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 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.

A debut work made with sufficient expertise, which will engage lovers of the genre between a certain number of insults and some satisfaction, despite the aforementioned imperfections.

Dandara’s unique movement abilities ensure it’s at least significantly different from its peers. But the same reason that Dandara is so unique is also its biggest setback. 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.

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.

Dandara isn't a bad game, it's just perhaps not the game for me or for many others. The control choice has made it very niche, and while it's likely to perform much better on the Nintendo Switch, it just feels like it doesn't quite have a home here on the PC. If you're willing to take the leap, you'll be greeted with beautiful pixel art visuals and candy for your eardrums - and that's fantastic. But, it comes at the expense of having to wade through gameplay that never really feels like it fits if you use a keyboard and mouse, and that only improves slightly if you use a gamepad. This game was meant for touchscreen, and most PC gamers don't utilize touch screen controls as there has never been a major reason to do so, and that remains unchanged even after Dandara's arrival.

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.