Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is a game made by Analgesic Productions, consisting of Sean Han Tani and Marina Ayano Kittaka. It is a sequel to Anodyne, though it’s a sequel in the Final Fantasy sense in that similar elements are shared across games, but there’s no direct story continuation, so any newcomers can just jump right in.

I have a theory on why #Anodyne2 is so powerful… it is suffused with DNA from @sean_HTCH and my collaborations as well as our major solo projects. The final result is brimming with ideas and energy!!

🌟 Wishlist: https://t.co/KBKyPDdeEF pic.twitter.com/rr1iNZrT5k

— Marina Ayano Kittaka 🔜 #GDoCExpo (@even_kei) July 19, 2019

Anodyne 2 not only builds off of the first Anodyne, but the other works of Analgesic Productions. In particular, Sean Han Tani’s solo work, All Our Asias, reflects in Anodyne 2 with its 3D environments. While the 2D Zelda-like segments of the first game are definitely still around, they exist within a lo-fi 3D world that’s meant to be evocative of games in the Playstation 1 and Nintendo 64 era.

In the 3D world, you explore the island of New Theland, where its inhabitants are being infected by Nano Dust, distorting their emotions and desires. You play as Nova, a Nano Cleaner that can shrink down and enter people’s bodies to clean the dust infecting them from within. She can also transform into a car for the sake of convenience in the 3D space, allowing you to explore around at a breakneck pace.

When jumping inside of people, gameplay shifts to the familiar 2D segments. In the first game, protagonist Young carried around a broom as a weapon, acting as a sword that can also pick up dust to be used for the game’s puzzles. Nova one-ups him by having a vacuum gun, allowing her to suck things up and fire them at other things; as well as to clean up dust.

I’ve played most of the games by this team for my personal blog and to me, they’ve been putting out consistent hits. With Anodyne 2: Return to Dust combining the qualities of their various works into one, it’s something I’m really looking forward to. The game is planned to come out in August and can currently be wishlisted on Steam.

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