This is probably the most unique game in the metroidvania format because of its movement mechanic. Instead of free movement, you can only jump to specific static positions. They give you a bit of aim assist to make it all pretty fluid. Eventually you're so used to it that you're just bouncing around everywhere like it was second nature. The other major element to this game is its soulslike difficulty both in challenge of combat and the very low number of check/save points. You get something like the estus flasks to keep you alive between checkpoints and if you die you potentially go back a long way and lose your "salt". If you die before you collect your salt, you lose it just like in souls games (the salt is used as exp to level you up at checkpoints). The good thing is that certain changes you make to the world are permanent, such as flipping switches, so you can still make progress.

Exploration and variety of locations is pretty good. Some challenges are pretty annoying but not so much that I ever felt like rage quitting the game forever. Most of the bosses are very hard. There are a few "cheat"/accessibility options that permanently mark a save file unable to get certain achievements should you elect to use them.

There's a bug or two here and there but nothing that interfered with playing the game (after I was able to initially get it to recognize my controller inputs). The art is pretty good IMO and the story, while a little out there, doesn't hinder the game. This is a very imaginative and well-realized game. The developers tried something new and it works surprisingly well. Having the game be so hard probably limits the audience significantly but this is otherwise an extremely underrated game. If you like 2D metroidvanis and a higher than average difficulty then you're not going to go wrong with this game

great game and story as well as symbolism reflecting ones internal doubt and struggles yet surpassing them in the face of hope for more substance

this got to be one of the most unentertaining games I've ever played. felt literally nothing playing it. feels like devs just made a check-box list game (it has this and it has that and everything else) but forgot that games need to be entertaining and this game is just not.

battles suck (also enemies design is awkward, why am I fighting some furries with medieval weapons lmao),
platforming nonexistent (you can pretty much just spam jump 99% of the time and be just fine),
metroidvania aspect is tedious (I had several times when I needed to go somewhere and had to run in circles between rooms because there was a single predetermined sequence of rooms you need to go to succesfully proceed. it is connected with the fact that you can only move on salt surfaces and sometimes it is impossible to exit room in preferred direction just because there are no salt surface awailable for your current sequence. it is hard to explain).

anyway this game really is just not fun and art-direction also horrendous (but it's subjective).

after this game you will add more salt to your zero gravity food

This game revolutionized movement platformers by getting rid of the movement and keeping the platforms. Very cool.

I was really hoping this game would be good because I would love nothing more than to see Brazilian art excel on the global stage, so I'm glad this didn't disappoint me lol. The central conceit of the game felt really satisfying to play, it reminded me a lot of VVVVVV, which is already one of my favorite games, in that it has one core, unique mechanic that's been labored over extensively and being good at the game depends mostly on dominating that mechanic. I found the exploration very fun, I'm not accustomed to Metroidvanias but I'm hoping that other games in the genre feel as satisfying to go back to previous areas after you unlocked new abilities. The puzzles were also intricate and intriguing and the difficulty feels fair so far.

Most of all I was very impressed by the artistry of it. The game is filled with breathtaking and awe-inspiring moments, enabled by the fluidity of the gameplay allied to the beautifully evocative soundtrack and visuals. Each area is unique in its atmosphere with all of them being equally gripping in different ways.

The only underwhelming aspect of the game is the story. I believe other reviews have pointed out it's very simplistic, with an unearned sense of gravitas for how little meaning it actually has, but I don't have much issue with that, I see it as mostly the type of cheesy melodrama I already associate with retro games. My problem is moreso with Dandara's implicit mission statement of representing Brazilian history in broad strokes, which in tandem with the aforementioned oversimplification I find to have been done in poor taste. There appears to have been a hackneyed attempt at making a generalized statement about "freedom" by drawing parallels between colonial slavery and slave resistance to it (that's what Dandara - the real one - is known for after all) and the censorship of artistic expression by the military dictatorship of the 70's and 80's and subsequent artist resistance to it. Maybe this is just me being too sensitive but, huh, those are not the same thing lol. It would be one thing if the game highlighted more the aspects of the dictatorship related to types of violence more comparable to slavery - as they did happen! - but it's like the game is trying to avoid making the tone darker by delving into these much more clearly gruesome topics while still wanting the sense of importance of using a figure of resistance associated specifically with the struggle against slavery. On some level I wish they had committed more to either option and either gone full retro cheese or gone full historical drama. As it stands the story kinda feels like a missed opportunity.

Fantastic game! I reallly need to play this again since I dropped it years ago to play other games, but I really like the style and mechanics of this, and think it deserves more recognition. Definite recommend from me!! 👍🏽💯🖤

This is just a wonderful game.
I completed it for the first time on a phone, and subsequently having completed it on a PC, I can say that it is best to play this game either on a phone or on a gamepad, because a specific movement is quite difficult when playing with a mouse.

About the game:
The plot is quite straightforward, but at the same time it gives versatility to the lore, which in turn is perfectly depicted through many details, from the names of rooms and decorations to subtle notes.
An excellent movement in the game gives free rein to various types of challenges, including the games speedruns. As a fairly experienced platformer player, I got an incredible feeling from running through all sorts of rooms during a speedrun. Its a very cool feeling when you run through a room without even hitting or killing a single entity.
The combat in this game, although not the main thing, is still a well-executed component; the player, a little closer to the end of the game, is given many options for actions, which makes the game more varied.
The music is simply masterpiece, it perfectly complements the game in all sorts of moments. Tomaz Kaufman is simply a genius, I remembered him after the credits of the first time and have been listening to the OST of this game ever since.
Thanks to RowFury for another masterpiece of the indidev <3

Game is awesome.
Metroidvania with a different way to move you character, brings fresh playstyle with good looking visuals and story.
My only con is the last boss, the ight is really unfair, so prepare to get salty (ha ha).

A platformer with a mechanic so simply restrictive that it sounds daft:
You cannot move, only jump.

However, it works, and makes for a surprisingly fluid and fast paced action shooter.
Varied and challenging boss fights.

Some minor annoyances like heavy backtracking, a clunky manual checkpoint mechanic, a bit too many secret passages, and possibility to lose all your money if dying twice. But you could say these add an extra challenge.

Other than that a good 10-12 hours worth of action, possibly more if you want to ace every upgrade.