Heaven Dust 2
- June 16, 2021
- indienova
- 20h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Heaven Dust 2" is a survival horror game serving as a sequel to the original "Heaven Dust." After a virus outbreak in a research center, Steve must escape while battling zombies and uncovering a horrifying truth. With enhanced production value, this installment features double the content of its predecessor, offering improved graphics, effects, and an estimated 10-hour gameplay enriched by exploration, puzzles, and resource management.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Heaven Dust 2 is a charming homage to classic Resident Evil games, featuring engaging puzzles and satisfying combat mechanics.
- The game offers a variety of enemies and weapons, encouraging players to strategize and manage resources effectively.
- Improvements in graphics and gameplay mechanics make it a significant upgrade over its predecessor, providing a fun and nostalgic experience for survival horror fans.
- The game suffers from unclear puzzle designs and vague directions, leading to frustrating moments of aimless wandering.
- Boss fights are often poorly balanced, with some requiring excessive amounts of ammunition and resulting in tedious gameplay.
- Respawning enemies and limited resources can create a frustrating experience, especially in later stages of the game.
- gameplay50 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a blend of classic survival horror elements, featuring simple mechanics, an innovative aiming system, and a focus on exploration, puzzles, and resource management reminiscent of the Resident Evil series. While many players appreciate the polished mechanics and engaging level design, some find certain sections frustrating due to limited resources and repetitive gameplay. Overall, the game successfully enhances its predecessor's formula, offering a fun and nostalgic experience for fans of the genre.
“If you enjoy the Resident Evil franchise like I do and enjoy zombies, puzzles, inventory management, map utilization through backtracking mechanics, and self-destructing labs, then this game is going to be right up your alley.”
“The gameplay is smooth, puzzles are great and kind of hard, and the atmosphere is amazing!”
“This combination of art and gameplay is pretty much irresistible.”
“It's mechanics are extremely simple to the point where aiming is pretty much always done for you.”
“Unfortunately, it reached the limit of my patience with some of its more aggravating sections/mechanics.”
“It’s constantly frustrating, despite its enhanced mechanics and the longer length really makes these constant annoyances grate on you.”
- story37 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its depth and engagement, while others find it generic and reminiscent of typical zombie narratives. Many noted the presence of extensive reading material, such as journals and logs, which can be overwhelming without voice acting. Overall, while the game offers a straightforward plot with multiple endings and some interesting twists, it often falls short in character development and storytelling quality.
“There was plenty of cool story though, and a combination of other characters, journal entries, experiment logs, and diaries lay out a pretty cool story that a fan of Resident Evil will appreciate.”
“It does have a lot more depth to it, and pretty solid for what it was trying to capture when it comes to the story.”
“This is a direct sequel from the 'normal' ending of Heaven Dust 1 and a continuation of the story.”
“I didn't pay much attention to the story because there was too much reading and no voice acting. If you like to read when you game, this game has a lot of it.”
“The characters are also pretty forgettable and don't bring anything new to the table when it comes to storytelling.”
“As expected, its story echoes many tropes from any imaginable zombie story.”
- graphics30 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting a significant improvement over its predecessor, particularly in lighting, textures, and overall visual polish. While the chibi art style may not appeal to everyone, it has grown on some players as they engaged with the game, and the unique aesthetic contributes to a charming yet spooky atmosphere. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, enhancing the gameplay experience despite some reservations about the art style choice.
“The graphics are a huge step up from the first Heaven Dust game.”
“Aesthetically, textures, models, lighting, animations, and so on have been improved a lot.”
“Heaven Dust II improves the visuals significantly, but that's not all.”
“For a game with a chibi aesthetic, it's not very cute or charming, so it's a little puzzling why they went with that.”
“The game loses a bit of its atmosphere with the isometric view and kiddie chibi art style, but it’s a game that’s easy on the eyes.”
“I liked the first Heaven Dust well enough, despite its mediocre art style.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its impressive dark and creepy elements, enhancing the overall experience. While the isometric view and chibi art style may detract slightly from the atmosphere, the game's smooth gameplay and challenging puzzles contribute to a captivating ambiance. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, effectively immersing players in its spooky environment.
“The gameplay is smooth, puzzles are great and kinda hard, and the atmosphere is amazing!”
“Graphic is nice and the game has a spooky atmosphere.”
“The lighting and atmosphere is really dark, and actually pretty darn impressive for a 3D isometric shooter.”
“Creepy atmosphere.”
“The game loses a bit of its atmosphere with the isometric view and kiddie chibi art style, but it’s a game that’s easy on the eyes.”
- music6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with some players praising it as a highlight of the sound design, while others find the soundtrack to be minimal and somewhat forgettable. Although the existing tracks are appreciated, many players express a desire for a more extensive musical experience to enhance the overall atmosphere.
“Zombies all sound unique from each other, weapons sound as you expect, and the music is actually good.”
“I’d say the music was my favorite for the sound design.”
“The music that was in the game was really good, but it would have been cool to have a bit more music in the game to offset the generic sound effects.”
“The soundtrack is forgettable; the songs are not that good.”
“The music was minimal.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while backtracking is quick and efficient, the repetitive nature of certain boss fights and tedious puzzle details can detract from overall enjoyment. The saving system and respawn mechanics also contribute to a sense of frustration, making some elements feel unnecessarily grindy.
“Also, remembering all the tiny details in puzzles and about where to go next is tedious.”
“They very quickly descend into tedious, however.”
“On the other hand, this time they included some standard flaws of corporate console manure, like a 2nd rate saving system (not 3rd-rate because it has the decency of being multi-slots), respawns, a repetitive 3-stages grindy boss fight, and the debilitating typewriter effect designed to jellify literate brains.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally praised, with many users reporting fantastic performance and no technical issues. However, a few players noted slight shortcomings in optimization.
“Performance was fantastic.”
“Well-optimized, no technical issues.”
“Slightly poor optimization.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of amusing "engrish" that adds charm, alongside dry humor that enhances the overall experience. While some players find the plot nonsensical and the gameplay frustrating due to backtracking, the comedic elements provide a lighthearted contrast to these issues.
“The 'Engrish' is funny (I believe the devs are Chinese) but remains understandable throughout, adding a unique charm to the experience.”
“I love the added dry humor here and there, which really enhances the overall enjoyment of the game.”
“There's backtracking (oh, so much backtracking...), big boss fights, the map is terrible, and the plot is nonsensical, but the humor makes it all worthwhile.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game boasts strong replayability through multiple difficulty levels, unlockable weapons, and two distinct endings, encouraging players to revisit the campaign for different experiences and rewards based on their performance.
“The game offers multiple difficulty levels, unlockable weapons, and two different endings, enhancing its replayability.”
“✔️ **Good replay value:** You will be rewarded with unique weapons once you finish the campaign, depending on the difficulty and the time it takes you to complete the game.”
“The game offers different difficulty levels and unlockable weapons, but the two endings don't provide enough incentive for replaying.”
“While there are multiple difficulty settings, the lack of significant changes in gameplay makes replaying feel redundant.”
“The two endings are interesting, but they don't change the overall experience enough to warrant multiple playthroughs.”
