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70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 38 Ratings

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  • Summary: In a bizarre universe in which the oppressed are on the verge of oblivion, Dandara has awoken to reshape the world. The world of Salt hangs on the brink of collapse. The citizens, once free spirits, now stand oppressed and isolated. But not all is lost, for out of this aether of fear arisesIn a bizarre universe in which the oppressed are on the verge of oblivion, Dandara has awoken to reshape the world. The world of Salt hangs on the brink of collapse. The citizens, once free spirits, now stand oppressed and isolated. But not all is lost, for out of this aether of fear arises a heroine, a ray of hope. Her name is Dandara. Expand

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Dandara Switch Gameplay - First 5 Minutes
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 8
  2. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Feb 6, 2018
    80
    Dandara‘s seemingly-impossible feat at combining elements of platforming, combat and strategy within its explorative template takes some doing and is almost an accomplishment in of itself.
  2. Feb 23, 2018
    75
    Dandara proves that there's still originality in a decades-old genre. It changes the way you control the player character, breaking from Metroidvania traditions, and creates new types of puzzles and methods of progression along the way.
  3. Feb 6, 2018
    73
    A debut work made with sufficient expertise, which will engage lovers of the genre between a certain number of insults and some satisfaction, despite the aforementioned imperfections.
  4. Feb 7, 2018
    70
    Dandara’s unique movement abilities ensure it’s at least significantly different from its peers. But the same reason that Dandara is so unique is also its biggest setback. The sense of mastery never quite comes, resulting in a game that flashes its potential in one scene only to undermine that thrill soon afterward. Even with its occasional stumbles, though, Dandara offers enough excitement and beauty to push you onward.
  5. Feb 7, 2018
    68
    A prickly 2D Metroidvania with a curious twist, Dandara admirably finds something new to do with the genre, but it's tough work to get onboard.
  6. Feb 7, 2018
    65
    Dandara isn't a bad game, it's just perhaps not the game for me or for many others. The control choice has made it very niche, and while it's likely to perform much better on the Nintendo Switch, it just feels like it doesn't quite have a home here on the PC. If you're willing to take the leap, you'll be greeted with beautiful pixel art visuals and candy for your eardrums - and that's fantastic. But, it comes at the expense of having to wade through gameplay that never really feels like it fits if you use a keyboard and mouse, and that only improves slightly if you use a gamepad. This game was meant for touchscreen, and most PC gamers don't utilize touch screen controls as there has never been a major reason to do so, and that remains unchanged even after Dandara's arrival.
  7. Feb 12, 2018
    60
    On one hand, Dandara is a perfectly serviceable romp through a series of well-designed and attractive environments; on the other, it's a deliberate yet confusing sidestep of well-established gameplay conventions.

See all 8 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 13
  2. Negative: 3 out of 13
  1. Feb 1, 2021
    10
    If you like pixel-art Metroidvania games, grab this ASAP. As of this post it's free on Epic Games Store.

    Dandara is an amazing Metroidvania
    If you like pixel-art Metroidvania games, grab this ASAP. As of this post it's free on Epic Games Store.

    Dandara is an amazing Metroidvania game that leads more to the Metroid side, rather than Castlevania which has more RPG elements.
    Unlike your typical Metroidvania however you do not walk from left to right, but instead you move around by jumping from wall to wall to ground to ceiling on white tiles that are almost everywhere. It sounds and feels kinda off at first, but once you got used to it (which you'll do extremely fast), you'll get an unique gameplay experience that can be extremely fast paced, if you want it to be.

    I can also imagine that Dandara is just as great, if not even greater than Super Metroid to speedrun, based on how the gameplay works.

    The powerups are fun, the riddles are really nice, the dungeon crawling feels just as good as Metroid and I'm just 3 hours in. The art style is also very good, only the story writing sounds a bit absurd (with the driving force in the world not being aether, mana, energy or whatever, but instead "salt"), and the character dialogues are also kinda confusing, but it's still really good and gives off some Undertale vibes in the dialogues.

