Kandria

The game might be fine, but I experienced numerous controller related issues on the Steam Deck. The character keeps walking after I let go of the stick, sometimes she doesn't move and have to let go and move again, remapping an action made a mess in the menu, etc. The issues are frequent enough to not make the game enjoyable.

Good game. Surprised it's this obscure. The vibe most reminds me of Nier:Automata, when you're exploring the city at the beginning and just vibing, doing sidequests, fishing and so on. Then mix in a bit of Cave Story and Celeste. It's a good combo. It can be very tough in certain places, but there are some tricks to it which make it easier. For instance, don't forget you can move through the air in a long straight line just by attacking, any time. There's some really cool metroidvania features. You can see the path you've taken on the map, all at once or drawn out gradually. The places you've died are marked too, and you can add your own markers. There's no autosave, but you can save+quit any time, as well as manually save at phone boxes in key areas. The saving system is kinda strange because you can't die by platforming, only in combat. And combat is only a minor part of the game. (So far anyway). Some polish issues: - Input buffering could be slightly better in places given the demanding platforming some places have. - Ending(s?) are very abrupt, when they should slow down with some epilogue for a moment. - Music breaks at some rare times. - Menus with controller are slightly awkward (fine once you get the hang of it tho)

Un très bon jeu d'exploration/aventure et pour les plus nerds d'entre nous, développé en Common LISP.

Kandria is pretty unique as it gives you your whole moveset from the get go, making its expansive map akin to a metroidvania accessible from the very beginning, it never stops you in your exploration. I found said moveset very enjoyable and it made most of the exploration very interesting, the game also features a nice pixel art style and I was particularly fond of the light effects on the outside part of the map (too bad you don't spend much time there). That said I was surprised by how much celeste inspired precision platforming the game featured, it's not a bad thing in itself and most of it is pretty enjoyable but I felt that the movement in general wasn't precise enough to warrant the kind of platforming featured on the lower sections of the cave : While they weren't undoable at all, they felt a little too rigid in their execution which made these sections a little annoying for me. It's overall a good game that tries a bunch of interesting things but if you're interested, be ready for some pretty intensive platforming parts.

Here's my updated review after replaying... Kandria is a metroidvania focused on exploring and story elements. Despite having a wide range of epic combat abilities, there are only a few types of enemies and bosses. Your primary objective will be just flying deep into the depths to solve the mysteries before you. The pixel graphics are absolutely wonderful in-game imo. As for the character art... it definitely grew on me. The characters have some unique personalities that might not be so apparent without their portrait art. No complaints on the music. Could have had a larger selection during my first playthrough though. Spent a lot of time exploring every nook and cranny looking for secrets... And let me mention the movement for this game is really rewarding, in a Celeste skill manner. As you master your skills, which are all available from the start, you'll be able to navigate your way through dangerous obstacles with style... Took me about 8 - 16 hours for my first playthrough? Hard to say since I spent a lot of time trying to get gold on all the optional time trial missions. Bottomline... game grew on me. Wish it had more combat. Wish it had more optional dialogue to get to know the characters. But, I think I can safely recommend the game if you like what you are seeing on the store page. EDIT: Ran into some bugs with achievements and modding, will edit the review after it is fixed, or is determined it's just me... EDITEDIT: ...And it's fixed! Dev is quick to respond!

Yes.