Heaven Dust 2

About Heaven Dust 2

Heaven Dust 2 is a survival horror game by One Gruel Studio, published by indienova. It came out on Steam on 5 January 2022 and on Switch a day later, and reached PlayStation 4 on 19 September 2024. It is a stand-alone sequel to Heaven Dust, and the store says you do not need to have played the first; early notes in the game sum up what happened before.

After a press conference, a virus breaks out in the mysterious First Research Center. Deep inside it, Steve wakes up in a cryogenic pod surrounded by zombies, again, and a voice that calls him "Second Host" seems to know more about him than he does.

It plays as a love letter to classic survival horror, seen from a high angle. You explore the base, read notes and diaries, and collect and combine items to open the way on. Pockets are small: ammunition, healing and key items compete for space, though weapons no longer take a slot, and storage chests hold the rest. You save at tape stations, and the game also saves before and after the big boss fights.

Combat is a step up from the first game. You can aim now, and holding the aim on an enemy homes in on its weak spot while it keeps coming closer. You carry up to four guns, from a submachine gun to a shotgun, plus a dagger and grenades, and modify them at workbenches with parts found around the facility. Besides ordinary zombies there are armoured Bone Fiends, regenerating Blood Fiends, dog-like monsters and boss fights, and each enemy is weak to a particular weapon or grenade.

Puzzles carry as much weight as fights: door codes hidden in notes, statues to move, blocks to push, and clues in the rooms themselves. The characters have a small, cute, chibi look that softens the horror, while the dark rooms, distant growls and enemies waiting behind doors keep it tense rather than harrowing.

The store promises about ten hours, twice the length of the first game, with Casual, Normal and Expert difficulties. Two escape routes at the end lead to two endings, and extras open up on a second run. It suits players who grew up on Resident Evil and want its rhythm of keys, puzzles and careful ammunition in a smaller, cheaper game with more modern controls.

How to play Heaven Dust 2

1. Buy it on Steam, the Nintendo eShop or the PlayStation Store.
2. Choose Casual, Normal or Expert difficulty.
3. Explore the research centre, read the notes and pick up the items you find.
4. Combine and use items, and work out codes and mechanisms, to open new areas.
5. Fight zombies and fiends with the weapons you find, and upgrade them at workbenches.
6. Save at the tape stations, and leave spare items in storage chests.
7. Choose an escape route at the end to reach one of the two endings.

Tips

• Weapons do not take inventory space in this game, so the slots are for ammunition, healing and key items.
• Learn each enemy's weakness: armoured, regenerating and exploding fiends each fall faster to a particular weapon or grenade.
• Save often: the rooms are dark, and enemies are sometimes waiting just past a door.
• When a code or puzzle will not give, read the notes again and look around the room; the clue is usually in the place itself.
• Use Casual difficulty if you mainly want the puzzles and the story.

Questions