adorable  I've not really done much with the upgrades and equipment.  I've equipped some items I obtained but not really changed much around but I imagine I will change more later on
12. How did you find the boss fight against Fuse? What do you think his dialogue meant and do you think his comments can be trusted? I was expecting the battle to be tougher but I think I was overpowered.  His comments were interesting and it may give us an indication of who Dust was.  Sometimes when Amnesia is involved, it can be because Dust was trying to forget something he did or something that happened in the past.
13. Did your opinion on Ginger change at all? No, not yet
14. What do you think is in the box? I've not second guessed this, but looking forward to progressing and finding out
15. What level were you at the end of Chapter 1? Level 15 I think

[Riggnarokk]

just finished Checkpoint 3

 

1. What difficulty are you playing on? I'm playing on tough as well, no problems so far with the difficulty
2. Do you think the opening battle scene is a location we see within the first chapter? It probably shows Dust before he became Dust, so I'm not sure if we will see it at all
3. How did you find the games visuals and the fact this was designed by one guy? It looks fantastic, and it being designed by just one guy is incredible
4. What did you think of the amnesia plot device and its use in this game? Amnesia is always a lazy option, but for a Metroidvania type game still ok
5. First impressions of Fidget, the sword and Dust? Fidget is slowly becoming one of my favourite videogame characters of all time   
6. What do you think of the combat system? Combat is fun so far, I really like the way the Fidget Combos work
7. Have you been using the Parry or Dodge more? I don't use Dodge at all, but Parry quite a lot
8. How did you find the first boss fight against the giants/golems? A nice way to teach us how to parry

Checkpoint 2 (Chapter 1):

1. After meeting the local population who is your favourite character out of the main cast and supporting cast? Matti and Fidget
2. What did you think about Ginger on your first meeting with her? I liked her, but there will be some kind of dramatic turn with her
3. Do you think Dust knows her seeing as she comments he seems familiar? He probably killed her family or something like that before he became Dust
4. What did you think of Gianni and how did you handle his quest and why? He is a prick and I handled his quest obviously both ways because of the trophies
5. Do you think all of the townsfolk are trustworthy? So far yes
6. What do you think of the enemy types? Which is your favourite and least favourite enemy? They are all just XP to me
7. Did your opinion on combat change while playing the game? No, liked it from the beginning
8. How are you finding the dialogue in the game and what are your thoughts on the voice acting? Dialogue is mostly fun especially when Fidget is involved (so pretty much all the time)
9. What did you think of the easter egg characters in the cages (There's at least 3)? Don't like them that much, it's nice to have Meat Boy in any game but in this setting it all seems like a very weird choice
10. How are you finding the games difficulty? Tough is not that difficult so far since enemies don't seem to hit you very much
11. Thoughts on Haley, upgrade systems and equipment system? I like Haley and crafted a couple of items but it doesn't seem that important 
12. How did you find the boss fight against Fuse? What do you think his dialogue meant and do you think his comments can be trusted?
13. Did your opinion on Ginger change at all? Not yet
14. What do you think is in the box? I actually know what's in it because I just finished that quest
15. What level were you at the end of Chapter 1? Around 10
16. Did anyone have any desires to have any characters thighs...? lol

 

Edited May 14, 2016 by Riggnarokk

[zadorvp]

Started Checkpoint 3, but going to sleep now. Fun game so far ^^ You can move me up from the "maybe" list now

