Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch

A gamer’s life isn’t just a pile of complex, epic stories… Sometimes we just want pure, simple adrenaline, like in simpler times. Arcades didn’t need dialogue or cutscenes to tell a story or entertain, and DustOff Heli Rescue 2 is a game that tries to bring a bit of that back to life.

Fun: 9

DustOff Heli Rescue II is a game that gets straight to the point: there is only a minimum of menus and interfaces between you and the action of piloting a helicopter through all sorts of dramatic missions in a war.

Despite its simple and even limited mechanics (more on that below), the game does a good job of entertaining and delivering moments of tension and excitement. It’s interesting to manage your earnings, your ammo and your helicopter’s repair costs – all while trying to minimize the damage you take, explore the map and rescue allied soldiers. The skill required to fly the helicopter, plus the concentration and memory to keep all these small factors in mind, make this a surprisingly demanding game!

Mechanics: 8

The basic premise of DOHR2 is quite simple: pilot a helicopter on a plane (2.5D) to complete missions that usually involve rescuing allied soldiers on the ground or destroying enemy vehicles and/or bases. There are no cutscenes or narrative as such, which gives the game a distinct feel of being the lost evolution of some franchise from the golden age of Arcades.

The controls are unconventional, forcing you to stay alert to the physics and behavior of the aircraft. Basically there are thrusters for left and right, and activating both at once makes your helicopter gain altitude. When you get close to enemies, your weapon starts firing automatically, and it’s up to you to keep stable so the gunner on board can hit his targets – there is a button to enable/disable auto-fire. Landing (a delicate maneuver) lets you rescue soldiers or repair/reload your craft (for a cost) but also restricts your weapon, which adds another level of strategic planning to the actions you must take.

As you progress through the game’s challenging levels, you can unlock (and, in some cases, buy) new helicopters and weapons to use. At the start of each mission, on the screen that summarizes your objectives, you must choose an aircraft model and a weapon, and you also have the option to pay a few coins for an extra bonus (such as more health or doubled ammo, for example). They are small decisions, but combined they give a solid variety to playstyles.

Audiovisual: 7

The presentation of DustOff Heli Rescue II is quite minimalist, which matches the apparent simplicity of its gameplay. The voxel graphics (the famous “3D pixels”) try to evoke the look of old games but, although cute and toy-like, they fail to reinforce the dramatic tension the game seems to be aiming for.

The music, with its intense rhythm and percussion, would help create the right mood for the game… But unfortunately it’s not possible to adjust the sound levels and, if you don’t turn off the sound effects, you can finish the whole game without even noticing there was music playing in the background. The noise of the helicopter blades overpowers everything, and the firefights only add to the sonic confusion. You’ll probably end up playing with the sound off.

Final thoughts

DustOff Heli Rescue II feels like a hybrid of many concepts and draws from many sources: part mobile, part arcade, using a casual presentation to deliver an experience of difficulty and great dramatic tension. It is a game that is easy to please everyone with, but that few will truly fall in love with.