Dros (XSX) Review

Published by RedDeer.Games, Dros is an adventurous platformer mainly based around environmental puzzle solving.

The gameplay gimmick comes from controlling two unique characters at once. Captain, a knight that can swing a sword but cannot jump, and a Dros, a blob of black goo that can double jump but cannot attack. Together, they make an interesting and unexpected pair geared towards helping each other. For example, you might need to jump to the other side of that bridge to hit a switch to make a platform appear so the knight can walk over it. Gameplay almost reminds me of something like Captain Toad Treasure Tracker meets Banjo Kazooie-lite.

This is a lengthy quest. With over three dozen stages and tons of optional collectables to snag, this is a beefy adventure that should keep completionists busy for hours. In fact, the game provides a tally screen at the end of each stage, letting the player how many items were missed along with a par time. However, in order to beat the par time, there is no way to grab all the collectables so playing through each stage multiple times is required if you wanted to 100% your save file.

There might even be too many stages in this long quest as exploration and combat repetition set in long before the credits roll. It isn’t terrible but there are only so many switches you’ll want to hit, invisible bridges to navigate, and weighted door panels to stand on because you start rolling a few eyes. The game’s initial unanimated loading screen also takes forever. In fact, it takes so long to load I thought the game froze.

I appreciate the extreme juxtaposition of controlling this dynamic duo and it results in some interesting stage design with creative solutions. However, I have two complaints that cannot go unnoticed. First, the camera can zoom but there is no option to adjust the angle. This makes jumping tricky as it is difficult to determine depth. The restricted camera perspective holds back the experience because you cannot see what’s in the distance, probably where that switch or collectable is. Secondly, the double jump of the goo glob is very loose and inaccurate. There is also a slight slide to its movements too. Point being, it is overly easy to over jump into a pit or glide off a ledge. Thankfully, there is a lenient checkpoint system so restarting isn’t the end of the world.

Combat, unfortunately, takes a backseat to the environmental puzzle solving. Armed with a simple sword swipe and shield block, there isn’t much to the knight’s combat. Since fighting is so simple, common enemies essentially just get in the way and boss battles aren’t anything special. Still, defeating all the enemies, even the most common ones, is almost necessary since they just get in the way. If you don’t take them out, they become annoying as they often distract you from that important jump you need to clear.

Dros is far from a bad game and offers some enjoyable 3D-esque environmental puzzle solving with an interesting character swapping mechanic. It just isn’t the most engaging but perfectly playable in short bursts. This is one of those games where you can play one 10-minute level a day and be perfectly satisfied, taking a good month to clear through casual play.

Not As Good As: Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)

Better Than: any of the simulators or roguelites released this week

Wait For It: Banjo Threeie

By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com

Twitter: @ZackGaz

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