Ever since it was announced, the backwards compatibility list on the Xbox One has grown. Over the last few weeks we’ve seen some big titles from the last generation of consoles come over. Most notably, two entries in the legendary Ninja Gaiden action series (well, one is legendary for the wrong reasons, to be fair). Now, though, the service is going a bit small-scale, as From Dust and Costume Quest join the list.

Costume Quest was originally released in 2010. Developed by Double Fine, it was a turn-based RPG with a Saturday mourning cartoon look and feel. The gameplay focused on costumes you collected, with a story set during Halloween, where one sibling must save the other from a monster with a sweet tooth.

From Dust is a game from Ubisoft released in 2011. It’s a “god game”- a bit of a lost genre, where you play an overseeing character, known simply as “The Breath,” as you manipulate the environment around a tribe to help them regain the lost knowledge of their ancestors. The game has both a story and challenge mode as you try to assist the tribe.

A steady release of smaller, budget priced titles is something that’s pretty regular today, but such things were more novel and innovative during the Xbox 360 era, thanks to Xbox Live Arcade, so it’s a good thing to see them bring some of those earlier innovators back. From Dust and Costume Quest are available now and playable on any version of the Xbox One.

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Ubisoft has revealed that their recently released downloadable god game, From Dust, has sold 500,000- Xbox Live and PSN sales combined. The PC sales figures have not been accounted for in this figure.

“There is less risk releasing a new game digitally,” digital publishing manager Thomas Paincon told MCV.

At retail, if you don’t have a 90 Metacritic score and millions of fans, it’s very risky to launch a new game.

“Look at From Dust, we sold half a million units on XBLA and PSN. Why? Because the prices were lower, but also because it was a new experience and people using digital platforms are more willing to test a new IP.”

“It’s more strategic to launch downloadable games in the first half of the year or around September before the boxed blockbusters arrive,” he continued.

“It’s harder to compete for gamers’ money when there are lots of new triple-A games out.

“Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade Xbox Live promotion is a good new market that people are getting used to. And now digital is a great business for retailers as online games are part of the revenue stream for them.”

In our review of From Dust, we gave it an 8/10. Read the full review here.

From Dust is one of the most unique games I have played this gen. The game basically gives you the power of a God i.e to manipulate nature and ensure the survival and prosperity of your tribe. It won’t be easy, however, since nature can retaliate and it’s up to you to devise clever ways to solve the detrimental situation. Nature makes things evolve slowly and steadily over time, but in this game you can hasten the process with the powers given to you. The game was part of the XBL Summer of Demand and was recently released on the PSN. This review is based on the PSN version of the game.

You control a worm like object called The Breath, which will be your main tool in this game. Using L2 you can absorb matter and release it by pressing R2. It’s clever and requires you to apply a little thought to the process. The main goal is to ensure that you guide the tribesmen to the Tottem’s in each level all the while ensuring their safety. It’s not going to be easy as you have to face Tsunami’s, Volcanic explosions and much more, which can easily wipe out your tribe and result in a game over screen. Whenever, there is danger, a timer appears and you have to fulfill certain objectives like sending a man to a sacred stone to learn the knowledge to repel these nature’s attacks.

In my first playthrough, I failed miserably resulting in a massive Tsunami obliterating the village I created. It looked amazing, but in a way I felt a little guilty for not doing it correctly. The graphics in the game are gorgeous with wonderful art design. You have a flexible camera here, which gives you control over the entire map. The map is a bit limited but that’s expected. When you absorb matter like sand or water, there is a big balloon like thing formed which you can carry anywhere in the map and unload it. You aren’t given a lot of resources to play with, so you got to be careful. The game starts off easier, teaching you the gameplay mechanics, which are quite simple then increasing the difficulty as you play on.

You can build a village by guiding the tribesmen to the Tottem and here is where the manipulation part comes in. Usually, it will be impossible for them to cross lands to reach the Tottem, so with the powers you have; you can build a bridge and help them cross over. As soon as the village is built the vegetation spreads to the available terrain slowly. The end result from empty sand to lush vegetation looks amazing. This is one of the most creative and thought provoking games I have played, along with good production values.

The pathfinding is quite straightforward. If there is an adequate land mass, the tribesmen can travel easily otherwise stall when they encounter an obstacle like water, which is where you come in. AI pathfinding can completely ruin the game in some occasions, especially if it is complex but here in From Dust, it is a mixed bag. They don’t usually follow the path you want them to take in the latter stages of the game, which results in annoyance.

The only issue here is that if you fail to quickly create a bridge or complete an objective in the set amount of time, the tribesmen may be unable to reach the destination and will result in a game over screen. That is one of things that you will regularly see in this game, it is more like trial and error and improving upon the mistakes to improve your timing. There aren’t many technical issues here and the game is quite straightforward once you learn the gameplay mechanics. It will keep you entertained for quite a while, giving you some cool powers to manipulate nature. For people who are interested in this unique concept, this is a worthy purchase.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 3.

