Dandara

Brazil is not exactly known for its game development scene, but Dandara is an awesome outlier. In my opinion, the best game ever produced by my countryman... you should check it out! It's a metroidvania with a twist in its gameplay, with great lore, setting and superb soundtrack! My only gripe is the short window of Invincibility frames when you get hit: you can get wrecked pretty fast against multiple projectiles!

The linked video includes reviews of 10 indie games. The segment on Dandara recommends the game, and discusses how its unique movement style interacts with different input methods.

There may be a kernel of truth to the idea Dandara was designed for mobile devices, but I think its unusual way of moving around feels best, works best, on a conventional controller.

I've played this game through Nintendo Switch before and I brought it on steam to leave a review. The game is a very good game... it's just not a game for me. First i love the fact that this game is based of a real life freedom fighter, that being Brazils Dandara Dos Palmares and when i learned tof this i told myself i would finish this game no matter what. When i played it the game for first time the first thing we all notice is the gorgeous pixel art and the second thing is the movement of the game. The movement is probably the the most unique i've seen in a metroidvania the constant leaping from wall to wall is fun at first but quickly grew old to me after a while of playing. When playing through it the first time i really did feel like i was forcing myself to play through the game simply do to fact i just didn't like the movement. But persevered and made my way through the mysterious salt world and listen to its grand soundtrack i couldn't help noting that they really did make this METROIDVANIA i can't tell you how many times i got lost playing this game which is a good thing, you are suppose to explore in games like this. But i do sadley think i kept getting lost do to the games confusing movement system, it wasn't enough to make me stop playing but it did make things harder then it should have been. It's a short game about 4 hours with 3 boss fights so you could do it in afternoon if you have the time. Like i said i love the world but i just couldn't be bothered to play the game again is just left it running for 2 hours so i could pump out this review. Like i said it's a great game and you SHOULD PLAY IT, but it's just not game for me and i'm probably never going to replay it. Final Score 7.5/10 Final Grade 73/100 [Graphics = 20/20. Music =15/20. Gameplay 10/20. Story 13/20. Replayability 5/20.

Written as of beating the game and fresh in my mind. It's such a great game. I'll state what I like and dislike about it. Minor and early spoilers ahead.
One of my favorite moments is when, there is an item you get, that once you pick it up, you now must follow a new route that uses this item. The corridor you once took now is blocked and you use the new item to go around it. It's really good! This particular item may not be at super relevant later on, but it was a very nice change of pace as opposed to other metrodvanias.
The movement is great. Imagine playing Tomb of The Mask (mobile game) but you can move (as long as there is salt) in all directions instead of just the 4 cardinal directions. Btw I was cracked at ToTM. It gets super fun when you just zip around from place to place. It does get annoying when you are interrupted, but that doesn't happen if you look ahead. I don't know how it is with mouse and keyboard, but with a controller, it is great once you get the hang of it.
My biggest complaint is the difficulty, or rather the unfairness. There are times where the nearest flag (checkpoint) is too far away and you die getting there so you lose your salt (skill point currency). I've never been a fan of corpse runs. It gets annoying at times. The game's actual difficulty is perfectly fine. I died 4 times to the (true) final boss and lost my salt 1 time. I've also been told that I say things are easier than they actually are, so take my scale with a grain of salt (heh). If you decide to play it listen to what I have to say here. If an area is too hard to go through, then you aren't supposed to be there yet! Come back later! This goes for all metroidvanias but there is an area you can access early on in particular that you may want to heed my advice. Oh and there is no map pins and I am angry about it. I noted things down by hand. There are accessibility options if it gets too hard. (Haven't tested how good are the options).
I can't say much about the story. I read all the text I could find but it doesn't say much about the worldbuilding, rather it says more about the current state of affairs. It seems good though.
Overall, I think this is a spectacular metroidvania. Movement is fun, metroidvania elements are done very nicely, and I think it is worth you time. I think it is fair in difficulty but unfair in checkpoint placements. I'd definately recommend it to any metroidvania fan, probably not to casual players though. If you do decide to play it remember: If an area is too hard to go through, then you aren't supposed to be there yet! Come back later! That's what I did and I think it is more fun this way. I'll get the rest of the achievements now, they look very doable.

A brilliant take on a platformer that can be easily played with a touch screen. Gorgeous pixel art, wonderful soundtrack and fascinating world and story. Perfectly captures the feel of being an anime fighter. Leaping and shooting is exhilarating.

a fun little metroidvania. Good music, fun pixel art, and an interesting surreal world. I like the movement; bouncing around the environment. I did end up using the cheats near the end.

Dandara is a rather good (and tough) platformer which makes the most of its novel platforming style. Everything feels smooth and refined- this is more than a proof of concept, it is damn good at being what it is. I also quite like the setting, the Salt is super interesting even if the dialogue/worldbuilding is a bit sparse. The DLC (as in, all the Hidden Realms content and associated ending) is absolutely the high point.