CHECKPOINT 1

• What difficulty are you playing on? Tough
• Do you think the opening battle scene is a location we see within the first chapter? I don't think it was any location we saw during the first chapter, but perhaps later?
• How did you find the games visuals and the fact this was designed by one guy? There are a bunch of pretty visuals and the art style is nice. The "one guy" part is impressive ^^
• What did you think of the amnesia plot device and its use in this game? Not a huge fan especially when it's involved in a plot where nobody else recognises the amnesiac person either
• First impressions of Fidget, the sword and Dust? SUPER glad Fidget is nothing like Issun was in Okami HD. Fourth wall breaking always amuses me, too. The sword is interesting (though a talking sword still isn't anything unique either) and Dust luckily seems to not be as one-dimensional as these types of characters can sometimes be.
• What do you think of the combat system? It's got some variety and is fairly easy to pick up though I'm seemingly just using normal attack most of the time since I've upgraded that to be so much stronger than the Fidget combos.
• Have you been using the Parry or Dodge more? I've used Dodge more, Parry only a few times (mostly by accident).
• How did you find the first boss fight against the giants/golems? Superbly easy since I was just spamming aerial Dust Storm + Fidget projectiles to get 1000 combos

CHECKPOINT 2

• After meeting the local population who is your favourite character out of the main cast and supporting cast? Main cast: Fidget; Supporting: None of them stand out much over the others, but I guess I like Ginger or the old farmer couple the most.
• What did you think about Ginger on your first meeting with her? "Cutscene" introduction means she'll be relevant to the plot most likely, same with her dialogue. We shall see.
• Do you think Dust knows her seeing as she comments he seems familiar? I'm not sure yet.
• What did you think of Gianni and how did you handle his quest and why? Gianni is a stereotype (as are other characters, but that's all fine) I handled it both ways for the trophies but "canonically" picked Paragon.
• Do you think all of the townsfolk are trustworthy? Apart from Gianni and the box guy, yes. The box guy is probably overall harmless too though considering he has an unmissable side quest to give
• What do you think of the enemy types? Which is your favourite and least favourite enemy? I'm glad there's enough variety for them. Least favourite is the new type of flying enemy that is introduced right at the end of chapter 1 and favourite are the giants.
• Did your opinion on combat change while playing the game? I use Dust Storm even less now.
• How are you finding the dialogue in the game and what are your thoughts on the voice acting? The voice acting is good and the fourth wall breaking is
• What did you think of the easter egg characters in the cages (There's at least 3)? I've only found (and released) one so far. So far the addition is okay (especially for the health bonus) and it's nice to have more secrets to find (my opinion). Looking forward to seeing what happens when they're all found.
• How are you finding the games difficulty? Not too bad, but enemies do hit hard enough to kill in a couple of hits regardless of upgrading. Trying to save my food for now and rely on save point partial healing instead - only used some chickens when I've suddendly gone critical in areas without save points.
• Thoughts on Haley, upgrade systems and equipment system? Haley is okay and the crafting system has its uses though there's not much point in creating any of the weak blueprint items. I created some powerful items on my first visit, haven't found better blueprints after that yet.
• How did you find the boss fight against Fuse? What do you think his dialogue meant and do you think his comments can be trusted? Stayed up close and killed him with melee fairly easily. His dialogue meant he was part of an exiled race that has been nearly wiped out by Gaius and his assassins (whom Dust seems to be one of). His comments seemed sincere.
• Did your opinion on Ginger change at all? Seems like she'll be important as assumed.
• What do you think is in the box? Schrödinger's Cat... probably not
• What level were you at the end of Chapter 1? Twelve.

[Maftet]

CHECKPOINT 1

 

What difficulty are you playing on? Tough

 

Do you think the opening battle scene is a location we see within the first chapter? Yes

 

How did you find the games visuals and the fact this was designed by one guy? Really impressive, solo people usually just make stuff like uh.. well, even Candy Crush had a bigger dev team.

 

What did you think of the amnesia plot device and its use in this game? I hate it. It's overused for the sake of convenience and is never medically accurate. It would be more entertaining in a game if they used that trope and the character regained their memories after a few days and found out everyone he knew was trying to take advantage.

 

First impressions of Fidget, the sword and Dust? Breaking thr fourth wall in a cute and not over-the-top way. I like it. Not a huge fan of Dust or Ahrah though.

