Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (Metacritic) | – | 80 | 6 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 78 | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 67% | 65 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 80 | 2 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 82% | 76 | 1 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 2 reviews sampled · 2 total reviews in window · weighted 1 up / 0.2 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (73)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 65
“From Dust is a fun game, especially when someone wants to play god. Light and short missions allow the player to enjoy creating the world but after a while boredom creeps in. The locations change but the player is forced to do the same things over and over again. It's a game worth getting to know thanks to its great physics engine, but its not for everybody.”
read full review ↗ - 42
“There are a lot of intriguing ideas sloshing around, but few of them were fully thought-out.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“A curious thing happens when From Dust stops getting in the way and tells you to just have fun...You have fun...From Dust is finally able to dazzle, however briefly, by stripping away practically everything that makes it a "game" and leaving only its base mechanics behind.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“From Dust is a magical experience, but it could have been just that little bit more. The Xbox 360 controls aren't as precise as we would have liked, meaning that putting down dirt in exactly the spot you wanted can be tricky. The camera is also completely awful, only allowing you to look from two viewpoints - a 35 degree angle, or from the top. Restrictions on the camera are always a bad idea, period.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Overall, From Dust is very vibrant and interesting game and concept, with many compelling aspects to the gameplay. The visuals are stunning, the gameplay is simple and it can easily be played for an hour or five. However, it can become very tedious and frustrating in later levels. And because of the great simplicity of the game itself, frustrated players can find themselves losing interest in the game itself. It's a compelling game for puzzle lovers, but I would suggest caution for others who find themselves getting easily frustrated by having to juggle multiple aspects at once. ”
read full review ↗ - 91
- 91
“From Dust is the ideal Xbox Live Arcade game. It would be a tough sell as a retail product simply because it's so creatively constructed and hard to easily define, but as a 1200 MS Point download? It's not to be missed. ”
read full review ↗ - 82
“In the desert or on an island … you have to travel with your villagers from one place to another to find the true origin and the secrets of the world. Yes, and this makes fun.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“All in all, Ubisoft seems to have another winner with From Dust.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“From Dust's malleable world is intoxicating to wield power over, even if your control feels more like work than actual fun at times. Juggling resources and racing against the cycles of nature isn't for everyone. Though stages grow progressively harder, the game doesn't really have a climax to break up its even-keeled rhythm, making it less of a thundering ride and more of a blissfully Zen, workman-like process.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“At first impression, From Dust might look and play more like a tech demo than an actual game, but there is some enjoyment to be dug out of the experience. From Dust combines some fun mechanics, with great visuals and some satisfying puzzle inspired gameplay.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“From Dust is a crescendo - of ideas, but mostly of the glorious and fearful drama of nature - that will leave you feeling both humbled and thrilled...But it still feels like a beginning, and not just because it tells the tale of one. It's a big idea in a small package, and it's begging to be expanded, as Ubisoft has hinted it might be. Pray that it is. ”
read full review ↗
GRYOnline.pl
The A.V. Club
GameWatcher
ZTGD
Worth Playing
The Escapist
Eurogamer…and 61 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Installer updateNov 30, 2021