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From Dust

A God game and a puzzler all rolled into one. From Dust is a breath of fresh air, gorgeous to look at and really challenging at times
From Dust Game Cover
70%Game Brain Score
gameplay, story
replayability, optimization
62% User Score Based on 3,758 reviews
Critic Score 82%Based on 6 reviews

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From Dust Game Cover

About

From Dust is a single player open world simulation game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Ubisoft Montpellier and was released on July 26, 2011. It received positive reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

"From Dust" is a strategy game with a unique art style that allows players to control the environment and weather, helping a primitive tribe survive in a dynamic, ever-changing world. The game features a story mode with 13 diverse territories, each with its own emergent gameplay. Utilizing ground-breaking technology, players will experience a constantly renewed environment, where they must master the elements to ensure their tribe's survival.

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From Dust screenshot
From Dust screenshot
From Dust screenshot
From Dust screenshot
From Dust screenshot
From Dust screenshot
From Dust screenshot
From Dust screenshot
From Dust screenshot
From Dust screenshot
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62%
Audience ScoreBased on 3,758 reviews
gameplay218 positive mentions
optimization16 negative mentions
  • Unique and engaging gameplay mechanics that allow players to manipulate the environment.
  • Beautiful graphics and impressive fluid dynamics that enhance the overall experience.
  • Fun and challenging puzzle elements that require strategic thinking to protect the tribe from natural disasters.
  • Mandatory Uplay DRM that complicates access and can lead to crashes and login issues.
  • Short campaign length with limited replay value, leaving players wanting more content.
  • Clunky controls and poor AI pathfinding that can frustrate players during gameplay.
  • gameplay
    516 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay in "From Dust" is characterized by its unique god-game mechanics that allow players to manipulate the environment using elements like water, lava, and earth, creating engaging and visually stunning puzzles. While the mechanics are intuitive and the game offers a creative experience, many players report issues with repetitive gameplay, clunky controls, and technical glitches, particularly on PC, which can detract from overall enjoyment. Despite these drawbacks, the game remains a noteworthy entry in the genre, appealing to fans of environmental manipulation and puzzle-solving.

    • “The game's impressive simulation technology, stunning visuals, and engaging gameplay make it a must-play for fans of the genre and gamers looking for something new and different.”
    • “From basic gameplay to a broader and enjoyable storyline, this is a game that keeps you engaged and interested with puzzles that are combined with supernatural skills which are still very tied to the natural world.”
    • “From dust delivers excellent gameplay that's easy to learn yet amazingly addictive, making it one of the best simulators out there.”
    • “Unfortunately, the control scheme is awful and as much of a challenge as the gameplay itself.”
    • “The gameplay is incredibly repetitive, and you don't really interact with the villagers, outside of begging them to walk somewhere, and they don't really interact with you other than to yell at you every single time they see a drop of water.”
    • “An awesome concept crippled by poor mechanics, rough difficulty, technical issues, and a premature release.”
  • story
    376 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "From Dust" centers around guiding a primitive tribe through survival challenges, utilizing godlike powers to manipulate the environment. While some players appreciate the game's unique atmosphere and cultural inspirations, many criticize the narrative for being simplistic, vague, and lacking depth, with a short campaign that feels more like a series of puzzles than a cohesive story. Overall, the game is seen as more focused on gameplay mechanics than on delivering a compelling narrative experience.

    • “The story follows what seem to be the last few members of a tribe that has summoned you, a somewhat godlike entity called the 'breath' that has the ability to influence the land in order to help them on their journey.”
    • “From basic gameplay to a broader and enjoyable storyline, this is a game that keeps you engaged and interested with puzzles that are combined with supernatural skills which still are very tied to the natural world.”
    • “The story itself shows that the developers did their research, keeping things simple while showcasing the characters' cultural development.”
    • “The only real drawback is that the game is entirely too short, with the story missions taking me about 8 hours to finish.”
    • “There really isn't a story, just a narrator during short cutscenes.”
    • “The story itself is about 8 hours total of extremely repetitious gameplay that at first is fun, but it eventually becomes goddamnit this is annoying.”
  • graphics
    312 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of "From Dust" are widely praised for their stunning visuals and stylized realism, featuring vibrant landscapes and impressive simulations of water, lava, and earth that enhance gameplay. However, many users note the lack of graphical options, a 30fps cap, and some performance issues, particularly on modern systems, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, the game's unique art style and beautiful aesthetics continue to resonate with players, making it a visually appealing title even years after its release.

