Dandara Review - Staggering, but not always the right way

lyra.roberge (56)in #gaming • 7 years ago (edited)

In the world of Salt, the balance is so disturbed that the born heroine Dandara appears from nowhere. She is the right person to put things right, but the world is so distorted that it is not an easy job. Fortunately she is always firmly on both feet. Whether it is hanging upside down or just standing on the ground.

What is above and below becomes increasingly unclear as you continue playing in Dandara. In this 2D platformer, the camera regularly runs a quarter turn to make it clear, but you would almost forget that all kinds of dizzying jumps are made. Dandara does not do any walking. As an invisible hand you send her to the next destination by aiming and then launching to her new position.

Metroidandara

Because of this Dandara is for the most part playable with a controller, but also with a touch screen. As you explore the world of Salt, Dandara bounces through the tight corridors. The game is a real Metroidvania, in which you find new skills that can then be used elsewhere in the connected world. For example, Dandara can fire a special shot, which can be used to inflate weak walls, and to find an artifact that can be used to restore age-old machines.

That all sounds perhaps best known, but Dandara has such a strange and unique atmosphere that the whole really feels like the umpteenth indie-Metroid. From the subtle music to the dream-like friendly characters that you encounter every now and then, it all contributes to making this mysterious reality reality. The fact that the game, made by Latin American developers, loosely draws inspiration from Brazilian history and art, helps with that.

The Dark Souls of Metroidvania

In the field of gameplay, Dandara is only less consistent. In the first half of the game, the unique way of moving around the world is still good. Occasionally there are enemies in the different rooms, but due to their predictable behavior their attacks can be avoided. Dandara also has an extensive arsenal of projectiles that have to be charged before they can be fired. That regularly provides exciting shoot-outs in which you have to time shots well and have to avoid multiple shots.

The game also contains a lot of creative ways to fill the maze-like world with secret routes and extra skills. Those who look and look are richly rewarded with precious salt that can be exchanged for more hearts or special attacks in Dandara's tent. If you are too far away from the tent and are killed, the collected mountain of salt will also stay behind. Then, just like in Dark Souls, you have a last chance to win back this acquired currency by reaching this place one by one.

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Inconsistent adventure

Especially in the first half this combination of styles works fine, but as Dandara's adventure progresses, the limited freedom of movement and the relatively high difficulty level start to irritate. The game is starting to demand more and more of how fast and precise Dandara has to move in order not to get hit. Sometimes Dandara gets even entangled in attacks, so you can suddenly take the lead with a full life bar. It feels extremely unfair and it does not seem to fit with the controls, which makes such exact movements not exactly easy.

The absolute low of this can be found with the very last boss, who is so demanding that it is almost impossible to do. With two forms and the constant threat of being oppressed, it is a damper to a game that was so well organized a few hours earlier. How different is that with one of the earlier bosses of the game, who responds in a brilliant way to what makes Dandara so cool and unique. Here you bounce through the inside of a circular machine to destroy the danger from the inside. This boss feels like the perfect amalgamation of what Dandara does well, without losing any of his challenge and his own face.

Dandara is available for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Android and PC. For this review Dandara was played on the Switch.

Conclusion

Dandara wastes her preciously collected points halfway through her adventure by focusing on the wrong elements. As Metroidvania with a particularly quirky atmosphere and way of moving, the game is especially great in the first few hours. Unfortunately, the ever-increasing focus on the awkward fights due to the limited freedom of movement is almost completely fatal. Dandara is often dizzying, but unfortunately not always the right way.