The developer of the Anodyne franchise has come back after the first installment in 2013. After 6 years, Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is finally going to come out for PC, and bringing major upgrades comparing with its predecessor!
You can see the differences in the trailer of the game below:
The story of Anodyne 2: Return to Dust
Like I've announced you, you don't have to walk through the whole story of Anodyne to catch up with this sequel. Instead, Anodyne 2: Return to Dust tells a whole different story.
The game takes place in the polluted land of New Theland (if you don't know, New Zealand is facing serious water pollution now). Nano Dust is filling the land's air, making the people living here suffering. However, the Nano Dust doesn't affect their physical state but their mental health conditions. To be more specific, it has pulled the people's emotions and desires out of shape.
You'll take control of a Nano Cleaner - Nova - on her duty to cure this distorting disease. Nova will have to explore the land, finding the infected, and shrinking into their bodies to suck up the Dust. She's very dedicated to this objective, as she wants to be the only one who can save New Theland. However, many of the devastating events and weird characters in the past will come up during the journey. Those things will put test her loyalty.
Even though playing the previous Anodyne game is not necessary, players that have tried both games would still find the relation between the two. Further progressing in New Theland, you'll have chances to find the real nature of the Nova, the toxic Nano Dust, and The Center!
Purify the land in this mixture of 3D and 2D action platformer
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust wants to follow the Zelda-like graphics in the previous game. However, it also decided to bring some major upgrades to the game's graphics as well.
To be more specific, the developer has added the lo-fi 3D graphics that was mainstream from the PS1 and Nintendo 64's era. Most of the time that you control Nova in 3D is about story-telling, giving us the cinematic settings of this whole world. All the cities, valleys and wastelands in New Theland will be portrayed in 3D graphics, making it suitable for today's standards.
Additionally, the world of New Theland is open, allow you to freely travel to everywhere you want. The exploration part is the biggest change in this Anodyne sequel.
Meanwhile, the 2D parts are also remaining in this sequel. You'll encounter this when you shrink into the bodies of the people to suction up the Nano Dust. Furthermore, you will encounter various event inside their body due to their personal problems, and organs will be the same.
The main features of this game are using your Nano Vacuum to suck up the dust and get rid of them. Apart from that, you'll also have to fight enemies and solving some challenging puzzles as well.
When can we get this sequel?
The publisher Analgesic Productions is planning to release Anodyne 2: Return to Dust in August. The game will be available for PC through Steam, Humble Store, Kartidge, GOG, and Itch.io.
Its original price will be $19.99. However, at its first launch week, the developer will host a 10% discount event, bring the game down to $17.99.
That's why you should add the game to your wishlist now so that you won't miss the time-limited discount!