Anodyne 2: Return to Dust has arrived on consoles, giving you more platforms on which you can help people by clearing the damaging dust in their minds.
Nova, our main character, is a Nano Cleaner. That entails shrinking down, entering peoples’ bodies, and then using a vacuum cleaner to suction out the dust in their minds. It seems like an odd (and kinda gross) task, but said dust messes with your emotions. Folks get too wrapped up in their feelings in some unhealthy ways when they’re all clogged up with this stuff, so entering their minds and clearing out helps folks get better. Just don’t mind the enemies and puzzles you find inside. I wouldn’t be surprised if the inside of my head looked like a GBA game, though, honestly.
The play style is not only fun (Analgesic Productions excel at making cleaning into something playful and enjoyable), but offers a neat way to get to know the game’s characters. The dust exacerbates feelings that are already there, so as you clear it away and calm their racing minds, you learn about them and connect with them. It creates this lovely connection with the world and its people, creating that neighborly feeling that makes places and people stick with me long after I’ve played a game.
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is a fantastic game, and a console release on Switch is honestly the perfect reason for me to take it for another spin. Not that the other system releases aren’t good, too.
Anodyne 2 will be made available today on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Store, and the Microsoft Store. It is already available on the Humble Store, itch.io, the Epic Games Store, GOG, Kartridge, and Steam.
