Capcom’sResident Evildidn’t invent the survival-horror genre, but it inspired a long line of imitators. Video games are still emulating theResident Evilformula to this day, though few are as blatant copycats asHeaven Dust. Originally released last year on PC and Switch,Heaven Dusthas now made its way to the Xbox ecosystem, and whileResident Evilfans may manage to get some enjoyment out of it, the game is a fairly lackluster survival-horror experience overall.
The concept ofHeaven Dustis essentiallyResident Evilmeets a chibi art style and isometric camera. The game is set in a mansion, not unlike theSpencer Estate from the originalResident Evilgame, and as one might have guessed, it’s filled with zombies. Players are completely defenseless at the start ofHeaven Dust, but soon they will get their hands on a pistol and will be able to take down zombies with ease.
Combat inHeaven Dustis ripped straight from the old-schoolResident Evilplaybook, with players unable to move and shoot at the same time. All the combat boils down to is getting some distance from the zombies and spamming the fire button, though players should be wary of occasionally unresponsive controls when they aim their pistol.
Heaven Dust’s combat is lacking in imagination and is painfully dull, with far less depth than the 1996 game that inspired it. Whereas the originalResident Evilhad an entire arsenal for players to collect,Heaven Dustonly has one pistol. While players are able to upgrade the pistol a bit, they will still be using that one weapon throughout to kill the exact same enemies.Zombiesare the only enemy types thatHeaven Dustplayers have to worry about, and so the combat becomes uninteresting real quick.
Heaven Dust’s combat is as basic as it comes and doesn’t accomplish much. It can also be frustrating at times, as players can find themselves stuck between two zombies whose attack animations are synched in a way that makes it so players are stuck in place with no recourse but to die.Heaven Dustis small enough that dying isn’t a huge ordeal, but there are still some questionable checkpoints, with the game sometimes not saving properly and sending players back to a safe room other than the one they most recently visited.
These frustrations aside,Heaven Dust’s gameplaydoes have some redeeming qualities, particularly when it comes to puzzle-solving and exploring the Spencer Estate-esque mansion. It’s fun finding items and solving puzzles to progress through the game. While most of the puzzles are fairly easy to solve, there are some that will likely stump players, and figuring out what to do can be a rewarding experience.
Unfortunately,Heaven Dust’s exploration has some downsides as well, particularly when it comes to inventory management.Heaven Dust’s inventory management is a bit of a chore, with unresponsive controls making menu navigation a pain and a restrictive inventory size limiting experimentation. As a result, players will spend plenty of time backtracking to item boxes (located inResident Evil-style safe rooms), which can be a hassle during certain parts of the game.
Subsequent playthroughs will make this particular aspect of the game less frustrating since players will know in advance how much room they need to get through the next section. And make no mistake,Heaven Dustis built with multiple playthroughs in mind.Heaven Dusthas multiple endings for players to discover, plus there are a couple of achievements built around speedrunning the game. It’s technically possible to complete the game in under 30 minutes, though most initial playthroughs will likely take a few hours, especially if players get stumped by the puzzles.
It might not be fair to compare it toResident Evilso much, butHeaven Dustmakes no effort to hide that it is copying the Capcom franchise. It goes beyond being an homage to a classic game and ventures into “clone” territory, with the player character looking like a chibi take onResident Evilhero Chris Redfield, solving puzzles in a mansion that also has a secret laboratory, killing zombies, using item boxes, mixing green herbs, and ultimately fighting a boss enemy that looks like a spitting image of Nemesis in the box art.
In-game,Heaven Dust’s Nemesis is more similar to the Tyrant from the firstResident Evilgame or evenWilliam Birkin fromResident Evil 2, complete with what appears to be a big eyeball on its chest. Predictably, it all ends with a self-destruct sequence.Heaven Dustis a blatantResident Evilclone, but since the game is essentially a bite-sized, downgraded version ofResident Evil, one has to wonder what the point of playing it is. After all, classicResident Evilgames are readily available on modern consoles, and they do everythingHeaven Dustdoes but better.
Heaven Dustpresents itself as a downgraded take on theResident Evilfranchise and that’s exactly what it is. There are some fun puzzles and old-schoolResident Evilfans may get a kick out of exploring the mansion and finding all the similarities between it and Capcom’s franchise, but otherwise it’s hard to come up with a reason why most survival-horror enthusiasts would want to play this.
Heaven Dustis out now for PC, Switch, and Xbox One. Game Rant reviewed the game on Xbox One.
