Heaven Dust 2 is an adventure-puzzle-action combo rolled into one, made by One Gruel Studio and Indienovam, and is a great love letter to classic horror survival games such as Resident Evil, which I was all about.

The players will take the role of Steve after surviving the events of the first game, taking place in a mansion infested with zombies, but don’t worry. If you haven’t played the first game there are notes throughout the game that will give the plot points. Steve once again finds himself waking up to yet another zombie-infested research establishment.

As soon as you wake, Steve has to find a code to unlock the door to get out of his room and this is where the first puzzle comes in. The puzzle sections for Heaven Dust 2 can range from easy to slightly head-scratching, especially if you missed a room and are trying to solve a puzzle without the correct hints.

The controls for Heaven Dust 2 were easy to learn and remember. Like the classic horror games, you will need to hold down the aim button before being able to fire, but don’t worry, you can walk around while aiming. Navigating menu options is a breeze because everything is simple and straight to the point. The inventory system starts fairly small but can be increased by finding bag upgrades, and you are can combine items to make ammo and fuel for puzzles. The map will be your best friend as the game has a lot of rooms, and any items you have accidentally dropped or missed will be highlighted for you to go back and collect.

Let’s talk about the combat and how Steve handles the undead in his way. Firstly, like many games, a handgun will be your first weapon and best friend, so as mentioned above, you will need to hold down aim before being able to fire a shot. While Steve is aiming, you will see a crosshair marking what you are aiming at, so wait until that has finished zooming in for the max damage per shot – you can not afford to throw bullets away.

Steve can carry up to 4 guns that can be quickly selected with up/down on the D-Pad, and this is extremely handy when things get hairy as the game will have a range of different types of infected to battle against, so finding a good weapon that works is a key to survival. The boss fights were amazing and made it a real good challenge with limited resources.

The graphics for Heaven Dust 2 are a real standout for me. The lighting, or lack of, in the infested facility really adds to the spooky elements of what could be hiding in the next dark room. The character models are that of a Funko Pop or Chibi-style designs and are a kind of cute twist in an otherwise spooky theme.

The audio aspect for the game was outstanding and really fit the theme as well. A lot of the time there was silence, punctuated with Steve’s footsteps and the distant growls of an infected waiting for me to put a bullet right between the eyes, but it gave the great atmosphere of the dark and sinister facility.

Heaven Dust 2 was an enjoyable experience to play given how I love the classic horror/puzzle games, and this was a perfect love letter to the classics. My only main complaint was the camera angles. I sometimes missed picking up an item due to the camera not making the bottom wall of the rooms transparent, so be sure to check all the corners before leaving a room. It was also a bit of a generic zombie survival plot, but for what it was it was still very enjoyable.

Written by: Shane Walsh