I find that most indie games are truly miraculous. Small teams working for too little money on projects extremely close to their hearts are the kind of stories that could only exist in fiction, but based on the few examples I’ve seen, it must happen all the time in the indie game space.

Dean Dodrill, founder of Humble Hearts and creator of Dust: An Elysian Tail became the center of a story like this during the game’s development, but as for that, I direct you to Samit Sarkar’s piece over on Polygon titled “Humble origins.”

The game follows an anthropomorphic creature of some sort who takes upon him the name Dust after waking up deep in the woods with no memory of who he was or what he has done. He awakes next to a talking blade called Ahrah and is found by a flying cat-thing (it’s difficult to describe exactly what anything actually is in this game) named Fidget.

After a bit of an argument, Dust and his companions set off to save the town Aurora from an evil prophesized by Ahrah. For the first few hours, the story is the least compelling reason to play Dust, but as you learn more about Dust’s past and the history of Falana (the region the game takes place in), the more engrossing, emotional, and powerful the narrative becomes.

What establishes itself early on as a fairly self-aware, somewhat silly take on the hero’s journey archetype with some cheesy but endearing voice acting slowly turns into a dark story about loss and the consequences of war, and there are some pretty shocking twists hidden beneath the clean, cutesy art style.

The fluidity of combat and movement in Dust also came as a big surprise, due in no small part to the superb animation. Dust’s attacks include regular sword swipes, a few combos that all have distinct uses, and the Dust Storm ability, which allows Dust to twirl Ahrah around at high speeds, dealing damage to enemies with each hit and even pulling enemies towards him.

The move can be used on the ground or in the air, and can be combined with Fidget’s magic, including balls of fire or lightning, to expand their range of effect and power, creating infernal pillars and bolts of lightning. The result is a combat system where movement and avoidance are more encouraged than soaking up damage just to get hits in.

Some of the issues I had with the combat system likely stemmed from the fact that I played on the Tough difficulty, which is a bit of an understatement.

Enemies in the first zone can kill Dust in just a few hits, and the crazy number of them in the later stages can be frustrating. Combine that with the fact that some of the enemies are mind-numbingly annoying in their attack patterns and movement regardless of the fact that they can one shot Dust, and you’ve got some pretty bonkers difficulty spikes in the late game.

Throughout the game, you acquire new abilities or items in a Metroidvania-style way, with the world structured in a way that promotes backtracking as you continue to get more moves for Dust. The map is a tad convoluted, as it shows the screen you’re on as a grid and doesn’t give you any indication of what the actual layout of an area is, meaning that it’s easy to forget what was where.

The platforming is solid, even though some of the upgrades you need to get don’t make a lot of sense from a narrative perspective (Dust needs to learn to hold onto vines). The balance between platforming and combat is kept at equilibrium straight through to the end.

Naturally, considering Dodrill’s background in animation, the game looks simply incredible, and it only gets more stunning as it goes on. After the first two or so hours, each level becomes visually distinct and an absolute wonder to explore.

It’s fortunate, then, that each area is captivating enough to urge you to explore outside of purely statistical reasons. You want to search every nook and cranny not just because Dust grows stronger with each item found, but because the world is a joy to live in.

The animation goes hand in hand with the art style, helping Dust and Fidget exert their personalities effortlessly.

In a year with plenty of notable XBLA releases, Dust stands out because of its singular focus and stellar design. It’s clear throughout that the game is something that Dodrill had been waiting his whole life to create. I’m glad he finally did.