Dyson

February 4, 2009 · Posted in Strategy/Tower Defense

Genre: Minimalist Realtime Strategy
Platform: Windows, Linux
Developed by: Rudolf Kremers and Alex May
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Dyson1

The Scoop: Dyson is an IGF Grand Prize-nominated strategy/colonization game, developed by Rudolf Kremers and Alex May. It’s basic premise is similar to Galcon or Phage Wars, only with an actual artistic soul.

The “asteroid belts” that you conquer in Dyson have a stark beauty about them. In fact, nearly every screenshot of the game I come across is a piece of artwork I wouldn’t mind having in print-form, hanging on my wall.

The game seems to be a lesson in contrast – the contrast between its visual and aural calmness, and its aggressive gameplay. The world in Dyson is incredibly soothing – your swaying Dyson trees, the relaxing, Brian Eno-esque soundtrack, the muted color palette, etc. I’ve never been so calm and relaxed marshaling an army of units against an AI opponent as I was in Dyson.

The gameplay itself is very deliberately paced (read: slow). After conquering an asteroid, you’ll have the opportunity to sacrifice 15 of your units (Dysons?) in order to plant a new Dyson tree, which will over time replenish your unit supply. It takes time, but your trees eventually grow quite big, spawning units at a rapid rate. I failed a lot of missions until I slowed down my pace, and ensured that each asteroid had a full compliment of Dyson trees before moving on to the next.

I do think the game is a tad overrated. Dyson has won a variety of other accolades besides the IGF nomination. This surprises me. Don’t get me wrong – I really, really enjoy the game. It seems to have an actual soul – a characteristic missing in many retail titles, let alone pieces of freeware. But still, the gameplay itself could use another pass to be made more rewarding.
1 Star 2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars (8 votes, average: 4.13 out of 5)
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