Dustforce

Dustforce is a platform game that has been compared to games such as Super Meat Boy and N+, where fast-response timed actions are considered necessary to complete the game. It is set in a world where filth has corrupted the creatures that live in the area; the four-member Dustforce team of janitors aims to clean up the mess and restore the world. An overworld provides access to more than seventy-five levels, though about half are initially locked to the player.

After the player selects a level, they pick one of the four Dustforce members, who all share the same moves but have slightly different statistics, such as jumping height. Within the level, the player must maneuver their character to the end goal using acrobatic tricks such as double jumps, wall jumps, mid-air dashes, and clinging to the ceiling. Along the way, the character will automatically sweep up any debris on the walls or floors. The player can also initiate regular and super-attacks against filth-covered creatures to restore them to normal.

Designer Woodley Nye came up with the idea one day while sweeping a pile of leaves. The team was working on another game at the time but switched to Dustforce when they heard about the Indiepub contest. In designing the game Nye wanted to create an acrobatic 2D platformer. He credits the games N and Nikujin as inspirations for the project.

Hitbox has also stated that the game Super Smash Bros. Melee was an influence to the team citing its easy pick up and play approach while still maintaining a level of depth for experienced players. In selecting the art style Nye opted for a simplistic style that would showcase the various frames of animation. He has cited Dragon Ball Z as an influence in terms of design aesthetic stating that "they have great poses and also good shapes".

Dustforce was generally well received by critics, praised for its demanding gameplay, online leaderboard features, graphics, and soundtrack. Kyle Orland of Ars Technica, was pleased with the difficulty of the game even after facing levels he could not complete, and considered Dustforce as "a game that's not content to let you be content with yourself, and for that it's definitely worth playing". Marsh Davies of Eurogamer considered that once a player can work their way through a level with perfect completion, "it's hard not to admire the pat precision of the controls or deny the transcendent joy of a high-ranking run". The use of reviewing online replays was highly praised to help players that were stumbling with the game.

IGN's Anthony Gallegos considered the replays to be not only "awesome and humbling" to review, but also aiding in teaching the player of new techniques. Several noted that Dustforce is the type of game that a player may get frustrated with quickly after replaying levels over and over to get the "S" grades, but this emotion is calmed by the game's graphics and music. PC Gamer's Lucas Sullivan considered that the combination of the "soothing, ethereal background music" and "fluid animations and beautifully stylized character designs" provided a zen-like meditative setting for the player to practice within. Nathan Grayson of GameSpy considered that "the whole audio-visual package colludes to create a strikingly powerful soothing effect" that contrasts the tight demands of the gameplay.