Kandria

This game is an absolute blast! The world map is interesting to explore, with political intrigue and tidbits of lore tucked all about varied environments. If you're looking for an open world with plenty of platforming challenges where the only limits are your own abilities, then this is the game for you! I adore the level design and the philosophy of no place being item-gated. Whenever I would encounter a particularly challenging room/path that I didn't feel like messing with, I would find that there were usually plenty of other options to approach my objective or other avenues begging to be explored and mapped while just enjoying the chill post-apocalyptic vibes. The platforming is fluid, satisfying, and really plays well into the only exploratory limits of the world being the player's skill with game's mechanics. When I would die, I felt like it was my fault, never the game. The combat sections in this game are simple but extremely fun when they pop-up and really introduce some extra variety and tension between the save locations. As you explore and level up, you'll become more survivable and you'll also have the ability to upgrade your sword if the enemies are giving you…

It's a precision-platformer with pretty simple combat. The accessibility configuration to slow time is helpful, but even with it, some of the rooms are quite hard to get through. As described, you can travel anywhere from the start of the game, which means there are no interesting upgrades: you can make your sword stronger, and I think you gradually increase hit points over time. Choices in conversations also don't seem to have any effect. The end of the game also just stops, without resolving any of the mysteries raised during the game.

Kandria is a distinctive 2D action RPG that blends open-world exploration, precision platforming, combat, quests, and quieter side activities within a post-apocalyptic setting. Developed and published by Shirakumo Games, the game places players in control of an android who awakens in the remains of a civilization that has largely disappeared. Instead of presenting the ruined world as little more than a backdrop for constant fighting, Kandria builds its adventure around discovering what remains, interacting with survivors, uncovering forgotten history, and deciding how to become involved in the conflicts of the people who now inhabit the valley. One of the game's strongest design choices is its approach to exploration. Kandria avoids conventional ability-based progression in which certain locations remain inaccessible until a specific movement upgrade is acquired. The protagonist already possesses the necessary mobility to explore the world, so reaching difficult places depends more heavily on the player's ability to use those movement mechanics effectively. This creates an unusually liberating structure. Discovering an intimidating route does not necessarily mean returning several…

Great little game. Made from scratch top to bottom with aspects only somewhat similar to other games and so clearly a creation from the heart by the developer. Looking forward to seeing what else they come up with

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 slight…