Anodyne 2: Return to Dust

Rather than following familiar formulas, it weaves together an unusual hybrid of 3D adventure exploration and 2D dungeon-style gameplay while grounding everything in an emotionally rich narrative about healing, identity, and transformation.

However, the way the story is told and the atmosphere of melancholy it builds throughout this world, which is struggling to fight back against an impending apocalypse, and its people, who are undergoing constant suffering because of a constant invading force, make the story truly compelling.

The overworld adopts a retro 3D aesthetic reminiscent of early PlayStation and N64 games, with low-poly models, chunky textures, and bold color palettes that feel simultaneously nostalgic and otherworldly.

Ultimately, Anodyne 2: Return to Dust succeeds not because of any single element but because of how its components work together—its shifting artistic styles, its unconventional structure, its thoughtful soundtrack, and its earnest storytelling all reinforce one another.

It may not sound like much, but they mine pretty much every idea you can for puzzles, traversal, and combat that you can out of vacuuming things and it's more complex and interesting than the first game's simple broom jabs and relocating dust piles.

Character design is silly, conversations are deep and comedic, and the 2D sections are fun and challenging.