Kandria

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.

Yes.

Extremely fun. If you like spike puzzles (think VVVVVV) you'll love it. The map tracker and quest system are really amazing. Also, if you CS, this was implemented in CL ;-)

The platforming gets kind of frustrating without a gamepad, but I keep wanting to play it so it must be doing something right. I really like the exploration aspect and the traversal mechanics, but the fights are kind of meh. So far I haven't run into an enemy encounter where spamming quick attack wasn't the best option. I think the enemies and the combat could be reworked a bit to be more synergistic with the platforming and to make each encounter a bit more unique. Over all it's an enjoyable experience and it's cool that large portions of the game are open source, so if the trailers got you intrigued, give it a go.

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!

Kandria is fun, a little on the ridiculously hard side. Platforming is a bit sometimes tedious or unfair, and I wish there was more variety than simply avoid the spikes. But it's still fun overall.

Really nice game! I loved the soundtrack, pixel art graphics and the tight controls. Together with the huge map and story, make for a nice immersive experience. The combats gets nicer once you figure out the dodging and the different combos, and exploring is fun because you find hidden places, new biomes, as well as solving tight platforming levels, which is another strong point of the game. If things get a bit tough, the game gives you accessibility options for both the platforming and combat experience, which is very nice and very few games offer.