Ubisoft has announced that From Dust will come to the PS3 on September 14th. The game is currently available for the PC and Xbox 360. The game was part of XBLA Summer of Arcade and received critical acclaim.

The 360 version of the game scored an 8.5 here on GB with the author saying, “Minor niggles aside though, the charm of the game and its addictive “just one more go” gameplay make this a frontrunner for one of the best arcade games of the year.”

Stay tuned to more updates on GB.

Thanks to Rock Paper Shotgun for the info.

]]> https://gamingbolt.com/gamer-rage-over-from-dust-pc-port/feed 1 40799 https://gamingbolt.com/from-dust-review https://gamingbolt.com/from-dust-review#comments Wed, 03 Aug 2011 22:20:53 +0000 http://gamingbolt.com/?p=38687 For those of you old enough to remember the sublime Populous from the stable of gaming guru Peter Molyneux back in 1989, this is its successor in all but name. But for all the labelling as a God game, a few levels in you’ll realise that it’s actually more of a puzzler. In effect, it’s a kind of cross between Molyneux’s classic and Lemmings…

Ubisoft’s dalliance with the deities sees us take control of The Breath – a God-like entity that can absorb earth, water or lava – effectively changing the landscape to help keep the populace alive.

It’s your task to save the tribesmen

The aim is to guide a group of nomadic tribesmen across some increasingly rugged and inhospitable terrain. By sucking up a plume of dust and transferring it somewhere else, you’re providing the villagers with either a pathway or allowing vital vegetation to sprout and flourish. The earth helps to expand settlements or divert the flow of rivers. Absorbing water, meanwhile, protects your people from drowning, can be used to extinguish wildfires, or to eat away at the dusty terrain. Lava is perhaps the most impressive, the red hot flows becoming solid rock when cool and helping to form vital barriers from floodwaters.

By absorbing earth, water and lava, you can shape the landscape

On paper at least, completing each level is easy… you just need to help your minions reach each of the sacred totems dotted about the map. Each totem requires five people to activate it, and after some dancing and chanting, the shrine will transform into a settlement. Unlock them all and an exit portal opens, ready to transport them to the next map.

As you progress, you’ll earn some additional powers, which allow you to do more than simply shifting earth from one place to another. These include the ability to temporarily solidify – or jellify – water (think biblical references to the parting of the seas and you’ll get the idea) or being able to completely evaporate water on the map for a limited time, the arid conditions aiding safe passage.

Graphically, it’s an extremely good-looking game. The landscapes are lush, and the lava flows and water effects are particularly appealing. Zoom in to one of the tribesmen and the detail is equally decent, so much so that you can easily waste a few minutes just watching the mask-wearing local wandering about. The sound effects are rather subtle and hardly extraordinary but are more than adequate and in keeping with the pace and feel of the game.

As you clear the land around a village, trees grow and eventually animals arrive. It’s a truly beautiful sentiment and thoroughly absorbing; it really feels like you’re actually in control of the land and creating something. If it weren’t for the tight time restrictions on some of the levels or the constant need to keep track of your wandering people, you could happily sit back for ages just taking in the ever-evolving environments.

Sadly, there’s never the feeling that you’re able to make monumental changes to the landscape as you could in Populous – everything here feels slightly smaller in scale, and more restrictive. Often your powers can only be used at certain times and many of the effects are only temporary. It’s very much about building bridges and leading your followers from A to B before the next natural disaster strikes rather than being allowed to create at your own pace.

Beyond the levels in the story mode, there are around 30 challenge maps. These pose smaller puzzles, often using only one of The Breath’s many powers. For example, one level may need you to quickly absorb water to protect your roaming followers, while another requires raging fires to be doused before they reach a nearby village.

After completing the story levels, there’s the Challenge mode to conquer

It’s a wonderful game and thoroughly “absorbing”. However, it can all be a little frustrating at times too, especially with the clunky control pad not providing as much accuracy as you’d like. One trigger effectively absorbs material, while another drops it. As is always the way with a controller, it doesn’t allow you to be very precise. What this means in practice is that you may deposit your ball of earth in the wrong spot when under pressure – leaving your people open to an untimely demise and the failure of the mission.

It also doesn’t help that the AI is also sometimes lacking – incredibly annoying when you’ve fashioned a makeshift path to the exit only for the tribe to take a different route that leads them into trouble.
Minor niggles aside though, the charm of the game and its addictive “just one more go” gameplay make this a frontrunner for one of the best arcade games of the year.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Upcoming God game from industry legend Eric Chahi, From Dust, has had a PC release date announced.

The game will release for PC on July 27th, alongside an Xbox Live Arcade version. PS3 players will have a little longer to wait though. The announcement comes accompanied by a developer diary, which you can see above.

Thanks to CVG for the info.

Ubisoft have launched a video for industry legend Eric Chahi’s upcoming DLC game From Dust.

It focuses on the game’s art direction, and will get you quite excited for the game’s upcoming release on XBLA, PSN and PC.

Thanks to Destructoid for the footage.