Anodyne 2: Return to Dust

Anodyne 2: Return to Dust

Worth it · Narrative · 2019

Steam Deck Verified

The verdict

BUY IT.

Worth it at $9.99, a BANGER if it drops to $6.97.

Length
8.3h 11.3h to 100%
Value
$1.20/hr
Reviews
94% of 822 positive
It needs 65% off ($6.97) to be a BANGER.

Full price

Fair$19.99

Today

−50%Worth it
Watch this gameOne alert at $6.97 or less.

Buy now or wait

Discounted in each of its last 8 seasonal sales.

Next sale
Winter Sale, Dec 17 to Jan 4

Sources: IsThereAnyDeal, Valve.

What drives the score

How to read this

Grades run S to D, read from the buyer's side. ▲ marks a lift, ▼ a drag or a dock, ? an input we do not have, • a fact this genre's score does not use. How the grades work

Raising the score
Value$1.20/hr
Price per hour of game. It moves the score inside the ceiling reviews set That is today's sale price. Normally $2.41/hr
Reviews94% positive
Gates the score. Weak reviews cap it, and nothing reaches BANGER without strong ones Scored as 93% after the small-sample adjustment
For context
MonetizationNot known
No monetization record for this game, so nothing is assumed either way
Refunds0 of 325 reviews
Steam-purchase reviews sampled whose writer refunded the game. Nothing is docked
AI contentNone disclosed
From the developer's own Steam disclosure. No disclosure is not proof of none, so it does not move the score

About the game

A 3D-2D adventure where you travel a 3D world and explore 2D dungeons inside of its characters' bodies and minds! In an unforgettable, surreal story, travel the world, meet whimsical denizens, and save the world from the dangerous Nano Dust.
Description from the Steam store page.
Minimum specs

Minimum on the Steam store: 4 GB of memory, GeForce 610M, 502 MB of storage. Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.

The value story

Across all 72 discounts in the 7 years tracked, the median cut is 50 percent, about 5 weeks apart. Today's $9.99 at 50 percent off still sits 43 percent above the floor, so a deeper cut exists in its history.

On value it sits in the top 3 percent of its genre. It is pricier than 91 percent of its genre, and better reviewed than 95 percent. Among the games that feel like it, Celeste ($4.99, scores 97) beats it on value, while it beats The Spirit and the Mouse ($19.99, scores 65).

More about Anodyne 2: Return to Dust

This site sampled 325 of its Steam-purchase reviews; none were written by buyers who refunded it, sampled from reviews written April 2020 to July 2026.

It carries Valve's Deck Verified rating and runs 8.3 hours, about as long as a handheld game wants to be.

The drop-off

77% start to 7% rarest
050100rarestfirst achievement

No achievement in this game marks the ending, so there is no finish rate. The curve runs from the most-unlocked achievement to the rarest, and its shape is where players stop. Steam global achievements

What players say

Anodyne 2 is truly one of the greatest indie games of all time. It has a beautiful in-depth storyline, a very interesting world to explore, and one of my favorite soundtracks ever. The overall theme and story of the game hit hard for me, and I have since replayed this game countless times.
AlphaFarlanderRecommendedafter 11hJun 2026Read on Steam
2 more reviews
HANG IT IN THE GUGGENHEIM a video game for those sickos out there who believe the true essence of the video game can only be experienced by glitching out of bounds
Ask me about Grim FandangoRecommendedafter 14hJun 2026Read on Steam
Very good game. Love the top-down dungeons and their designs, the design of these microscopic dungeons feels much like a little world of its own, and they all are super cool!!! With To add, the music as well is so beautiful and melodic, there's some incredible tracks throughout the game. Lastly, the side characters are utterly adorable and scratch the itch for someone who was addicted to Majora's Mask growing up...
OverallsRecommendedafter 7.3hMay 2026Read on Steam

Steam reviews, mixed to its ratio and rotated daily. Opinions are theirs.

No data upstream: critic score (Metacritic).

Cite this score

BANG Score badge
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust scores 79/100 on the BANG Score (worth it) as of Oct 19, 2026. The BANG Score rates what a game is worth for the money. Via Steam BANGERS. https://steambangers.com/game/877810/anodyne-2-return-to-dust
Embed the live badge

Reviews set the ceiling, and price against real length moves the BANG Score inside it. How it works, and where it is weak → Steam reviews as of Sep 28, price as of Oct 18. A number here look wrong? Tell me and I will check the inputs.

Tags

Steam user tags as SteamSpy recorded them

Details

DeveloperMelos Han-Tani
PublisherAnalgesic Productions
GenreNarrative
Released2019
Players35Kowners, SteamSpy estimate
Achievements14