Dandara
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Dandara Trailers
Dandara Launch Trailer
Dandara Opening Title Sequence
Dandara Switch Announce Trailer
Critic Reviews for Dandara
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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 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.
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.
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