It's difficult to review a game that, as both complaints and praises said, "expects perfection". How would I counter-argument that if not with "it also gives back perfection"? Who complains about the difficulty is right, but he also most likely hasn't played the game enough to build up the muscle-memory to actually enjoy it as it should be, or if not in the genre... well... while right, it's like buying something spice and complain that it is spicy. So perhaps a good thing for the game would be... write "very hard and not for casual gamers" on it? I can't see that happening and it probably never happened with any game ever except as a joke or as a very alternative approach. This game is awesome: it has theming, actual challenges with an integrated amazingly-working-fine-for-an-indie-game online scoreboards, gorgeous graphics both modern-fluid and retro, awesome calm music halfway between two of my favorite genres (ambient and chiptune) that will likely calm you down when getting frustrated for the levels (note, this effect wears out eventually! still great game though olololz), and now also a good editor even though the last update made the Nexus a bit more boring and ugly than before, probably because the devs gave a shot to all those complaints about user-unfriendliness about the game. But hey, they left the original .exe of the game to play with the previous layout, what else could anyone ask for?! Yes. The game, if you want to play it fully, requires perfections. Get perfect then, dammit, or don't bother! If you are intelligent enough though you will probably appreciate even just part of it without ever finishing it.

A little, honest complain should be made though: the controls are also nearly perfect for what you are supposed to do in the levels, but for some reason switching directions feels a bit odd and goes wrong sometimes, but I'm not sure if it's intended or not.… Expand

Very well done game, but it's not for everyone. Controls felt awkward for me, with gamepad and keyboard either. Too difficult to waste my time with.

The only things holding back this absurdly addicting precision platformer are the occasionally finicky controls, and the very often unfair or confusing level design. Its clean visual design and entrancing soundtrack are a huge plus, and the difficulty will keep you coming back. Great variety, great look, great feel. Could have used more polish and explanation with the controls - that would be my only real critique.… Expand

Why can't cleaning be this fun in real life?
This game is fun and fast paced. The gameplay is fast-paced, the music is some of the best you'd hear in an indie title or in a title alone, the animation is staggering, and the replayability is up there. Definitely one of the best indie titles of this year.

A complex athletic challenge complemented by lush, wondrous creative direction, Dustforce challenges you in terms of both thoroughness and finesse. My full video review at: youtu.be/2xoI3kogzYY

This is what a NES game would look like if it were made today. Beautiful retro art, and a soundtrack that will remind you of the golden era of 8-bit and 16-bit games, make this one a must have.

Be advised, though, that this game is insanely hard. You may be able to pass the first few levels with ease, but the difficulty grows very fast as you play. Which is actually a desired trait in a game, for hardcore gamers.… Expand

To be honest, I just spent a couple of hours playing dustforce, but I think there is a reason that I stopped playing it.

First of all: I like the basic concept. I think the game mechanics are very well thought out. You have full control over the many ways to elegantly move around the character in the world. Sweeping, running up walls and ceilings, dashing, double jumping and hitting enemies that's all great.

Probably the most important thing that kept me from continuing to play the game was the level design. The first levels are ok, but then it gets very difficult very quickly. And the levels are not difficult in a Super Meat Boy manner they are just too long, not rewarding enough, and they just need too much skill that I was not able to acquire in the first levels.

Apart from that, music is really bad, and sound design is boring as well. In the intro video, there is no sound effects at all seriously, guys! And the story cleaning the world from dust and the overall look are not appealing to me as well. And why is there no overview map for the levels?

I can imagine that people who get past the steep learning curve (or better call it learning step) really enjoy the great gameplay mechanics. I however did not, and so there is not much fun left for me..… Expand

Simply the best hardcore platformer available. I have played it for more than 100 hours and I'm not tired of it. The gameplay is deep, technical and very rewarding. It feels a bit awkward at first but once you get use to it you flow through the levels. It's like dancing. The learning curve it quite steep but it is progressive. The very last levels of the games (added in a later patch) are not made for human though. It can get frustrating but the reward is there.… Expand

The game is incredibly difficult, have I known that I probably wouldn't have purchased the game. For people that are really good at plat formers I'm sure this will be a fun and enjoyable game, and completing a level leaves you feeling very accomplished since the game is pretty difficult. I love the concept, everything is really smooth and fun but it's overall just a really hard game and leaves me at least pretty frustrated..… Expand

My Girlfriend bought me this game as a present after a fight...and boy did this make me feel bad, because this is one of the most awesome games I played in a while. I'll try to shoot down any doubts right now and say "BUY THIS" for the price tag of 6 euros, this is the platformer you will play for a long while, especially if you liked meat boy.

So I've been tracking this game for a while and I was unsure of buying it...well...because I suck at jumping around. But I immediately felt like a broom wielding ninja. I can't abstain from this but I'll have to go head to head with Andromeda's review on this one, so here goes (be gentle my first review, that's how much I felt the need to defend this game):

- The controls are anything else, but "not responsive". Everything you do seems in your hands to control.
- The game also includes time trials and style challenge which both rank for score on the leader boards.
- Replays can be saved and also if your confused, you can watch the highest rated player on the leader board's replay to see how he solves the level and try to mimic it, if the game is to hard on you.
- A map editor on the way, which will guarantee lots o content.
- King of the hill and Survival modes for local multiplayer. How awesome is that ?!

