Dust & Neon

Among other roguelikes, I can't say that Dust & Neon stands out in any way, as it relies on its charming theme and aesthetics while unfortunately never being particularly entertaining to actually play.

In the end Dust & Neon feels like a bunch of great ideas and mechanics that don’t quite push the roguelike genre in any innovating direction. That’s not to say it isn’t fun though as its fast-paced run and gun gameplay always entertains. I just wish there was more variety in the weapons and missions, and a richer story wouldn’t hurt either. The potential for an even more impressive sequel feels very likely if the interest is there and I, for one, am interested enough to see one.

A tragic case of wasted potential, Dust & Neon renders its formidable run-and-gun mechanics powerless with repetitive missions, trivial upgrades, and a nonsensical difficulty curve. The simple satisfaction of blasting anything that moves might keep some players happy for a while, but ultimately this one would be hard to recommend at even a quarter of its current asking price.