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"Cosmic Dust & Rust" is a 2D sci-fi shooter game with retro-style pixel graphics. Explore the cosmos, battle alien enemies, and upgrade your ship while navigating through challenging levels. The game features procedurally generated content, providing a unique experience for each playthrough.

Cosmic Dust & Rust screenshot
Cosmic Dust & Rust screenshot

54%
Audience ScoreBased on 442 reviews
graphics18 positive mentions
story12 negative mentions

  • The game is affordable and provides a decent amount of fun for its price, especially for fans of tower defense and space shooter genres.
  • The pixel art style is generally tasteful and evokes nostalgia for the 16-bit era, making it visually appealing.
  • The gameplay is addictive, with a mix of upgrading ships and engaging in combat against waves of enemies.
  • The last level is notoriously difficult and often deemed unbeatable, leading to frustration among players.
  • The game suffers from performance issues, particularly frame rate drops during intense battles, which detracts from the overall experience.
  • There is a lack of clear instructions and weapon descriptions, making it difficult for players to understand gameplay mechanics and effectively strategize.
  • story
    100 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is widely criticized for being minimal and poorly executed, with many players finding the dialogue intrusive and distracting from gameplay. While some appreciate the concept of playing as a space pirate on a treasure hunt, the lack of character development and coherent plot leaves much to be desired. Overall, the narrative elements are seen as a weak point, detracting from the overall experience.

    • “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
    • “And let's not forget the captivating storyline, where you play the role of a dust particle struggling to find its purpose in a world overrun by...more dust.”
    • “There is also a plot, shown with you interacting with characters in the cut-scenes, so you are well-endowed with info about the missions and side quests.”
    • “Story: 1.5/10.”
    • “There is virtually no story, and the little dialogue available is terrible.”
    • “0 context on the story, it feels like jumping in the middle of a bad science fiction space thriller movie.”
  • gameplay
    80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the gameplay has received mixed to negative feedback, with many players noting its short length, lack of variety, and uninspired mechanics. While some appreciate the simplicity and find it enjoyable for a brief session, others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking depth, leading to a monotonous experience. The absence of tutorials and unfinished features further detracts from the overall gameplay quality, leaving it feeling incomplete and frustrating for many players.

    • “The graphics and sounds are okay, the gameplay feels balanced, and the customization and battles are really well designed.”
    • “I`ve only played around 20 minutes (because I wanted to watch Game of Thrones :D) but until now it's just great, love the art style, love the gameplay, love the music.”
    • “+ great gameplay (very fun!)”
    • “Almost no tutorial or explanation of game mechanics.”
    • “Too short, little replay value, and uninspired gameplay mechanics make this a mediocre game at best.”
    • “A lack of encounter variety and gameplay balance drives players to a monotonous play style of simply spamming a single action to slowly gain currency in order to progress.”
  • graphics
    60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the retro pixel art style reminiscent of the 16-bit era, while others find them merely "okay" or in need of improvement. Some users highlight the visuals as a strong point, describing them as neat and effective, though there are complaints about tiny enemy ships and deficient graphics settings. Overall, the graphics are generally seen as pleasant but not groundbreaking, with a nostalgic appeal for fans of classic arcade aesthetics.

    • “Pixel art is generally tasteful and representative of the 16-bit era, fulfilling the aesthetic of being equally pleasing to the eyes, as well as nostalgic to the memories.”
    • “I'm a fan of retro pixel graphics, so I really enjoyed the look of this, too.”
    • “The art style is pretty good; well, what do you expect?”
    • “The graphics settings are deficient.”
    • “If it were a two dollar mobile game, you might be able to overlook the annoying sound effects, crummy visuals, terrible UI, and complete lack of tutorial.”
    • “Gameplay wise it sucks, control wise it sucks, graphics wise it sucks; the only thing I was happy about was that the game was cheap.”
  • grinding
    40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is heavily criticized for its grindy nature, requiring players to repeatedly play the same levels to earn currency for upgrades, which can lead to tedium and frustration. While some find the grinding addictive initially, many reviewers note that it quickly becomes tedious and feels unfinished, with limited content and a lack of meaningful progression. Overall, the grinding aspect detracts from the potential enjoyment of the game, making it feel more like a chore than a rewarding experience.

    • “The primary focus of the game is grinding for different currencies to be spent on upgrades.”
    • “There are only 6 levels and it's very grindy, so you have to play the same level many times in order to upgrade your ship.”
    • “It could be something really fun, but instead it gets tedious after the first hour or so and then you realize 'this is it' and you sort of wonder why it isn't better.”
  • music
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it relaxing and enjoyable, while others criticize it for being repetitive and poorly looped, leading to an annoying experience. While a few users appreciate the soundtrack as fitting and fun, many express dissatisfaction with its quality and execution, describing it as "ok" or "terrible." Overall, the music aspect seems to lack consistency, with a divide between those who enjoy it and those who find it frustrating.

    • “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
    • “The music is fine, and it can be fun for players that like spaceships, like me.”
    • “I've only played around 20 minutes (because I wanted to watch Game of Thrones :D) but until now it's just great, love the art style, love the gameplay, love the music.”
    • “The available ambient music comes in very abbreviated loops, which makes the short tunes very repetitive.”
    • “Background music that doesn't loop properly (there's an annoying click and a break when it loops, and it loops every 10 seconds), annoying gameplay where you die and die and grind and have to collect money just to make it through the first level.”
    • “- poor soundtrack and repetitive sounds”
  • optimization
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is inconsistent; while it maintains a solid 60 frames per second under normal conditions, performance significantly deteriorates with many objects on screen, leading to severe slowdowns and visual glitches. Users report drastic drops in frame rates, particularly when numerous ships are present, highlighting a need for better optimization in crowded scenarios.

    • “Menus, buttons, text, and stuttering music flashing all over the place in an epileptic display.”
    • “Poor performance - 100 ships in view = 5 fps.”
    • “Performance is solid, staying at a constant 60 frames per second, which cannot be altered.”
  • replayability
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from low replayability due to its short length, lack of engaging gameplay mechanics, and minimal incentives for players to revisit, such as no unlockable content or varied weapon layouts. Players find that the final level's specific item requirements further diminish the desire to replay the game. Overall, it is considered mediocre in terms of replay value.

    • “There is little to no replay value in this game as it currently exists, as the final level requires a fairly specific item build in order to beat it.”
    • “Not a lot of replay value either, as there is nothing else you need to unlock and no need to change your weapon layout.”
    • “Too short, with little replay value and uninspired gameplay mechanics, making this a mediocre game at best.”
  • stability
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, users report mixed experiences regarding stability; while some mention potential bugs and balance issues, others have experienced smooth gameplay without any glitches or software problems.

    • “Nice game - gameplay-wise, I experienced no glitches or software issues.”
    • “Maybe it's buggy, maybe it's not balanced.”
  • character development
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is minimal, with players noting a lack of epic quests, story twists, and replayability. Overall, the experience does not offer significant growth or depth for the characters.

  • atmosphere
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere is consistently praised for its immersive space-themed design, characterized by well-suited colors, environments, and effects that enhance the overall experience.

    • “The overall colors, environment, and effects presented in the background suited a space-themed atmosphere.”
  • humor
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized as intentionally poor, with players finding it amusingly bad rather than genuinely funny. This unique approach to humor has garnered a mixed but entertaining response from users.

    • “This game wins my award for most hilariously bad.”

Buy Cosmic Dust & Rust

1h Median play time
2h Average play time
1-4h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 10 analyzed playthroughs

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