Heaven Dust Review: A Charming Love letter

Heaven Dust

Heaven Dust Menu Image

Heaven Dust is an indie title developed and produced by a tiny team of only two people. Self-described as a `Love Letter` to the classic survival horror titles of the '90s, Heaven Dust aims to re-capture the puzzle and atmospheric style of the original Resident Evil titles.

   This top-down isometric puzzle game demonstrates exactly how much video-games can inspire differentiation on classic genres. Heaven Dust works hard to give players an experience that feels both familiar and new at the same time. Released on the Nintendo Store for the Switch on the 27th of February, Heaven Dust is one of the cheaper variations of the nostalgia hype currently found in the Survival Horror genre.

   How does it play? Heaven Dust has simple controls; the left stick to move, R to aim, and B to open the oh so nostalgic status menu. The simplicity of the design complements the art style and provides the player with a smooth experience. Playing both docked and handheld, Heaven Dust plays without any framerate issues - and surprisingly low amount of bugs and glitches for a two-man team. The primary aim of Heaven Dust is for players to explore the Mansion/Laboratory setting in search of files, clues, and key items - trying to both put an end to the Zombie outbreak and escape alive.  

   Heaven Dust  dives straight into the game, acknowledging that players have likely already experienced the main premise before, it doesn't drag you along for a long-winded "What happened here!?" After a brief screen of text accompanied by that wonderful type-writer sound, players find themselves in a locked storage room looking for both a way out and a weapon. Immediately the atmosphere is set with familiar undead groans and twinkly piano music synonymous with the Resident Evil safe rooms (brown item box and all). However, this is also exactly when the main issue I had with Heaven Dust comes into play - the movement speed. Progressing through the mansion becomes increasingly tedious as you have to go back and forth to switch out items and solve puzzles, all the while running at the speed of a Project Zero girl. There is an item you can purchase from one of the many vending machines that will increase your movement speed, but honestly, I didn't notice any difference. This is a shame because exploration plays such a big part in the game, nonetheless, players should not let this put them off playing till the end.

   The story is simple enough but has a certain level of intrigue that should keep players going. the biggest issue with the story is the English translation, which doesn't always read that well and can make understanding what to do difficult, and take you out of the stories emersion. But this is an independent title developed and produced by two men whose native language is Chinese. It doesn't ruin your experience, and if anything is even more impressive (and easily fixed in future patches). Promoting multiple endings, Heaven Dust offers a good level of replay value, especially since it doesn't offer you many hints as to how to change the ending. 

   Puzzles in Heaven Dust really do remind you of the classic games such as Silent Hill and Resident Evil - but also lack variety. Most puzzles require you to find some file or clue in order to get a 3-digit passcode to open a door. with varying difficulty, some codes are presented in large numbers stapled into the scenery, while others have you re-reading files over and over until the clue finally clicks. Heaven Dust does not hold your hand as you progress. Frequently I found myself solving a puzzle, only to be left thinking "Okay? What next?" Personally, I enjoyed this, it helped prolong my playthrough, whilst also giving me a nice dose of serotonin when I finally figured out what to do. There was only one puzzle that really made me tear my hair out. With the scenery clues being too small to understand, and the English translation of the file not quite making sense, I ended up resorting to probability trying every 3-digit combination of 0-9 that I could until it clicked. When the door finally opened, however, I felt like an idiot realizing that I massively over-thought the puzzle (I blame recently playing The Nonary Games for that).

Untranslated puzzle stating `I can guide your way`

   Combat in Heaven Dust is exactly what you'd expect. Auto-aiming and gun-fire. With only a handgun available with minimal upgrades, combat isn't the main focus. With only one final boss fight, you'll find yourself walking around the mansion more than you will fighting enemies.   

   If you don't like easy games then Heaven Dust may not be for you. during my playthrough, I only died once and that was from an instakill trap that I neglected to pay attention to. Enemies move slowly and with the abundant amount of ammunition available to the player both as 9mm clips for the handgun, and gunpowder you can purchase from vending machines, there wasn't one point in the game where I felt like I had to conserve my ammo. This was a little disappointing, I would have liked to utilize the map in order to find the best path to my goal whilst passing the least amount of enemies. If you do happen to fall victim to a zombie there's no need to worry. Transporting you to the last save room accessed, you retain all items you picked up (and used, leading to one of the only bugs) and just continue on your merry way. I would have enjoyed being forced to reload a save, or losing some of my resources upon dying; anything to create a sense of loss.

   Overall, Heaven Dust is exactly as it says - a love letter to the classic survival horror game Resident Evil. It plays well, has good replay value, and only costs you £5. This is a much cheaper alternative to the similar throwback title Dawn of Fear and really exudes a sense of love for the genre. I recommend it to both old-school fans of the classics, and newcomers wanted a soft introduction to test the waters.

   What do you think? Did you enjoy Heaven Dust? Did it leave you wanting more? I'd love to hear from you.

   Coming soon an interview with the main designer John Zhou.