Dandara Reviews
Dandara is truly one of a kind: there was nothing quite like it before hitting Nintendo Switch and I don’t suspect there will be anything like it again. Players take control of the game’s titular character, Dandara, as she seeks to free the Salt and its children from oppression; the central themes in Dandara deal with shaping a world that prioritizes art, knowledge, and discovery over militarism and capital. Dandara blew me away from start to finish.
Dandara is an excellent game and I can't believe I haven't heard people talking about it. Its unique movement is accompanied by an equally unique world, soundtrack, and symbolic story that will fascinate lore nerds. While it's controls may not support the precision combat asks of you, the Salt is definitely a world worth saving.
Dandara is an indie game that couldn't have released at a better time. It's a surreal, magical, platformer
A unique but strange game. Great character and art design really make this something special, though the control scheme is truly unique as well.
An amazing story about fighting oppresion, figuring out who you are and what is your place in the world. Filled to the brim with engrossing encounters and cleverly designed boss fights.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Dandara is the perfect example that it is always possible to innovate no matter how well-trodden a genre is. Taking the well-known bases of the Metroidvania, it manages to give a twist to the formula to be able to differentiate from the rest of the games of the genre. All this is wrapped up in a pleasant and detailed audiovisual section.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Even so, 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.
Dandara is an ispired metroidvania with no gravity gameplay that maybe can confuse someone, but is definitively a brilliant one.
Review in Italian | Read full review
While a few consistent problems weigh it down, Dandara is still an engrossing adventure. As many times as the in-game map bugged me or the difficulty got me down, I kept at it, working my way through the peculiar world, seeking out new items and upgrades and figuring out how to move around delicately to attack or avoid foes. It might not be for the faint of heart, but Dandara is a wonderfully idiosyncratic game.
Dandara is a game built out of passion and a strong identity. This shines throughout and its a great example of touchscreen use on the Switch and a fantastic game.
A solid Metroidvania elevated by a unique gameplay mechanic. 'Dandara' suffers a bit when it focuses more on combat than exploration, but never strays from the path for to long. Visually and aurally pleasing, its odd world doesn't come with much narrative, but still manages to tell a story via its atmosphere.
Dandara is an enjoyable Metroidvania with unique gameplay mechanics that feel fresh and fun – when they work. Sometimes the game’s controls can be a bit fussy, which can lead to unfortunate deaths. The game can sometimes be more frustrating than it needs to be, but underneath is a fun world to explore with some great visuals. Yet another great game for the Switch!
Brazilian developer Long Hat House prevails in forging a gaming and cultural touchstone in Dandara.
Dandara is an artistic pixel art metroidvania with ideas of his own, like an original control scheme and a little Dark Souls touch. The problem is that, as a game designed to be played on smartphones without physic controls, the gameplay mechanics and power ups tend to be a little simple. But if you love the metroidvania genre, you'll enjoy it.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Dandara is more than the average Metroidvania and is a game worth your time. Although its unique stop-and-go gameplay may have you stumbling at first, movement turns into an art form as you get accustomed to it. And though not everything about Dandara stands out, the titular character is executed so masterfully it is hard not to be impressed with the folk-lore based heroine.
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.
The hook of Dandara is most certainly its unique control style and whether or not you can master and enjoy playing that way. For people craving something different and who want to be challenged it throws quite a lot at you that you’ve never seen before and it can be thrilling. For anyone expecting things to be more traditional and perhaps a bit casual-friendly unfortunately it likely won’t be a great match unless you’re willing to push yourself. I’d be very curious to see what would come out of a sequel and how its style could be refined further. The bones of greatness are very much there, but to enjoy it you’ll need to be willing to put up with some rough edges.
Dandara's unique gameplay and trippy atmosphere make it a worthwhile gravity-defying Metroidvania but don't expect to enjoy it for very long because it'll be over much sooner than you'd hope.
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.
Dandara has a firm foundation, but suffers from inherent design flaws and a lack of direction. Despite its imperfections, I mostly enjoyed my time with it. It treads a lot of familiar ground with its gameplay mechanics, but those were the portions of the game I found myself having the most fun with.