 

What do you think of the combat system? I like it, it's fun, responsive and fluid. Could be a whole lot worse.

 

Have you been using the Parry or Dodge more? Parry, I've only dodged a couple of times and I like the ping noise the parry makes.

 

How did you find the first boss fight against the giants/golems? Actually nearly died a couple of times until I learned to parry, after that it was pretty easy.

 

CHECKPOINT 2

 

After meeting the local population who is your favourite character out of the main cast and supporting cast? Out of the main cast it would be Fidget, from the supporting cast, probably the blacksmith, I can't remember her name.

 

What did you think about Ginger on your first meeting with her? Typical moody, silent, 'dark past' trope. Unfortunately it seems she'll be relevant.

 

Do you think Dust knows her seeing as she comments he seems familiar? Probably.

 

What did you think of Gianni and how did you handle his quest and why? Don't like him as a character but the quest was funny. My 'canon' run ends with his clothes covered in ivy. Just because.

 

Do you think all of the townsfolk are trustworthy? No, the mayor seems dodgy.

 

What do you think of the enemy types? Which is your favourite and least favourite enemy? Variety is alright. I hate those squishy mouth blob things that stab you though.

 

Did your opinion on combat change while playing the game? No, combat's still fun and Dust Storm seems to be useful still.

 

How are you finding the dialogue in the game and what are your thoughts on the voice acting? Voice acting is really good, especially for an indie game. Dialogue seems relevant and I've not met a character that waffles yet.

 

What did you think of the easter egg characters in the cages (There's at least 3)? I like them. It was quite surprising to see who popped out of my first (and only) cage. He was really cute and so out of place lol

 

How are you finding the games difficulty? I eat food. A lot. It's expensive. I'm poor.

 

Thoughts on Haley, upgrade systems and equipment system?It's alright, haven't used it much yet though.

 

How did you find the boss fight against Fuse? What do you think his dialogue meant and do you think his comments can be trusted? Just kept running up to him and poking him in the face. I don't think he liked it. He's got no reason to lie if he's going to die anyway, so I reckon he's alright.

 

Did your opinion on Ginger change at all? Nope, still don't like her. Typical sob story QQ.

 

What do you think is in the box? Uh.. no idea.

 

What level were you at the end of Chapter 1? Nine.

[Superbuu3]

I'll push this to Wednesday so Maftet has a chance to catch up

 

Checkpoint 4 - Beat Chapter 3 (Target beat by Wednesday 18th May)

[Maftet]

Don't worry Buu, just hit checkpoint 3 and I should be back on track now.

Cheers for the thought

[DJROE95]

Been super busy this weekend so I've not had chance to play or wrote up my answers but I'll get back on track tomorrow and write up my answers on my Mac rather than my phone. Still on track to finish chapter 3 in time though

[DJROE95]

Checkpoint 4 done and .... Dusted *drum sound* I'll see myself out

[Jarred__383]

Checkpoint 4 reached. That chapter was tough since i hadnt put but only one gem into figit. Had to farm a while to upgrade her. Also had plenty of oppertunities for the 1000 hit trophy in this chapter. I got several 800-900 before finally getting it.

[zadorvp]

Checkpoint 4 done

 

DJROE95, you're not doing the We Play with us anymore? I see a shiny new Dust platinum in your collection

Edited May 17, 2016 by zadorvp

[MesopithecusUK]

Gah, I need to catch up as I've fallen behind thanks to Uncharted 4, new ARK update today and other things going on.

 

Will have a huge Dust binge and catch up to you all.

[Maftet]

I'm almost at the next checkpoint I think. Got 2 more items to get, should be done tomorrow hopefully.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Maftet

[DJROE95]

Checkpoint 4 done

DJROE95, you're not doing the We Play with us anymore? I see a shiny new Dust platinum in your collection

I got really mixed up withmy check points and played to the end :'(

I suck at timing stuff like this as I can't gaurentee I'll be able to play each day, perhaps we plays are not for me in that sense, although I don't know if I would have gotten around to playing this game without it so I'm really glad I took part.