I came from work after a long stressful day at work, a fight with the girl friend and I can't remove myself from this game. I will immediately buy flowers tomorrow and I recommend this to any fan of this genre.… Expand

In short summary, Dustforce a good game, it can be called a spiritual successor to Super Meat Boy, because this is the same model of the game, but the revised terms. Congratulations to Team Hitbox is the first production of this studio, and has already achieved success. So if you like arcade games, Meat Boy are fans or just feel like you have an interesting game in India, I can recommend it to you, but it hurts a little price, which is 7 euros, but I think that if you have enough in your wallet, it is worth spending money.… Expand

Excellent game play, sound track, level design and art. Definitely recommended. It takes a while to get used to, but it's well worth it.

This game is a precision platformer, to have an initial idea you can compare it to SuperMeatBoy (SMB) and during the review I'm going to do so. The game looks gorgeous and it plays so, the keyboard controls are better than the ones of SMB but as with it you are going to need a pad to get all the potential. The gameplay (and this is my opinion) is richer than SMB, here not only you have to reach the goal in the shortest time possible but also you have to clean all the "dust" from the level. Time is not important but the score is, you'll get double S if you clean all the level and you do not loose the combo. You'll loose the combo if you spend too much time between "dust patches" or if you are hit by the an enemy. At the end of the level you'll get the score and you're time and you'll be placed in the raking for that level. Note here one thing I loved and SMB did not have was the possibility of watching any replay from the ranking, so you can see what the best are doing and improve your score or time by doing so. When I said the gameplay is richer is because you do not only double jump, but dash and fight also you can walk over walls and roofs as long as there's dust to clean, this may require not only precision but different sets of movement for every challenge you encounter in a level. Talking about levels their design are really good and the difficulty is increasing. There are four different characters who perform slightly different one from the other (for example one is faster than the rest and can triple jump but it jumps less and it's reach with the weapon is shorter than the others) but you can complete all the levels I've encountered so far (I may be near to half-completing the game) with all of them. The game runs really smooth with no drops at all and the style is colourful and clear. There's also a multiplayer but is local only, haven't tried it yet so I'm not reviewing it. Also there as happened to SMB there will be a level editor soon. The controls are completely configurable and the only backside of the game is the complete lack of video options, there's no vsync, screensize or resolution options, so there's only 16:9 ratio and I think the vsync is active by default, about the resolution can't say much because my screen only gives 1280x720 (the game offers me this resolution) so I don't know if it gets better with a full hd monitor. But can't complain much for a game worth 15â… Expand

Despite looking nice, awful and unresponsive controls and nothing but a simple time trial mode ensure this is not worth the relatively high price charged for it.

Wow, this game is truly addictive. Do not be fooled, this game takes a serious amount of dedication, and I truly believe it is not for everyone. However when you put the time in, prepare to be rewarded. The visuals are stunning, the animation and controls are flawless. I found the game to be appealing to all the senses. Its beautiful to look at and the music is unbelievably addictive. At one point I actually didn't play the game and just listened to the tracks for a while. The concept itself of dusting bears deserves credit. Its so original and new, I don't think a game has ever been done like this before. It gets compared to Super Meat Boy a lot, but I think this is on a totally different level. SMB was frustratingly hard, where as Dustforce really guides you with subtle visual hints, not to mention an online review board where you can watch everyone's attempts. This way you can easily see the best way to beat a level, but only if you want to.
The only thing I would have wanted different is how to unlock new levels. I think there some game content I'll never unlock, because I don't have the pure dedication it requires to unlock everything. It would be nice if there was a way to unlock everything so I can at least see them, like extra credit or something.
Overall, this is a wonderful game, polished to perfection, gorgeous and loads of fun. I recommend this game to anyone, and for the price it just doesn't get much better.… Expand

Great game! I fell in love with her at first sight!
It is like the style, the music is gorgeous, sophisticated, but very interesting
Who would have thought that the simulation game will janitor: D

This game is amazing in so many ways, the gameplay, music and graphics make this so far my favorite game of the year. I can't believe the metacritic scores are so low for so an amazing indie game, and can only assume its only downfall in reviews is that it is too challenging for some people, but for me it is the most rewarding game in terms of forcing improvement in your style and also noticing the improvements and feeling satisfied.

This game is perfect.… Expand

A beauteously refined platformer for the annals. Team Hitbox has absorbed the best features of every hit game to have ever been called a 2d-platformer, and carefully sprinkled a bit of each throughout their new masterpiece. One's first thoughts are of Super Meat Boy with its narrow FOV and infinite, immediate resets that make it so achingly addictive. But upon some soul-searching reflection and more careful inspection of level pace and character movement, I feel this game is more accurately described as a deliciously modernized hybrid of N+ and Sonic from Genesis. Dustforce has it; it rocks.… Expand