Hey everyone, Goinks here. Things have been cooking in the background for a while, and we're finally able to show some stuff off now. I won't beat around the bush, so first let's discuss the most recent thing that has happened with us as of late.

UNDEREVENT 2024

As many of you were already able to guess, DUSTTRUST X was featured in Underevent 2024! Pretty cool, right? Working with the @UNDEREVENT_Official team was a fantastic experience, we're happy we were given the opportunity to do this again!

The trailer went over Papyrus Encounter, New Home, Phases 1, 2 & 3 of the Sans fight, and a little hint at Phase 4.

This devlog will be explaining what you could expect for each of those, and we'll also be briefly going over some news for Retro Edition as well. That will be at the end, so be sure to read through everything.

SANS VS. PAPYRUS

Aside from some missing sprites, we'd like to announce this phase is fully playable!

I'm aware this was mentioned in a smaller post not too long ago - just felt right to mention it again with all the new people coming to check.

This fight has been playtested to death because I and the rest of the team actually have a lot of fun playing through it! You might have seen Sans use a dash mechanic as apposed to teleporting, which was done to give room to more interesting attack patterns, making it more of a necessity rather than a tool you can just use to get through attacks easier.

A few visual changes were made to this since the final trailer was finished, and you can see them here:

It's by far the phase we're currently the most proud of, so we can't wait for you to play through it yourself!

NEW HOME

A big part of DTX that we're proud to announce is the new writing direction with Sans's character. Dust AUs as a whole are interesting to write, since it's fun to dissect a character and push them to their limits. This has also led to some minor changes like a few changes to Sans’s design. He now has a crack instead of a crater in his skull and we made some slight changes to the details in his eyes.

We also changed how Phantom Papyrus looks entirely, which is purely an aesthetic choice because this way we could be more creative with Sans’s ghostly acquaintance.

We wanted to give Sans some time to really let his actions weigh on his mind, and let him come to wild conclusions. Will he try to justify his actions? Will he completely lose his mind? Will he EVER be forgiven for what he's done? oh hey is that temmie

Sans will be accompanied by Phantom Papyrus and Temmie, who both try and get through to Sans in his new mental state. Do they have good intentions? How will this affect the upcoming fight? You'll just have to see.

New Home will also be home to a few secrets that you can find, so be on the lookout.

SANS FIGHT | Phase 1

Phase 1 received some tweaks since it was last shown, but nothing big. Just dialogue changes, small visual updates and a few new attacks have been added.

It's also completely finished and has been playtested heavily. It's Phase 2 that's the spotlight here!

PHASE 2

Same as Papyrus Encounter, Phase 2 had some more visual changes made since we completed the trailer made to better fit the writing direction of Sans’s character as previously mentioned.

Not only is he using the dash mechanic AGAINST you, he’s also combining it with some new tricks he’s picked up from across his journey!

The new version of MANIAC’S REVENGE, subtitled “ABOVE AND BEYOND” has also been completed! It’s a new take on MR that completely puts the song in its head and perfectly encapsulates the rising action the fight represents! We can’t wait for you to hear the full song in the game when it releases.

PHASE 3

We've shown off a good chunk of Phase 3 already, since it's now more so a prelude to Phase 4 than the climactic showdown it used to be. An 8 minute survival fight with spotlights and costumes isn't exactly the best direction to go with anymore now that Phase 4 is back in the game, so we apologize if you were expecting something more akin to how it was in Legacy.

PHASE 4

First look at Phase 4: THE ROYAL KNIGHT

Yes, that's right! We've forgone the Wendigo design and went with a “new” form for Sans to take, The Royal Knight.
For long time fans, this might be familiar to you. This is because we brought back an old design from Niko's cancelled Dusttrust take (or also Legacy Thanatos if you're the insanest Dusttrust fan).

The Royal Knight will offer a brand new spin on the gigantic god forms that this community has gotten used to. However, we won’t be showing off any gameplay of Phase 4 until the game releases. It’s by far the phase that takes the most time and effort, so your patience is appreciated! The payoff will be worth it.

RETRO EDITION NEWS

If you’re in Ari’s discord server or subscribed to her on Youtube you might have noticed small updates and teases for new Retro Edition content has been uploaded! This is because the development on a new episode has started to hold you all over while we work on getting DTX out.

Note from Ari: "the hurt sprite is totally a placeholder and it isn't me satisfying my need to brutally murder fazzy"

No need to worry about this taking much time from DTX - we need to have some fun ourselves every now and then.

Retro Edition will also be getting its own game page soon, so make sure you’re notified when that happens!

CLOSING STATEMENTS

It’s no secret that Dusttrust as an AU has had a rocky history. Several iterations, takes, and remakes have come and gone without ONCE ever getting a faithful release. This community has joked about the “Dusttrust Curse”, but we’re very proud to say that AWESOME GAMES is here to break it because WE ARE FUC*KING AWESOME

DUSTTRUST X is set to release THIS SUMMER

That’s right! The waiting is coming to an end! We can’t exactly pinpoint when EXACTLY during the summer, but we know for sure it’s going to release later this year. We’re very grateful for your patience and support throughout all these years and we hope that our final project is up to your satisfaction.

- With HATE from AWESOME GAMES