Dandara

[Sméagol]

Apparently I (or anyone else) never created a thread for this unique MetroidVania, but the game got a patch a week ago, which I suspect fixes most if not all the minor issues I had with the game.

At this point it's been while for me now, but with this patch I'm kind of itching to experience the game again soon. I should post some full impressions later.. Although I did post about it in the Switch E-shop thread.

While at this point it's eclipsed by Hollow Knight like all MetroidVanias on Switch are), it's still a very unique MetroidVania that's still worth giving a try if you're a fan of the genre, as the experience is very different from the typical MetroidVania out there. It's main selling point is its unique movement system, where you never walk or run, but jump to everywhere you want to go. It feels great when you get the hang of it, but it really takes some getting used to, and makes the game pretty difficult. The latest patch seems to deal mostly with difficulty.. Even apart from the movement, it's pretty unique in its artstyle and general atmosphere. With the developers based in Brazil, the game is inspired by Brazilian folklore. This gives it a very mystical atmosphere, but not even a typical one.. It feels very exotic, especially combined with the ambient music. I personally loved it. Even when using pixelart, the artstyle also sets it apart from other games in the genre.

There's the Dark Souls inspired upgrade system, you can upgrade some skills and stats at savepoints, but you need "salt" (souls) to do so, gotten from defeating enemies. if you die, you lose the salt. There's still a chance for you to get it back etc. This is the other factor in the high difficulty. Some rooms feel a bit unfair, as you can't move out of the way, only jump, but some enemy placements are just really annoying. There are even one hit kill environmental hazards. These were my issues with the game, but the patch seems to address that, so want to see for myself if this improves the game even more. Apart from the general difficulty, I really enjoyed the game.

[Sméagol]

So on their 2nd anniversary, they announced a surprise update! No release date apart from "coming soon".

So this will get at least one person on this forum excited (i.e. me).

If you're at the very least interested in winning some codes for the game, check out Raw Fury's (the publisher) Discord channel, they're giving away codes today. But this game is worth the money in my opinion, more so after this free update.

Edited February 6, 2020 by Sméagol

[Ronnie]

Played a bit of it at the Switch area at EGX a couple years ago. Good fun, there was/is just too much else to play for me to get it. Good to see them add content 

[Sméagol]

And another reason for me to bump this thread because..

 

[Sméagol]

The update is out now.

The game's also on sale, though I can't check the price. On Steam the discount is 60%. And once again you can win codes on their Discord.

I'll probably do a new full playthrough next week.

[Londragon]

The update is out now.
The game's also on sale, though I can't check the price. On Steam the discount is 60%. And once again you can win codes on their Discord.
I'll probably do a new full playthrough next week.

It’s a little over a fiver, tempting.

[Jonnas]

This was made by Brazillian developers, right? Might get it on that principle.

@londragon, you said you wanted a more modern game for the PodPals, right? Would an indie game such as this do?

[Londragon]

This was made by Brazillian developers, right? Might get it on that principle.
[mention=8211]londragon[/mention], you said you wanted a more modern game for the PodPals, right? Would an indie game such as this do?

Oh, yes. This could be a good pick.

[Sméagol]

It's from a Brazilian studio yeah. Not being very knowledgable about Brazilian culture, a lot of things flew past my head, but there are direct references to Brazilian things. Dandara herself is inspired by an important warrior from Brazilian's history. One of the first npc's you meet is named after a Brazilian artist, and she looks like a character of one of her paintings. Something I only learned yesterday.

[Sméagol]

 

[Jonnas]

I figure this is a good time to revive the thread. I finally got around to play Dandara a few months ago, and I must say, thank you @Sméagol for the recommendation. Had a lovely time with it, as it's definitely a very strong title.

On a personal note, I love that it has distinct scripts for European and Brazilian Portuguese both. I ended up playing it entirely in the latter version (it read better, and it felt more genuine), which means I even found a sneaky reference to Hollow Knight that, to my knowledge, isn't there in English.

Anyway, Dandara left enough of an impression on me that I decided to write a review for the website. First time I picked a game for a review out of my own initiative, so I'll leave the link here. For those who played (or will play) Dandara, let me know what you think. I'd love to hear more viewpoints on this game as well.

Edited January 8, 2021 by Jonnas