    • “The game's visuals are stunning, with detailed environments and beautiful particle effects that add to the game's sense of immersion.”
    • “The graphics are gorgeous as are the effects.”
    • “The physics and aesthetics of the game are something that hasn't been tried since.”
    • “The camera is extremely restrictive and too fast, the mouse is too sensitive, the graphics have barely any customization... well it's a straight console port and the experience suffers with that.”
    • “If the Uplay DRM wasn't enough, the 30fps cap and no graphics options will make your eyes bleed.”
    • “The game looks terrible on PC... very limited graphics options and 30fps cap.”
  • replayability
    82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag. While some players appreciate the challenge maps and sandbox mode that offer additional playtime, many criticize the short campaign and limited content, leading to low replay value after initial completion. The consensus suggests that while the game can be enjoyable for a few hours, it lacks substantial replay incentives, making it more suitable for casual play rather than long-term engagement.

    • “While the game's campaign can be completed in a few hours, the inclusion of challenge maps and a sandbox mode add to the game's replay value.”
    • “Yes, the game is kind of short, but it is very replayable because it is not all about winning but doing wacky stuff with your godly powers.”
    • “The main story has thirteen levels with an ending that fits; this seeming brevity is more than made up for by replay value and the challenge mode's sheer variety of levels.”
    • “But very, very short with lacking replay value.”
    • “It has the potential to become a great game, but for now, it isn't worth the price because it's short and doesn't have any replay value.”
    • “With a constantly low framerate, rather annoyingly poor gameplay, and zero replayability, this game is not worth playing, let alone buying!”
  • music
    72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is praised for its atmospheric and thematic qualities, enhancing the mystical and primal feel of the experience with ambient sounds and tribal chants. While many find the soundtrack immersive and well-produced, some note issues with abrupt music cuts during cinematics and repetitive elements. Overall, the sound design contributes significantly to the game's unique ambiance, though opinions on specific musical elements, like the didgeridoo, vary widely.

    • “Background music: atmospheric and thematic, enhancing the mystical and primal feel of the game.”
    • “The game's music and sound design are also excellent, with a range of ambient sounds and tribal chants that create a unique and immersive atmosphere.”
    • “Not only that, the game is a work of art, comprising beautifully executed music, masterful narrative, and astonishing visuals, all capable of arousing a sense of longing, of belonging to that ancient past.”
    • “One of the two things that really irked me was how abruptly the music cuts off at the ends of cinematics.”
    • “There's no fade out, no transition, just a hard cut mid-phrase, and it's really startling (especially since it's the only non-diegetic music in the game).”
    • “On the down side, the levels load before the dramatic entry music finishes, creating a jarring moment where it should have been a nice fanfare entry, and one can’t interact much with the tribespeople.”
  • atmosphere
    50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive qualities, featuring sparse yet effective voice acting, exceptional sound design, and atmospheric music that enhances its mystical and tribal themes. Reviewers highlight the stunning visuals and unique environmental design, creating a captivating world that players enjoy exploring, despite some criticisms regarding controls and aging graphics. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout aspect, making the game highly recommended for its aesthetic and immersive experience.

    • “The game's music and sound design are also excellent, with a range of ambient sounds and tribal chants that create a unique and immersive atmosphere.”
    • “A beautiful, atmospheric, absorbing and utterly enjoyable game that will captivate you while offering progressively more difficult tasks to advance your tribe through the various stages of their evolution.”
    • “It has fantastic atmosphere and it just looks and feels great.”
    • “Overall, I'd recommend it almost on the atmosphere alone, which I'm a big fan of.”
  • optimization
    40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with notable performance issues reported on PC, including significant frame rate drops and poor mouse and keyboard controls. While it tends to run more stably on consoles, players have criticized it for being a poorly optimized console port, plagued by graphical bugs and limited customization options. Overall, the game's ambitious concepts are overshadowed by its technical shortcomings and frustrating DRM restrictions.

