Has the game become too easy?

[Chocos Ramabotti]

Ok it seems like I would complain all the time, but I'm really enjoying my time with Dandara again. I haven't played it since 1.0.0 but I remember that already the first area of the game wasn't quite easy and I died several times. Now it looks like i can simply blast through the game I don't know if it is my past experience but definitely thought you get more damage from enemies. The problem isn't per se how the difficulty is now since it's the first area. But I already habe upgraded my health to 5 and my salt to. I can heal 2 times 3 hearts. And enemies can only inflict me one heart damage. If it does further in that pacing I can practically steamroll through that game without ever fearing danger. Was it always like this? Cause the challenge of navigating and dangerous situations was already the drawing point of that game to me. I would be a shame if this is now gone jetzt because some game journalists complained.

[lrasomattos]

Hi Chocos! Dev here,
I can tell you we haven't made the game easier at all. We did add some options for players who have a hard time, but it's only if you choose them.

Also we did balance and tweaked some areas so that the difficulty curve felt a bit smoother, but I believe what you might be feeling is related to the fact that you have already played the game before. In Dandara knowing what you are doing and having improved your skills have a huge impact, greater than the power-ups/levels you got.

Don't worry though, I'm sure you'll still find your challenges, mainly when you enter the new areas, that you haven't seen before!

Now, if you finish the game still think it felt easy, I invite you to try the NewGame+! Starting a new save after finished you can choose to add some challenges. And personally, as someone who played thousands of hours of this game and know every one of it's secrets, I can guarantee that they really add to the fun and may require from you all of your skill!

(I specially like playing Vengeful Enemies challenge, combined with Saltless Enemies or Taked Double Damage - that's how we had fun at the office after testing the game for the millionth time!)

[Chocos Ramabotti]

Hmm smoothing things out...?
I can understand this, unfortunately i'm now at the new area and the game seems be even easier than at the beginning. I think it was a bad idea to add an area, which you can only proceed if you have enough hearts, because of this reason I felt like I have to invest much more upgrade points in health, since I cannot know how much experience I can still gain over the course of the game, in worst case I'm forced to grind.
But even aside from that, in my opinion you can become way too fast, way too strong. For some reason it never felt too easy back then (asides from the final boss, who was always a cakewalk)

Up to this point the expansion feels a bit boring, i mean sure it's still nice designed with some interesting ideas but I basically can ignore the leveldesign almost entirely which turns the game in some sort of walking simulator. You've place many traps along the way I can simply damage boost if I don't feel like playing along, this diminishes any sort of danger and makes me sorta impatient.
I dunno but with that little of input the game offers you I just blast my way through which is a shame since you put so much effort in these new areas.

The new teleporter beam by the ways also breaks some of the more clever puzzle in the main game (get yourself on purpose for example)
I do not remember to overcome the golden fortress so easily, I guess the game was at hardest in the desert area, after that the balanced sorta breaked.

I suppose the amount of exp you achieve in the game is way too much, on the other hand I can understand that you have to place more than necessary in case players loose their exp by dying. Dark Souls solved it with making the obtainable exp an consumeable.

To be honest I don't like the RPG aspect in this game at all, guess this game would be much easier to balance with an more linear upgrade system. Having 16 Hearts and healing yourself 9 times for 5 Hearts, while enemies inflict between 2-4 damage is ridiciolus I can play like the biggest iditot and still succeed. This is neither a smooth difficulty curve, nor a stimulating challenge at all.
I'm afraid that this game turns out mediocre on second glance.

I also cannot understand why you hide the difficulty modifiers behind a "new game+" I probably would have used them right from the get go. I'm not a big fan of playing through a place once just too reach to the fun part. The element of surprise has already been ruined.

Honestly I wish I could switch the game back to Vanilla, just so I can compare it better again.

[Chocos Ramabotti]

Ok I beat the final boss just recently and let me say this, it was an unbelieveable great experience. You guys managed to correct a flaw of the main game, which was the overall weak ending to me.
Still "smoothing" the difficulty curve sounds now even more hillarious since I struggled a lot with the final boss and don't misunderstand me that was a good sign. It's just that everything up to this point should have at least been several steps more unforgiving, since healing options and hearts are to plenty up to this point.
I mean really I loved especially the new caste level with it intriguing design, once again you designed a very clever interconnected world. The amount of new Content in the game is huge and I would dare to say it almost double as much content. So i'm really satisfied with the amount of content. I still think difficulty could go way more up in the new world. I'm pretty sure most people will easily reach the final boss and then wonder how hard it is, the game doesn't really prepare you in the new worlds for it.

Asides from this I still love the game it was just too easy at the endgame to be absolutely satisfying.

I mean when you put in Hidetaka Miyazaki and Koji Igarashi in your game I would expect something close to it in terms of difficulty.

[Zoracs]

I've finished this game about, maybe 7 times I believe, and the game certainly got easier, but only because I got better at it. I do agree that they added alot more salt in the new area that was not in the original, that is just more salt to level up with, and although I haven't finished a playthrough since the trials of fear came out, I will say this.

I finished this game with 3 Hearts, it was very hard but I did it. I think that is a testiment to my knowledge of the game, and not how much I grinded (I think I turned grinding off too). I do think the new area has been very challenging, but only because I don't understand it yet. Once I figure out the intricacies of the new content, it won't be hard anymore, but it will still be just as much of a blast.

[Sniper 1]

Just as a reference, I finished the game with two modifiers (double damage and vengeful enemies) and the true final boss took me little over TWO HOURS to beat, so yeah, not what I would call easy ;)

[Chocos Ramabotti]

Originally posted by Sniper 1:

Just as a reference, I finished the game with two modifiers (double damage and vengeful enemies) and the true final boss took me little over TWO HOURS to beat, so yeah, not what I would call easy ;)

yeah I played thorugh it too meanwhile, but I have to say the final boss was the only really difficult challenge in the game the rest was easy peasy you could practically damage boost yourself almost around everything. The final boss takes long enough that this wouldn't happen.

I didn't had these modifiers btw because I lack my save file from back then, where I played thorugh the game.