Line #32 VideoGame/AnodyneTwoReturnToDust


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anodyne_2_header.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Nova, preparing to heal an infected]]
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4	''Anodyne 2: Return to Dust'' is a hybrid 3D-2D ActionAdventure game by Analgesic Productions. It is the sequel to ''VideoGame/{{Anodyne}}'', though connections between the two games are not readily apparent.
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6	Nano Dust infects the islanders of New Theland, distorting their emotions and desires. You play as Nova, a Nano Cleaner who must explore the island, seeking out the sick and shrinking inside their bodies to suction up the Dust.
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8	On February 18th, 2021, the developers announced the game will also be available on [[https://twitter.com/han_tani/status/1351560045306241029?s=20 different ports]], from the Platform/NintendoSwitch, Platform/PlayStation4 and [[Platform/PlayStation5 5]], Platform/XboxOne and [[Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS Series]].
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10	----
11	!!The game provides examples of:
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13	* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Central Cenote City. [[spoiler:This gets drawn attention to later on as an "omen" when Nova rolls a C on one of the dice that Palisade left her]].
14	* ArtEvolution: The 2D areas are far more detailed than comparable areas in ''Anodyne'', and often have more colorful palettes as well.
15	* AssimilationPlot: [[spoiler:What "The Anodyne" truly is, as when triggered, it will force the life energy of all living beings in New Theland back to the Center, where it came from.]]
16	* BrickJoke: At the beginning of the game, Nova's narration initially identifies Palisade and C Psalmist as "Mommies???", and at the end of the Confrontation ending [[spoiler:Nova's narration identifies her as Zera's "Mommy" in turn]].
17	* TheCameo:
18	** Shesez of ''Boundary Break'' and James Lewell of ''WebVideo/NitroRad'' can be found in the game by glitching.
19	** [[VideoGame/WanderingHamster Bob the Hamster]] can be found in a corner of the medieval section.
20	* TheChosenOne: As the Nano Cleaner, Nova is the only one who can solve the Dust crisis plaguing New Theland, and was specifically created by the Center for this role. [[spoiler:Subverted; the Nano Cleaner is just a role that the Center is fully capable of replacing, and Nova isn't even the first one. In the Confrontation ending, she even witnesses her successor, Zera, being given the same speech she was at the beginning of the game]].
21	* {{Cyborg}}: Not explicitly drawn attention to, as very few residents of New Theland are recognizably human at all, but Nova's "visor" is actually part of her body, as [[spoiler:Zera retains these features even when reverting to an infant made her drop out of her other clothes]].
22	* DarkIsNotEvil: [[spoiler:Nano Dust, as it turns out, heightens emotion and self-will - ''all'' emotion and self-will, including positive ones. One of the climatic moments of the game is encountering Dustbound Village, a society of people who live in harmony with the Dust and come off as being perfectly normal, the only real odd bit is the ability to turn invisible by channeling Dust.]]
23	* EasterEgg: There are plenty of hidden collectibles and references to Platform/YouTube personalities behind invisible walls that the player is encouraged to glitch through.
24	* ExploitingTheFourthWall: There's one character in New Theland that appears to not be fully coded. Trying to use Nova's Spark on it will forcibly pull Nova through a seemingly unbeatable dive sequence, followed by [[spoiler:a look at the life of No'''r'''a, who attempts to leave the safety of her computer, only to encounter a monster that stops chasing her when she escapes back into the role of Nova]].
25	* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Nova, realizing her own Glandilock Seed will always keep her in the Center's control on the Good End path, uses Dustbound Village's invisibility technique to fake dying. The Center makes a replacement, Zera, who Nova then Sparks to remove their seed and grant them free will.]]
26	* FountainOfYouth: [[spoiler:Nova's replacement Zera, once her empowering Glandilock Seed is removed, regresses from a fully-grown person to their true age of a recently-created infant.]]
27	* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: A few areas do not require a dive sequence before Nova enters them [[spoiler:because these places do not have Dust built up at all]].
28	* GoMadFromTheIsolation: Look hard enough, and it's possible to visit [[VideoGame/{{Anodyne}} the original Theland]], where [[spoiler:Sage desperately looked for an exit of their own after Young left, glitching up everything in the process]].
29	* {{Heel}}: Nova plays one in the Dustbound Village's weekly wrestling matches, as the "Weedoran Witch", and gets pretty into it. [[spoiler:The attempt to promote a HeelFaceTurn against a true Heel in The Center ends up backfiring and sending her running from the village.]]
30	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:C Psalmist dissolves her body into Dust crystals to attack and destroy C Visionary in the Good Ending after he goes OneWingedAngel and tries to kill Nova.]]
31	* HeroOfAnotherStory: [[spoiler:There was at least one Nano Cleaner before Nova, who did something so rebellious that it mandated the introduction of the Glandilock Seed protocol. But whatever any previous Nano Cleaners did is left unstated.]]
32	* LighterAndSofter: Despite having nightmarish moments, the sequel's tone is nowhere near as dark and disturbing compared to its predecessor.
33	* MeaningfulName: Perhaps more so than the first game, an anodyne is something that is unlikely to produce strong emotions or is even a painkilling drug. [[spoiler:The Glandilock Seed halts any dissent, forcing Nova to see any strong emotions as a negative effect of the Nano Dust that must be cleansed, and the true purpose of [[TitleDrop The Anodyne]] is to purge all emotion and personality from the world and draw it back into the Center]].
