Heaven Dust 2

A charming but flawed love letter to Resident Evil

The survival horror genre has seen a bit of a revival over the last couple of years. The success of both Resident Evil 7 and the “REmake” of Resident Evil 2 have highlighted that gamers want the more claustrophobic horrors of the past, rather than a blockbuster schlock-filled epic. One title that aims to put the traditional survival horror aspect back on the map is Heaven Dust 2.

Heaven Dust 2 offers around 10 hours of isometric action/puzzler fun. It's meant as an homage to Resident Evil, but it stands up well on its own even if you've never played one of those games or the original Heaven Dust. Just be prepared for plenty of backtracking and puzzle confusion along the way.

Heaven Dust 2 is perhaps the most amount of fun that I've had with a survival horror game in decades. Its retro sensibilities are absolutely spot-on. Plus, the rewarding campaign structure and intuitive combat that requires some strategy make it truly stand out.

I really enjoyed Heaven Dust 2. It’s a cute little indie game, and it will give you a nice nostalgia hit. The puzzles and bosses help to break up the otherwise repetitive exploration of the facility, and it looks nice too. The biggest issue I had with this game is the navigation. Had some areas been more clearly signposted, it would have saved me a lot of frustration while wandering around. The translation could do with some work too. Otherwise, it’s a solid game that will give you a good 8-10 hours of entertainment.

Heaven’s Dust 2 is a brilliant sequel improving in practically all aspects of the original game. This is a great nod to old school survival horror whilst also providing necessary modernization to the controls and gameplay. I was highly impressed with this title and with this sequel, it feels Heavens Dust is now worthy of its own identity in the genre. If the developers continue to make sequels I’ll certainly be back for more.

With an isometric top-down perspective, a slowly-revealed story (for what it is), and a mix of exploration, puzzles, and some zombie killing, Heaven Dust 2 at least feels pretty fresh on the generally horror-thin Switch...