Within the first few hours, Red Thread Games’ dustbourne Shows off many of the qualities I look for in a story-driven adventure game. It’s filled with relationship-building with complex characters, the stakes are high enough to make me seriously consider every dialogue choice I made, and its supernatural elements don’t feel so overbearing that they detract from its center of humanity. I’m fascinated. I wanted to know more about the main character, Parks, and her band of nomadic super-powered road trippers. But man, I haven’t hit a power killer like this yet dustbourneThe action combat in the game kept me hooked during the intense moments.
dustbourne It follows a group of four smugglers, three of whom are “abnormals,” essentially X-Men mutant Dealing with similar types of persecution. Parks can use her words to impose emotions, feelings, or behaviors on others. Her ex, Norm, can completely remove emotions, which is great for defusing a hostile situation or calming someone down from an anxiety attack. The secret use of these powers is one of the core tensions dustbournebecause it could both expose the group to authorities who would shoot them if they knew they were deviants, and because using Parks’ powers can create a toxic, controlling dynamic between actors. It makes every dialogue option feel heavy as you try to pull off a nationwide smuggling job inconspicuously.
From the beginning, dustbourne It’s made clear that your relationship with your team will take you down different ending paths, and I’ve already found myself cringing when I felt like my relationship with a character like Parks’ best friend Sai was on the rocks. Am I using my power too hastily to try to resolve a tense situation immediately? Did I give a gift at an insensitive moment while I was figuring out how the conversational mechanics worked? We are criminals and law enforcement is at our doorstep. I thought I was efficient, but now I realize I was also short-sighted. Hopefully I’ll have time to fix these mistakes as the game goes on, but dustbourne Able to effectively create tense moments that test your patience and understanding of the people you work with. Each character has lingering baggage from the start, such as the unresolved relationship between Parks and Naomi, or the lack of established trust between the team and their boss, the mysterious Absolute Dad Theo. dustbourne The foundation has been laid for the multiple paths these relationships could follow, and I’m already fascinated by the possibilities.
But talking to your teammates is only half the battle, because you’re all undercover in a punk band. dustbourne As you progress on the front, a rhythm mini-game is added. The music hasn’t impressed me yet, but there will be more performances to come. The rhythm mini-game itself was hit or miss, as the rules about how the buttons I pressed related to the music made it difficult to really get into the zone at times. Sometimes it feels like the required input is in sync with the guitar playing, other times it corresponds to the vocals. The rules seemed to differ between songs, so I wondered what I was actually supposed to be listening to since I expected each button to be pressed in time with the on-screen prompts. But while I expect I’ll be able to pick up the rhythm soon, I’m already dreading the next time I put down the guitar and pick up a bat. dustbourneFight again.
Maybe I’m spoiled for character action games Devil May Cry seriesbut I’ve always felt that my standards for this genre are pretty high. Even fairly competent action games, e.g. Neil Don’t scratch my itch because they lack interesting enemy designs to test my skills and reflexes. dustbourneAt the same time, it makes such a flimsy attempt at imitating these games that its movements are becoming an active impediment to my enjoyment of the game. Parks holds a bat that he swings imprecisely, and at times feels more like a half-hearted, superficial attempt at a fighting game than anything with depth. There are tricks that change everything, such as Pax using her powers to push enemies away, or performing fast-paced interludes that deal more damage to a single target. But overall, dustbourneTrying to add an action-oriented pillar to its gameplay loop feels ill-advised and overly ambitious. It’s always better to do less than to try to do too much.
Fortunately, after the second combat encounter, I had the option to de-emphasize combat for the remainder of the game. This is ostensibly meant to make the game more accessible to those who are solely focused on the story, but in reality dustbourneSwinging the bat isn’t even a challenge. They’re just a small impediment to Red Thread Games’ stellar performance. President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” but dustbourne You don’t need a stick to make an impact when the power of your words far outweighs the alternatives. I hope I don’t have to pick up Parks’ bat as often as I go on his road trip, because all it has done so far is make me want to turn this tour bus around.