I really struggle to keep multiple games on the go so I think I'll play the we play games at my own pace from now on. It's strange how we all game differently!

I'll still type up my thoughts on the game though

Edited May 17, 2016 by DJROE95

[Superbuu3]

I got really mixed up withmy check points and played to the end :'(

I suck at timing stuff like this as I can't gaurentee I'll be able to play each day, perhaps we plays are not for me in that sense, although I don't know if I would have gotten around to playing this game without it so I'm really glad I took part.

I really struggle to keep multiple games on the go so I think I'll play the we play games at my own pace from now on. It's strange how we all game differently!

I'll still type up my thoughts on the game though

Feel free to join in the discussion I'm not going to kick up a fuss. I just want a decent number of participants.

 

Well the We Play thing would probably help you out on any games you are struggling with.

[DJROE95]

Feel free to join in the discussion I'm not going to kick up a fuss. I just want a decent number of participants.

Well the We Play thing would probably help you out on any games you are struggling with.

Yeah like I said I wouldn't have played this game I don't think if I hadn't been in the group and its a right little gem!

Just personally I'm not a fan of stop / start gaming, I'll still play the same games as the group though to help clear my backlog, after all Life is Strange is next up, perhaps that'll be easier to play in a group with it being in episodes with catch ups before each subsequent one. Anyway I'm still super glad that I did my first 'we play' on here and with such a lovely little game ... And group *insert soppy comment etc* ha ha!

Edited May 18, 2016 by DJROE95

[Superbuu3]

Checkpoint 5 - Beat Chapter 4 (Target beat by Saturday 21st May)

 

Checkpoint 3 (Chapter 2) discussion:

1. With the Revelation that Dust worked with General Gaius did your opinion of him change?

2. With most of these levels being set in the caves what were our thoughts on the level design and this section of the game?

3. What do you think of the enemy variety?

4. What are your opinions on combat and have you been using the combat mechanics i.e. parry/dodge/fidget/air throw/air spin move/slide attack?

5. What did you think of Lady Tethys and did you think she had a point?

6. How did you find the boss fight against her? What level were you roughly?

7. With the after math of the fight were you shocked at the events that occured in the village?

8. Have you been making a point of doing side quests or have you been focusing on progressing the story?

[Maftet]

Just hit checkpoint 4.

 

1. With the Revelation that Dust worked with General Gaius did your opinion of him change? Nope, pretty predictable.

2. With most of these levels being set in the caves what were our thoughts on the level design and this section of the game? Caves are okay, enemies are annoying.

3. What do you think of the enemy variety? Terrible, hate them, I'd rather go back to goblins.

4. What are your opinions on combat and have you been using the combat mechanics i.e. parry/dodge/fidget/air throw/air spin move/slide attack? I just spam square. Dust Storm helped with the boss fight though.

5. What did you think of Lady Tethys and did you think she had a point? I understood where she was comming from, but that wasn't really the way to do it.

6. How did you find the boss fight against her? What level were you roughly? A pain, I died so many times before I figured I could cheese her with Fidget. I think about level uh.. fifteen?

7. With the after math of the fight were you shocked at the events that occured in the village? Nope.

8. Have you been making a point of doing side quests or have you been focusing on progressing the story? I've done some, I'll probably head back todo more soon, but I want to get them all done at once.

 

[Jarred__383]

Checkpoint 4 completed. Went back and did all my side quests. I still need to do all the cages and 1 4* challenge. Hopefully have a new platinum soon  

 

Ive noticed the vendor doesn't have keys anymore for sell. And I opened quite a few regular chests along the way. Is there any way to craft some keys? I'm hoping I can backtrack and find some I missed along the way. 

[Maftet]

Reached Checkpoint 5.