    Definitely check it out, if you like Metroidvania games. I've played a lot of them before (Carrion, Iconoclasts, Owlboy, Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, Axiom Verge, all Castlevania & Metroid games, etc.), and I'd say Dandara is among the best.
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  2. Jun 17, 2021
    10
    This is a very unique and solid Metroidvania. After playing dozens upon of dozens of MVs, it's nice to experience a refreshing new mechanismThis is a very unique and solid Metroidvania. After playing dozens upon of dozens of MVs, it's nice to experience a refreshing new mechanism of moving around. This is now one of my favorite MVs after Vision Soft Reset and ESA. The difficulty is pretty fair until you get to the brutal final true boss. Expand
  3. Jul 30, 2021
    10
    Soy fan del género Metroidvania, y debo decir que este título indie es por lejos mi favorito de dicho género
    Tiene buenas mecánicas y
    Soy fan del género Metroidvania, y debo decir que este título indie es por lejos mi favorito de dicho género
    Tiene buenas mecánicas y controles únicos (lo cual es su principal atractivo), además de unos gráficos retro pero visualmente atractivos y una muy buena banda sonora
    Veo que muchos lo critican por tener controles "imposibles de dominar" y dicen que no sienten progreso de habilidad para manejar a Dandara, pero eso en realidad refleja la poca habilidad que tienen como gamers, pues con un poco de práctica uno se puede mover con total soltura por los niveles
    Sí, el juego puede ser difícil (sobre todo el final real), pero yo veo eso como un punto a favor: para jugar juegos fáciles hay muchos del montón, pero a veces uno quiere verdaderos retos
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  4. Apr 2, 2021
    8
    I was ready to give this game an 9 out of ten. But the last area (the golden one) is so out of place in this otherwise consistently difficultI was ready to give this game an 9 out of ten. But the last area (the golden one) is so out of place in this otherwise consistently difficult game it kinda sours the experience for me. The last area feels like a huge enemy spam fiesta without smart puzzles. And the last boss is rng bull **** go in with enough energy reserves and use the shield and missiles. Beware i played with a controller on PC and it requires some very fine movement - i think its impossible with m&k. Expand
  5. Apr 6, 2019
    6
    Dandara is a very interesting approach to Metroidvania style in its very unique way.

    I did not find the game mechanics easy to use and easy
    Dandara is a very interesting approach to Metroidvania style in its very unique way.

    I did not find the game mechanics easy to use and easy to master, both with keyboard and controller alike. And that is my main concern about the game because that difficulties get me bored after a while.

    The art style is awesome and the soundtrack is also very nice. And despite my complains about the game mechanics the game is very nice and deserves my support and my positive feedback. It is another nice addition to my game collection. I recommend it!

    I leave you guys a small video with some of the starting moments of the game, spoiler free:
    https://youtu.be/oMYlVmrtUdk
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  6. Feb 5, 2021
    6
    i really, really wanted to like this game. The traversal mechanic is super fun and unique. The powerups also build up on the core mechanic ini really, really wanted to like this game. The traversal mechanic is super fun and unique. The powerups also build up on the core mechanic in interesting ways. The problem is the extreme amount of irritation and frustration that you feel as you reach the mid-to-late game. The challenges approach bullet-hell levels of density, and there just isn't enough control over the jump mechanic to make these encounters feel rewarding to accomplish, let alone survive.

    You have to keep track of 3 different markers to move around: (1) points where Dandara is considering jumping, (2) points where you are actually pointing the thumbstick (because if you point at the ground, it "reflects" and changes (1)'s angle ), and (3) Where Dandara will actually jump too, if (1) is pointing at a surface that is too far away.

    This information overload is simply too much to make smart snap decisions, and there isnt enough chance to master this demanding amount of info by the time you reach mid-to-late game just 4 hours later. When I die, it usually feels extremely unfair because the game requires super-precision jumps, while you track 5+ enemies jerky and sudden movements. This gets compounded by the unique requirements of each confrontation. You might need to shoot your gun (which requires standing perfectly still to charge each extremely short-range bullet), or take literally no damage in order to unlock a door, or beat a timer. The part where I gave up entirely was in The Masquerade, where you need to jump through a hallway riddled with opposite-direction moving energy waves, while being chased by a fast moving laser wall without taking a single point of damage. You need to achieve a perfect run. This is all about 10 rooms away from the most recent save point, and so if you die or run low on health, you are forced to back track. That is a chore to me.

    I was having a good time for a while, but the way the developers decided to increase the difficulty does not complement the game mechanic. The most enjoyable parts of the game are when I felt the "flow" of the warping mechanic. Making perfectly timed jumps, winning tight-but-fair combat encounters, and solving the super interesting multi-dimensional puzzles were all amazing in the first three dungeons. Unfortunately, that is all over with. I have reached a part where all you do is jump-scare bullet-hell encounters that do multiple punishments for a single mistake. Even with cheat codes, the type of gameplay absolutely does not allow for the "flow" I described. They should have emphasized the "free running" feel and given you power ups that reduce your bullet charge time. THAT would have been fun as hell.
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  7. Feb 4, 2021
    1
    simplesmente horrivel, a gameplay é pessima, para quem joga com teclado e rato é ainda pior so nao dou 0 porque foi dado de graça na epic games

See all 13 User Reviews