There’s a very familiar progression tree back at his home base, where the player chooses from extra health, additional ammo, increased accuracy, and other perks. Mowing down said oppressors delivers skill points that the Gunslinger uses to get even better at killing them. But in addition to hitting that winning dopamine drip of shootout, lootout, and get out, developer David Marquardt has discovered a way to make it feel as if I earned what I stole.ĭust & Neon’s nominal story follows you as the Gunslinger, a kind of undead cyborg unleashed by a mad scientist in a campaign of revenge against this world’s robot oppressors. Not only does respawning in those games take only a pittance of in-world currency, you also have a save file to revert to in case you really need the cash (as in Borderlands, the best weapons in Dust & Neon are found, not bought). I have never asked these questions in any Borderlands game, frankly. Image: David Marquardt Studios/Rogue Games So, really, when should I take on this boss? And that’s going to require even more grind. Should I grind out that sabotage mission, and over-level myself for the boss fight? Because if I lose that grind mission, oh yes, I am going to lose my Epic revolver and Legendary, one-hit kill marksman rifle, and start over with Common crap. Is that two-round, break-action magnum really worth my pistol slot, despite its blazing damage, when I already have a three-barreled shotgun in my loadout? There are real choices to consider in your firepower. In other words, there are real stakes inside the grind of Dust & Neon. That’s what makes Dust & Neon a roguelike, after all. And the other is the near-permadeath experience of losing your shit - literally, all of it - if you get killed on a mission. It makes for some panicked kills and getaways. One is that you must individually reload every round with a button press when your gun is empty (why no one has thought of this before, beats me). And yes, Dust & Neon - with its cel-shaded visuals, wasteland setting, infinite supply of guns, and dry commentary about their effectiveness - shares many traits with Gearbox Software’s first-person shooter franchise.īut there are two mechanisms that make Dust & Neon, launching Thursday for Windows PC and Nintendo Switch, a white-knuckle thrill ride where Borderlands’ titles bog down in risk-free grind. Surely, that’s what you are thinking as you see the screenshots.
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