From Dust Review

When the developer of a game like Another World starts talking about his new project, everyone sits up and takes notice. And when From Dust appeared last year, that's exactly what happened. It was initially because Eric Chahi was involved, but after they learnt more about the game, it was because they were in awe of what the possibilities of this unique creation were. Now that the game's released, we can finally see what it's truly capable of.

From Dust contains a minimum story, but it's enough to give the game a purpose. You play the role of a god-like being who has been have been summoned by a nomadic tribe. They want to restore things to how it was before and through their aid, you will gradually get stronger.

You never directly control the villagers, they choose their own path based on your suggestions, so it's quite an interesting relationship. They need you, but you are also quite reliant on them to gain powers and complete levels.

Before we get on to that though, it's worth talking about the actual gameplay. As you take up the role of a deity, you have no physical form. Instead, you are represented by a small cursor in each level. This cursor is then used to affect the matter that's around the level, allowing you to constantly exert a level of influence over proceedings. What makes the game unique though, is that you aren't all-powerful. Quite often, you will only be able to use your powers to postpone something - in a way, it's quite passive aggressive. Almost everything you do within a level will have a consequence of some kind, and you may well find you're the one that's inadvertently created sticky situations, should they arise.

In each level, you will be able to pick up earth, water and lava, and you can use this to landscape the levels the way you see fit. However, while you can use them to your own benefit, they will always be doing their own things too. For example, a volcano will almost always be spewing out lava and creating new passages. Likewise, water will always be eroding the earth in the level, which could lead to dire consequences as new estuaries are created without you realising. There is also the combination of things like lava and forest regions, which, if left unchecked, can be rather nasty.

You need to have eyes in the back of your head sometimes, especially on the larger levels.

Management of the realm does become a bit easier as you progress through the game, as founding new villages can lead to the the acquisition of new powers. Powers such as, the ability to jellify water, or the power to make water evaporate. They can make a terrible situation become a little more manageable.