Hand-drawn animation is making a welcome comeback in games these days, and there is something familiar and appealing about the 2D hand-drawn animation style, and LUNA The Shadow Dust's artwork is a feast for the eyes. Its world drew me in and, for the most part, I was completely mesmerized. Unfortunately, as great as LUNA looks, there were moments when I felt lost in its impenetrable world.

LUNA The Shadow Dust begins with a nameless boy falling from the sky. He falls through the air like a stone, but before he hits the earth, he is saved by a magical force that creates bubbles around him and gently lays him on the ground. Upon awakening, he finds an oozy tower and, along with his wizard cat friend, begins to make his way through the chambers toward the top. There is no text or dialogue to explain the story; everything is a bit mysterious. It is not revealed how high the tower is or what is at the top, but the atmosphere and visuals of LUNA prove more than enough to lure me into the looming fortress.

As one explores the tower, each room is beautifully crafted from the start. The first room I enter is a hallway, its walls adorned with huge, intricate murals depicting ancient lore. As you pass by them, colors begin to bleed into the images, as if awakening the tower from a deep sleep. The legends of this world are etched into every nook and open surface. The cozy kitchen, the huge library, and the gorgeous music room are all so detailed that I was looking forward to seeing what other rooms and secrets were hidden in them.

Each room in the tower functions as a self-contained puzzle. Solving that puzzle unlocks the door to the next room and allows you to proceed further. The puzzles are along the same lines as other point-and-click adventures, with simple actions performed in a certain order, pushing platforms, pressing buttons, and switching between boy and cat friends.

Puzzle rooms are more than just pushing buttons and pulling levers. There is always a fun magical twist. In one room, the feline friends transform into shadows, allowing them to cross walls and jump across platforms made of the shadows of other objects. In another room, there is a door that transports them to different seasons, and in a stained-glass hallway, there is a transforming window that shows different saints. These animations do not make the puzzles too static, but rather give each one a different flavor and a joy to solve.

One major recurring theme in all puzzles is symbol matching. Almost every puzzle requires you to match two symbols or see how certain images relate to others, and if they don't perfectly match LUNA's silent storyline, they will seem overused.

As well as the entrance mural, there are numerous paintings and ancient symbols throughout the tower depicting lore and legends, which are incredibly detailed. A large part of the room is devoted to these intricate murals, which not only provide the backdrop for this fantasy world, but also help to solve the puzzles. I have found that when I get stuck on a puzzle, an examination of the environment inevitably leads me to notes, symbols, and murals.

I found the puzzles frustrating, and unfortunately LUNA has its frustrating moments. Instead, I found myself randomly clicking and repeating actions in different arrangements until I found the correct sequence.

LUNA runs into the same problem that many silent narratives run into. When a game communicates only through murals and symbols, even if they are beautiful, the details are lost; both LUNA's puzzles and narrative suffer from this problem. The emotional finale would have had more punch, especially at the end, had there been a clearer understanding of the power of magic.

LUNA The Shadow Dust is a fun adventure with great artwork. The riddles and their magical twists were fun to solve, although one or two were floundering. The mysterious and quiet storytelling was great, but I wanted to know more, and not in a good way. I wanted to know more about the role light and shadow play in this fantasy world and how all the gods and saints are connected to this dark tower at the end of the world.