34	* MeasuringTheMarigolds: In the wake of [[spoiler:her grief at Palisade disappearing, Nova interprets Palisade's gift to her as some sort of ritual she has to execute to bring Palisade back, instead of the simple toys that they were. She even gets mad at Ashe Beatty when she has fun with the "sacred tools"]].
35	* MentalWorld: Many inhabitants in New Theland have one, which Nova must cleanse of Dust, though some later game areas have Dust built up in settlements or buildings which are also people.
36	* MindScrew: The [[spoiler:"Nora"]] segment.
37	* MinusWorld: Intentionally invoked as was done in ''Anodyne''; it's possible to get out of bounds via careful platforming or glitches in numerous areas, allowing the player to explore the quite substantial out of bounds terrain and often find unique scenery, collectibles, and [=NPCs=] that can't otherwise be interacted with. It even has narrative justification and implication, as New Theland was directly created by The Center [[spoiler:and Nova finding the boundaries aren't always consistent or explained fits in with the Dustbound Village outright viewing the Center as a villain]].
38	* MoreThanMindControl: [[spoiler:A secret purpose of the Glandilock Seeds, inundating their host with intrusive thoughts which mimic self-loathing and depression, in order to make them more amenable to the Center's purpose. [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou You]] get a taste of this in the GoodEnding, when actually removing the lid of the Dust container so Nova can hide in it runs into a bunch of outright bullying text prompts as the Seed fights Nova for control.]]
39	* MultipleEndings: Depending on whether Nova [[spoiler:completes her mission, or rebels against the Center after visiting Dustbound Village]].
40	** DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Stay loyal to the Center and bring upon the Anodyne. It does more than just taking away Dust and emotion, it completely drains all life out of New Theland and returns it to the Center, killing everyone, including Nova, C Psalmist and C Visionary, who are [[TakenForGranite turned into crystal]], TheEnd. It shows quite a big glimpse of what [[EvilAllAlong C Visionary actually wants]].]]
41	** GoldenEnding: [[spoiler:Rebel against the Center. Nova feigns her death, forcing the Center to create a replacement, Zera. Nova returns to free Zera from her Glandilock Seed, accidentally de-aging her in the process. C Visionary shows the full extent of his cruelty to Nova and C Psalmist, driving the latter to have the same HeelRealization Palisade had, sacrificing herself to destroy C Visionary before he can kill Nova. Nova takes Zera as her adoptive daughter and travels the sea with the friends she made along the way.]]
42	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Nova has this reaction to [[spoiler:Zera seemingly dying after her Glandilock Seed is removed]].
43	* MysticalPregnancy: Elegy Beatty initially takes a Dust growth to be a sign that she's going to die soon, only for it to be detached and become a child, Ashe.
44	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Kin Killer Island" in New Theeland, the medieval realm. [[spoiler:Subverted when it turns out to be a mispronunciation of "chinchilla."]]
45	* NostalgiaLevel: The original Theland and the Nexus both show up in this game, [[spoiler:with the former featuring the aftereffects of the overuse of the swap tool, with misplaced tiles and a generally buggy look to it]].
46	* PaletteSwap: PlayedForDrama. [[spoiler:Zera has the same model as Nova, just altered to have darker skin, a golden visor instead of a silver one, and a red half-skirt instead of a green one. It signifies just how replaceable and non-unique Nova really was to the Center.]]
47	* PrecociousCrush: Nova almost immediately becomes infatuated with Elegy Beatty when they first meet. Elegy for her part seems to view Nova as a friend in need of guidance, [[spoiler:and it's only after Nova has matured through the Confrontation ending that she seems to reciprocate Nova's affection]].
48	* RapidAging: A rare instance of being done in terms of mental development and not necessarily physical. Despite being physically mature at the instant of her creation, Nova is still very new to the world, and throughout the first and second acts, Palisade treats her as a small child. In the third act, after [[spoiler:Palisade is destroyed by the Center]] and Nova finds the Dustbound Village, she acts much more like a teenager, with very raw emotions. In the finale, she has matured into a young adult, weighing the consequences of her decisions and actions, [[spoiler:and in the confrontation ending, even becomes a surrogate mother to Zera]].
49	* SilentProtagonist: Nova. However, [[spoiler:people in Dustbound Village trying to converse with her make her realize she ''can'' talk, but never had to before then because it wasn't necessary for her assigned mission]].
50	* SizeShifter: In order to cleanse Dust from New Theland's inhabitants, Nova shrinks herself down with her Spark, transitioning from her 3D world to an infected's 2D MentalWorld. [[spoiler:And can further shrink down into a 2D person's 8-bit world.]]
51	* SpiritualSuccessor:. It's stated by the developers once the player starts the game that ''Anodyne 2'' is more of a spiritual successor to ''VideoGame/{{Anodyne}}'' rather than a sequel. Emphasis on "somewhat" since the player can visit the original Theland, [[spoiler:fully corrupted after the events of the first game]].
52	* TitleDrop: "The Anodyne" is an event the Center plans to instigate, to cleanse the world of dust. [[spoiler:And emotion.]]
53	* TreacherousAdvisor: [[spoiler:Nova's creators and parental figures want to use the collected Dust to attempt an AssimilationPlot. Downplayed, in that only one (C Visionary) is actually happy about this, and the other two (Palisade and Psalmist, her actual nannies) eventually rebel in some ways.]]
54	* TheUnfought: [[spoiler:C Visionary, who wants to instigate "[[AssimilationPlot The Anodyne]]", gets taken out by Psalmist's HeroicSacrifice in the good ending.]]

Context VideoGame / AnodyneTwoReturnToDust