A metroidvania based on Brazilian folklore.

Story

What initially drove me to play this game is the real life story surrounding the main character called Dandara.

In the Brazilian culture Dandara was a real life ​warrior​ in the colonial area. She was a slave who freed herself from slavery. She fought in the art of Capoeira and was arrested in 1694 and committed suicide, refusing to return to slavery.

Inside the game there are references to Brazilian culture. For example, a couple of the graffiti paintings in the game are real paintings taking from the streets of Brazil. Also, the first boss wears a hat recognized with the Brazilian military and connected with depression of the Brazilian people.





Dandara is fighting to save the world from the ‘golden idea’ (you can imagine what is the reference here). Throughout the game you will meet different characters that will give you further lore about the world. The characters are also taken from Brazilian folklore, so it’s both fun to find them and realize they also existed in real life.

Gameplay

The game is a metroidvania platformer which means you have to explore and find different items that help you pass areas you couldn’t pass before.

The platforming side of things is different from other games in the genre. The game plays in zero gravity so you can’t move freely, here you can only travel from one flat surface to another by aiming the character and pressing the jump button. This means there is no free movement, so you need to have a direct line of sight to a flat surface to be able to move. This is a different movement system from other games in this genre and honestly takes some getting used to.

As Dandara you can also shoot at enemies, which is also done by using the aiming system used for jumping. The shooting also takes some time to get use to because there is a small loading period before you can shoot, so in the early game rapid fire is not possible. The range of the gun is relatively short too, so you have to get near the enemies in order to hit them. As the game is a Metroidvania, after some time you discover a power up that lets you shoot from a distance, so this issue solves itself. However, in the early game I did find it hard to hit the bad guys!

The character can be upgraded by adding health or special abilities you find in the quests. You upgrade Dandara by collecting Salt (currency of the game) and invest in whatever you need the most. The upgrade occurs in Camps located in the various places in the world.

When you die you lose all of your salt, but you can get it back by getting to the place you died and picking the salt back up. No points for guessing which game this mechanic is taken from!

Art and Music​

The pixel art design of the game is absolutely beautiful, the different locations look amazing and very distinct. From a forests to new age machine looking places, every environment in the game looks gorgeous. Also the music is great, with it being slow on the exploring parts and fast on boss fights, the soundtrack combines well with the whole theme of the game.

Problems

My main issue with the game is the combat. At the start of the game when the enemies are weak the system works well enough, however, in the later stages of the game when you need to move fast and shoot at the same time it’s becomes very hard to work with.

The second thing is the location of the camps- there are very few in the game and they are pretty far apart. Therefore, if you’re low on health it can be extremely nerve wracking to try and make your way to the next camp to heal up. Again I think it’s pretty obvious which game influenced this mechanic but I personally wasn’t a fan.





The final issue is the map, in classic Metroidvanias the map pin points your current location, which means you can use your location you can decide where to go next. In this game, you can only see which room you are in but not the exact location. Furthermore, because the game is in zero gravity there is a rotation of the camera but not of the map, so it’s very hard to understand where you are in the room if you’re upside-down on the ceiling. I had to keep exiting and entering a room to really pinpoint where I was in it, which after a while became an annoyance!

Summary​

Dandara is a very fun game, with its zero gravity platforming the gameplay itself is unique and works fine most of the time.

The story behind the game is great and its close connection to Brazilian folklore and history distinguishes Dandara from other games on the eshop. The art work is gorgeous and is matched perfectly by the game’s soundtrack, making the vibe of the game a very pleasant experience.

The game has its flaws; the map can be confusing and later into the game the combat does become tricky, however with some practice you can play around these issues and enjoy the great world that Dandara has to offer.

Therefore, I give Dandara by Long Hat House my rating of

Have you played Dandara? if so what did you think? If so let us know in the comments or hit us up on Twitter or Discord!

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