Nano dust distorts emotions and desires, so you really don’t want it settling into your mind. Luckily, Nova’s got a vacuum to clean it up. She just needs to climb into your brain to use it.
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust takes players to a gorgeous PS1/N64-inspired world filled with living houses, ghostly musicians, and other interesting folks to meet amongst the striking landscapes. Many of these people have been affected by the dust directly or indirectly, with their mental states being thrown into flux, or their loved ones being harmed by it. They seem like such nice folks, it would be a shame to leave them like this, right?
To help them out, Nova can shrink down and creep into their minds, using a special vacuum cleaner to suction the dust from their thoughts. Since their mindsets have been polluted, though, you’ll find dangerous creatures within, and will have to use your vacuum to suck troubles up or fling projectiles at them to harm them. Expect to run into some manifestations of the characters’ thoughts and memories while you’re in here, though, creating a pleasant mixture of storytelling and action as you literally explore who they are. And all with a lovely Game Boy Advance visual style.
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust captures a sense of adventure in sprawling 3D lands filled with wondrous creatures and memorable characters. It brings an intimacy with its characters as you save them from within and learn who they are, as well as some thrilling action as you fight off the monsters within a mind.
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is available now on the Humble Store, Itch.io, Kartridge, GOG, and Steam.
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