Alright. [i]Dustwind: Resistance[/i] is done and dusted. This was a fun, real-time with pause tactics game. It blends together aspects CRPG, TRPG, and ARPG into a cohesive and actually quite challenging isometric experience. It's got some of those classic postapo vibes you might expect from the Wasteland series or even something like Atom RPG, some of the ridiculousness you can find in the Fallout series, but also the more methodical and meticulous gameplay of something like Last Train Home. And yet, this is very definitely its own take on the post apocalypse.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3540763421
The story itself is not the star of the show, but it gets you where you need to go. You play as Jake, a farmer turned warrior, who embarks on a series of quests after a bandit king and his army sweep through the lands that your father and his friends had cleared of mutants and turned into a prosperous farmland with a town and several settlements. The bandits obviously kill a lot of people you know, and so ultimately, you're gonna have to show them why that was a bad idea. Your erstwhile companion, Diesel, a German Shepherd with a love of explosives will be there with you through thick and thin. As I reflect on it, there is probably a bit of New Vegas/FO4 influence in the writing here.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3541619805
I also thought it interesting that overall, the story and the game itself plays out like a tabletop RPG campaign. You wrap up one scenario which leads to the next until you eventually wrap everything up. It's very linear in this regard, and I really don't think it would have worked well if it wasn't. This game benefits from having a more disciplined approach to pacing and story progression. Additionally, the challenge increases incrementally, and so while you do power up and gather a pair of other companions who do the same, so does the difficulty as you get deeper into bandit territory. For example, as you progress, so too does the quality of weapons and gear you find or is made available to you, but the same is true for the bandits, and as you delve into areas where they've stockpiled better equipment and where their better soldiers keep watch, everything gets much more difficult. The game keeps you in check a bit and offers solid progression without the power creep that is all too familiar in games like this.
While this keeps you on your toes, you also feel good about how your characters develop. Speaking of character development, after each mission, you level up. Which is accomplished by being granted a number of points that can be spent on buffs and skills. Such as light/heavy/melee weapon skills, hit points, medicine, mechanics; and faster reloading, greater damage with specific weapon types, greater throwing distance, etc...and a nice touch is that when you add a new character to your little group, and after completing a mission, they level up enough to be at the same level as your other characters.
The actual gameplay and combat are real-time with pause, no grids or anything like that. You simply move around the map, finding enemies, objectives, and gear. Or, in the case of enemies, they maybe find you instead. While there is a stealth element to the game, it really only comes up once in any practical way. However, that one mission absolutely requires it in order to progress deeper into the mission. I did think this was an unusual shift in strategy from everything I had experienced prior to that. And so, I offer a bit of advice: make sure you give Jake a couple bumps in the stealth skill, ideally sooner than later so you don't forget; and try to keep a bow and arrows on hand. Both seem to be required for the beginning of that one mission. You probably will never use them before or after, but it is what it is, lol.
The graphics and in-game sounds were solid. It's not the most graphically stunning game, but it does look cool, and the addition of day/night and weather cycles offers enhanced visual variety. The sound design, especially as it pertains to combat, really give some weight to the weapons and explosions. Which was a welcome addition to the game.
There isn't a huge variety of enemies, but it's a solid selection. And there are tiers when it comes to enemy types as well, which enhances this variety quite a bit. Enemies do also employ tactics at times. I think the enemy AI was a bit inconsistent, but despite this, the threat they posed was real and ever increasing as you get further into the game. The final level was kind of insane with volume, positioning, and mix of soldiers you have to deal with. Mix in turrets, and it was quite the grindhouse. A fitting end battle to a game filled with often complicated battles. But back to the AI for a minute: at times, the enemy type informs their decisions; at other times, they just forego tactics in favor of rushing you; and sometimes, they randomly would run away as well. The latter was probably intentional, but the first two things didn't really seem to have any reason behind why they shift tactics like that. Still, it was challenging regardless of the tactics they used. Which made combat a lot of fun. Especially after also getting an armored car.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3541619786
To me, the highlight of this game was the combat and the steady combination of progress met with increased challenges that let you know that you can do this, but also that you could easily be humbled if you are reckless. Dustwind: Resistance truly strikes the perfect balance when it comes to this. But everything else about this game was also quite enjoyable IMO overall. I think it's well worth a look if you enjoy combat driven RPGs with good pacing and constant progression.
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