We had talked about Dap not too long ago in a news that put on the table comparisons with Pikmin and Princess Mononoke. This very special horror-tinged action-adventure, the first work of the independent micro-team Melting Parrot, does indeed have some points in common with the Nintendo series. The atmospheres, however, are totally different: instead of the colorful Pikmin we find pale and humanoid creatures that resemble the peaceful and luminous Kodama, the spirits of the trees seen in the masterpiece of Studio Ghibli. Instead of very bright and luxuriant alien environments there are strange forests that look more like a seabed rich in corals and sea anemones.
It seems like a peaceful place and indeed it was, until some sort of disease begins to corrupt everything, including the poor Daps who have the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You control one of them, a predestined who seems to share his sad yet ambitious fate with the tender Abe from the series developed by the Oddworld Inhabitants. Like him, he will have to strengthen himself and gather his fellow men to get to the heart of corruption and eradicate it.
He will initially have very few arrows in his bow. He will be able to use a single melee attack and one at a distance linked to the movement of a light source useful both to illuminate the path and to explode the enemies with which it comes into contact. Initially they are more than enough to go on, but as the adventure progresses you will have to count on the famous saying “unity is strength”. As you meet other Daps you will have to convince them to join your cause, it is not a complicated undertaking, just greet them and press the button in charge of the command “Hey, how about you come with me to help me and risk your life?” .
It all goes on with a mix of fights and environmental puzzles related to the use of your pale friends. Many of the passages are in fact blocked and to make them accessible it is necessary to have an X number of Daps, depending above all on the importance of the portal in question. The little ones know how to do it and there is no need to tell them where to go, they will automatically position themselves on their pads to activate them and help you continue.
The story is different when it comes to surviving among the 1000 dangers that concern you, in that your companions depend on you but if used in the right way they will give you much more than a hand. Part of your powers will be amplified based on the amount of Daps you bring with you and believe it, going forward the troop will have to be quite fed in order not to risk too much. The difficulty level is in fact anything but laughable and if some losses can be taken into account, especially when you have to deal with larger groups of corrupt, the same cannot be said of your hero. It is quite fragile and often a couple of hits are enough to send it back to the last checkpoint passed.
In extreme cases you can use potions capable of regenerating your energy, as long as you have “crafted” them in the special altars with the luminescent mushrooms that you have recovered around: every 25 of these will yield you a bottle that will restore a good part of your health. Your little Dap is also not indefatigable, he too has his beautiful Stamina bar that decreases every time you use a series of attacks or the evasive move, which going forward will become essential to evade the “attentions” of much older friends, powerful and fast of you.
At the end of each level the reward will be an oasis of safety where your Daps can find a safe and definitive refuge, just like the portals where we led the Mudokons to restore their freedom. However, this means that the next chapter will see you starting over on your own again, with the same goal of finding other friends to back up with. Without even realizing it you will discover more and more details on the reason that led to the corruption and on the history of the Daps itself, which at the beginning is not explained at all.
For its debut in the crowded world of video games, Melting Parrot has chosen a title with interesting atmospheres and simple but pleasant mechanics, which nevertheless require a good dose of attention and reflexes. The narrative component is revealed slowly (perhaps a bit too slowly) and relies on the player’s exploratory attitude. The code is clean and we have never had any signs of a crisis, although in some cases the action becomes quite frenetic. Consider buying if you want a new Indie without too many frills, a one-shot capable of giving you satisfaction by making the right efforts.
7
/ 10
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