Dandara Reviews
In the end, I didn't enjoy my time with Dandara. The controls, while unique, just didn't work well for me–especially in combat. Dandara wants players to explore but the incentive just wasn't there. If you're looking for a Metroidvania with a unique control experience and a great art styles, Dandara might fit that bill. Otherwise, I'd pass on this otherwise beautiful game.
Dandara has some interesting ideas and great visual design, but it rarely feels rewarding. It drags in the middle and the final third just frustrates, sucking the fun out of the experience.
The time I've spent with Long Hat House's latest title has forced me to reevaluate my expectations of the Metroidvania subgenre. 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. It may be that Dandara's atypical traversal mechanic will click with some players, particularly those who pick up the game for the Nintendo Switch or mobile devices, but others may find that the game's middling charms aren't enough to make up for its potentially-frustrating controls.
Dandara is a beautiful game with a fresh movement mechanic, but it doesn't come together as well as I had hoped. Leaping across platforms is satisfying when it works, but aggravating when it doesn't, and even when the leaping does what you want it to do, you'll find annoying backtracking or bizarre navigation puzzles to overcome. There are some great moments in Dandara, but the headaches you have to deal with to get to them aren't always worth it.
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.
Despite my complaints, I had a mostly positive experience playing through Dandara. For $14.99, I got about 15 hours of playtime. The mixture of creative world design, unique gameplay mechanics and challenging bosses make this a worthy game, despite the oppressive difficulty of a few sections and occasional lack of balance. While I never felt like I got to know Dandara as a person very well, the world of Salt was still one of haunting beauty that I’d love to return to. I’m impressed by this first mainstream release by Long Hat House, and look forward to what else they’re able to create. Dandara isn’t perfect, but it’s a laudable attempt, and one that I won’t soon forget.
Just like the world of Salt, Dandara is full off ups, downs, lefts and rights. While it does try to have a crack at creating a unique Metroidvania experience, the very control mechanic that gels it all together can at times be its biggest flaw. Bouncing around in an empty room gives you a belief of a watertight control system, yet when facing a room full of foes and bullets all firing towards you in such an unorthodox pattern it gives you the sense that luck plays a part in the progress. As much as I liked the overall idea of Dandara, it did manage to provoke me in ways where I had to solemnly apologise to my little Nintendo Switch.
Dandara is a 2D Metroidvania platformer that's admirably intent on doing things differently, from its Brazilian folklore-infused narrative to its unorthodox and touchscreen-friendly controls. It can be a little awkward to play as a result, and it's got its fair share of structural niggles, but Dandara provides a genuinely fascinating world to spend some time in.
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.
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'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 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 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.
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 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
Brazilian developer Long Hat House prevails in forging a gaming and cultural touchstone in Dandara.
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!
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 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.
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.