[Riggnarokk]

on my way to Checkpoint 5

 

1. With the Revelation that Dust worked with General Gaius did your opinion of him change? No, that seemed pretty obvious from the intro

2. With most of these levels being set in the caves what were our thoughts on the level design and this section of the game? They were ok... nothing special really and those dripping mushrooms were annoying

3. What do you think of the enemy variety? I actually liked the design of the Rockhounds a lot

4. What are your opinions on combat and have you been using the combat mechanics i.e. parry/dodge/fidget/air throw/air spin move/slide attack? so far spamming the melee attack seems to be enough for pretty much anything, only used slide to get the tropy and air spin helped for the 1000 hit combo.

5. What did you think of Lady Tethys and did you think she had a point? Well I guess she gave in to the dark side of the force

6. How did you find the boss fight against her? What level were you roughly? I think I was around 13 when I fought her, the boss fights in general seem pretty easy on tough mode. Just stay close and hit them with your sword.

7. With the after math of the fight were you shocked at the events that occured in the village? Not really shocked, the dialogue gave it away after the fight so it was no big surprise

8. Have you been making a point of doing side quests or have you been focusing on progressing the story? After Lady Tethys I did a little cleaning up with the side quests, mainly because I wanted to keep playing a little more.

[zadorvp]

Checkpoint 5 cleared. WARNING: Turn off "Enable HDCP" in your PS4's System Settings when you get to the last save point in the mountains. The event that happens in a house soon after will most likely crash your game if you haven't done so (you can turn it back on afterwards - just save first since switching the setting closes all applications).

 

CHECKPOINT 3

 

1. With the Revelation that Dust worked with General Gaius did your opinion of him change? I agree with Maftet and Riggnarokk, the implication was already there.

2. With most of these levels being set in the caves what were our thoughts on the level design and this section of the game? A little more variety would be nice, though the poisoning mushrooms were at least a new form of trap.

3. What do you think of the enemy variety? Good so far.

4. What are your opinions on combat and have you been using the combat mechanics i.e. parry/dodge/fidget/air throw/air spin move/slide attack? Used slide attack once for a trophy, otherwise just melee, dodging, dust storm, and parry (for the shield guys).

5. What did you think of Lady Tethys and did you think she had a point? She was corrupted by her feelings, so she didn't really have a clearminded point anymore at that point - just hatred. As a character, I wish more of her would have been revealed. Sadly it seems bosses so far are mentioned only a bit before they show up and then not used again - for now at least.

6. How did you find the boss fight against her? What level were you roughly? Meleed up close and dodged away when she used her arms to attack. I was in the 20s?

7. With the after math of the fight were you shocked at the events that occured in the village? It would have been more shocking if she hadn't said it was too late instantly after At least it added a bit more emotional weight to the story.

8. Have you been making a point of doing side quests or have you been focusing on progressing the story? Been doing side quests and exploration at the same time as I've been going forward. There are some very cleverly hidden treasure chests (I particularly liked the air dust storm one found in the long bridge area in the forest region and the rose-marked grave in the third chapter though that's not relevant to this checkpoint's questions).

 

EDIT: Alright, done everything I can before advancing the story (I was kind of hoping Buu would be online today to add the next checkpoint ) so the only region (not counting the chapter 5 region) not at 100% is Archer's Pass as it requires a Yellow Resonance Gem and that's not obtainable yet.

Edited May 22, 2016 by zadorvp

[Superbuu3]

Sorry about not being on yesterday guys. I need to sart making discussion points quick sorry about this.

 

Checkpoint 6 - Beat The game

[zadorvp]

Sorry about not being on yesterday guys. I need to sart making discussion points quick sorry about this.

 

Checkpoint 6 - Beat The game

 

Don't worry about it, Buu You've been keeping a good pace with the discussions and checkpoints (my opinion) and I'm just glad to be part of your We Plays again ^^

[zadorvp]

Checkpoint 6 cleared and platinum obtained Thank you for another fantastic We Play, Buu!