Developer: Application Systems Heidelberg Software GmbH
Price: $4.99/£4.99 [Free intro]
Size: 969 MB
Version: 1.02
Platform: iPhone & iPad
Luna The Shadow Dust is an animated point-and-click puzzler in a similar vein to the work of Amanita Design – the developer behind popular titles including Samarost and Chuchel.
However, while it arguably matches those games when it comes to its enchanting art style and detailed world building, Luna The Shadow Dust is found a little wanting when it comes to satisfying puzzle design.
The two-character system is neat
You play the part of a young boy in a bunny ear hat, who at the outset finds themself tasked with climbing a mystical tower, one self-contained puzzle-floor at a time. Aiding him on this quest is a cute cat-like creature who may not be as physically able, but can fit through smaller gaps.
Each puzzle really is a thing of imaginative beauty, whether you’re cooking up a spicy meal for an expectant rat or figuring out a melody on an elaborate organ.
Our bunny-hatted hero
While the hand-drawn art style and gently tinkling sound track creates a feeling of relaxed wonder, however, the puzzle and control mechanics quickly grate. There’s a sense of inconsistency to this world’s logic and physics.
Figuring out many of the solutions here requires a large dose of trial and error to see what works. While the unexpected results of some of your actions can be delightful in and of themselves, they can also feel annoyingly random.
Some of the puzzles are delightful
That’s especially so when the clunky touch controls fail to yield a result because you didn’t quite tap on the right millimeter of the display, or when you character isn’t quite aligned correctly to trigger the necessary response.
It’s worth noting that Luna The Shadow Dust was created for PC, with its much larger screens and precision mouse control input. It shows, and the developer hasn’t quite managed to adapt the game to the smaller screen.
There’s a lot of trial and error
Ultimately, Luna The Shadow Dust is a charming adventure-puzzler that doesn’t quite create the frictionless puzzling that its wonderful world deserves. Those with a gift for the point-and-click classics will be better equipped to push through the frustration, but your average iOS gamer might struggle.