|| PREVIEW || Dandy Ace (PC)
Developed By : Mad Mimic Published By : Mad Mimic
Category : Action, Indie, Roguelike
Release Date : February 2021
As of late, gaming has seemingly entered a phase of making just about everything into some form of a roguelike. And I don't mean this negatively, it's a great genre and when the game is done right it's an instant chef's kiss. But, for fans of the genre, which I definitely consider myself to be, this also means a time when things released under this banner will come under heavy scrutiny. These games will be compared, making note of which title borrows which mechanic from that other title, and so on.
Mad Mimic's upcoming title Dandy Ace is one such title, and over the past couple of weeks I've gotten to enjoy some time on an incomplete build of the game. Even though it's incomplete though, the game looks extremely impressive as it is in it's current state.
You play the titular character, Dandy Ace, trapped inside a maze of a palace by Lele the Green-Eyed Illusionist. To earn your freedom you'll need to collect a vast array of cards to use in your fight through the palaces many areas. The cards you find will act as your powers and attacks, including things like a magical punch, or distance-covering orbs of damage to attack some enemies from afar.
Some of the cards you find will be the same moves and powers with improved stats, meaning you can swap them in and out as you see fit. Others can be "stacked" onto a card to provide a bonus effect when triggered such as extra damage or applying a status to your enemy that you've struck.
Right away the game felt very familiar to me and was so easy to fall into. One of the easiest draws I was able to make to another game was the safe zone area between locations in the palace. Here you are able to dump the currency you pick up on your runs into abilities and other cards to use, as well as refill your health and purchase new abilities before you venture out into the next warzone. I'm not sure if it's the first game to have done it, but this immediately reminded me of Dead Cells, another roguelike I absolutely love, so it just helped lock me in for this title.
As of right now, like I mentioned, Dandy Ace is not a complete game, but it sure feels like it. The team is working on a bunch of improvements to put into the game between now and it's new projected release date, such as a new game mode, more skills and powers, and improvements to the narrative of the game. If this game is fantastic the way it is now, I can't wait to see how it is when things are wrapped up.
If you're a little on the impatient side, you can check out the playable demo of the game on Steam, and if you want more, I'll definitely be including this game in my rotation on stream, so come check it out on Twitch.