    • “Optimization: mixed reviews, with some reports of performance issues on PC but generally stable on consoles.”
    • “Controls are optimized for controllers, but not acceptable for keyboard and mouse.”
    • “The performance is abysmal, but the art and music are sure to please.”
    • “The performance isn't great, with FPS dropping down to like 20 at times on modern hardware.”
    • “Always liked this on Xbox 360 back in the day, but it's an unplayable stuttering mess in backwards compatibility mode on the Series X.”
    • “Not only is it an absolutely terrible console port (no video options outside of resolution, capped at 30 FPS, god-awful mouse and keyboard control, and much more), it is poorly optimized and includes Ubisoft's infamously terrible DRM.”
  • stability
    40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes, particularly on the PC version. While some users experienced smooth gameplay with no issues, the overall sentiment highlights significant problems with the Uplay platform and the game's performance, leading to frustration and difficulty in recommending it.

    • “This is a pretty decent and fun god game where you get to help a tribe of people regain their lost knowledge and grow as a civilization, but due to the constant crashes and glitches, I have trouble recommending it.”
    • “Crashes and freezes all the time! I tried on 4 different computers!”
    • “Uplay is an extremely bad and buggy platform with no support from Ubisoft.”
  • grinding
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews highlight that while the game features enjoyable mechanics and exquisite physics, the grinding aspect often becomes tedious and time-consuming. Players express frustration with the repetitive nature of tasks, particularly in the end game and challenge maps, which can either be too easy or excessively tedious. Despite these drawbacks, some find moments of enjoyment in the sandbox elements, suggesting that a more streamlined approach could enhance the overall experience.

    • “Unfortunately, it got tedious fast.”
    • “I don't understand the point in letting players manipulate something in such a tedious way instead of providing a less time-consuming method.”
    • “End game is very boring, and 'challenge' maps are either incredibly easy or incredibly tedious.”
  • monetization
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as overly aggressive and reminiscent of a cash grab, with users reporting intrusive ads that cannot be blocked and a reliance on an advertising system. Many feel that the game's limited content, consisting of only 15 levels, further emphasizes its focus on monetization rather than providing a quality gaming experience. Additionally, concerns about security vulnerabilities related to the ad system have been raised.

    • “The reason I'm not going to recommend this though is because I'm starting to think this is more of a cash grab than anything.”
    • “Forces you to go through some sort of Uplay game advertising system.”
    • “I think it's too small, only 15 levels, more like an advertising game.”
  • humor
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is highlighted by its whimsical characters, such as lovable little people with amusing egg-shaped houses on stilts, who provide comedic moments, especially when they hilariously react to challenges like getting wet. Overall, players find the game's approach to terraforming and character interactions to be genuinely funny and entertaining.

    • “Terraforming has never been this hilarious.”
    • “Fuzzy Lumpkins: [laughing] look at 'em run!”
    • “Characters: very lovable little people with funny egg-shaped houses on stilts, crying out for help whenever times get tough (i.e., they get wet).”
  • character development
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is criticized for its lack of depth and narrative complexity, despite featuring an engaging story and visually appealing character designs inspired by tribal and indigenous cultures. While the character design is noted as interesting and respectful, the overall development of the characters does not meet expectations.

    • “Good story, interesting character design, respectful and heavily inspired by tribal and indigenous cultures around the world.”
    • “The dynamic effects are convincing and the character design is interesting.”
    • “Lack of depth in character development and narrative.”
    • “Lack of depth in character development and narrative.”
  • emotional
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players report that the game's music and challenges evoke a relaxed, almost euphoric state, enhancing the emotional experience. The sense of freedom in level completion adds to this feeling, allowing for personal expression and creativity.

    • “The music and challenges made me feel as though I was semi-stoned half the time, in a really relaxed and chilled out state.”
    • “Best part was how it made me feel I had freedom in how I wanted to complete each level instead of there being only one good way to do it.”
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82%Critics’ scoreBased on 6 critic reviews
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10h Median play time
16h Average play time
7h Main story
12h Completionist
6-13h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 32 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

From Dust is a open world simulation game with fantasy theme.

From Dust is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, Web Browser, Xbox One and others.

The main story can be completed in around 7 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 12 hours to finish. On average players spend around 16 hours playing From Dust.

From Dust was released on July 26, 2011.

From Dust was developed by Ubisoft Montpellier.

From Dust has received positive reviews from players and positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its replayability.

From Dust is a single player game.

Similar games include Anno 2070, Reus, Might & Magic: Heroes VI, Anno 1800, Prison Architect and others.