Dandara: Trials of Fear+

I downloaded the game and spent all day trying to figure out where to go but it’s so confusing. Not even a hint of where to go.

Metroid Fusion is one of my favorite games within the 2D Metroidvania genre. I remember being sucked into that game on the Gameboy Advance back in the day. I don’t play a lot of games on my phone these days simply because I either A. Don’t have the time or B. Don’t really like the games. Games either feel like a massive time commitment or are too simplistic to enjoy long term. This game is the first game in ages that has actually caught my attention. The controls are intuitive and fun. The gameplay is challenging yet rewarding. You can play for a few minutes or a few hours. When Apple Arcade first launched the titles on there were pretty lacking. It’s genuinely nice to see games like this on the service. This is probably the best one I’ve played on here.

I haven’t even finished the game and yet I love it. Any person who loves metroidvania games like Hollow knight, Haiku The Robot, or Ori would love this game. There’s not as many fighting modes that you would see in games like Hollow Knight, but that makes sense because it’s on mobile. Even with that it makes up for it in accessibility. You can play or pause any time in the day and you’ll always have this game to play wherever you are because it’s on your phone. Sure, you can play Hollow Knight on switch but I honestly find PC better. So, having a game like this is great because it’s not too complicated, and it gives you a lot of story and enemies you can fight. I’ve always been a fan of metroidvania games, but I don’t have enough time to really experience them on PC because I’m too busy. It’s great to have a game that I can play everywhere.

It was truly a moving experience to play Dandara. You can tell so much went into the art style, the music, the narrative. I loved it! It exceeded all expectations I had going in. The game was hard but not too hard; the story flowed well, while never feeling restrictive or too linear. I find myself looking for new games that can match the feeling of playing Dandara for the first time, which should say something about the impact this game can have ❤️

I’ve seen some other reviews on here complaining about “clunky” controls and no clear progression / story. I completely disagree. This game is one of THE best iOS games I’ve ever played, and I’m super picky with my iOS games. I loved this game so much I played through it twice. The controls are unique and take some time to get used to, but what makes them so brilliant, is they FEEL like they were made for a touch screen. This is what most games get wrong on mobile. Most developers just create a game for console and then port it over to mobile. This game feels like it was made for a touch screen and it’s genius. Quick finger movements is all it takes to maneuver through the entire game, and it feels super dynamic. In terms of confusing progression, it’s a Metroidvania, so that’s part of the intrigue and puzzle of playing the game. It doesn’t hold your hand, but it rewards you for your curiosity and skill. A fantastic Souls-like on mobile. I can’t recommend this game enough!!!

I was really enjoying this game… spent several hours on it… and then I found out that when the game said it was auto saving, it actually wasn’t. In fact, it didn’t even have my initial save that it forced me to create when first starting the game. A game can be fun, beautiful, and have a great soundtrack but it is worthless if you CANNOT SAVE YOUR PROGRESS. I can’t even play this game on a different platform because apparently this is a problem across other devices as well. What a disappointment.

I feel like you can just kinda aim anywhere and just rapid fire it, but at the same time the controls are kinda just weird and doesn’t allow for good momentum to be built

Well done, one of the more unique games that I’ve seen in a while. 👍

This game is massive! Everytime I think I’m close to clearing up a ‘corner’ of the map, it expands tenfold into a new zone. Before writing this, I just beat the heart and gained access to the nightmare zones, practically doubling the map size. There is so much to explore and look at.

Super fun game, unique style. Great difficulty.