Dandy Ace

About

"Dandy Ace" is a fast-paced, rogue-lite game where you play as a magician named Dandy Ace, fighting your way through a cursed mirror and Lele's ever-changing palace. Combine magical cards with over a thousand possibilities, each with their own playstyles and powers. With replayability and adrenaline of a rogue-like, the goal is to defeat the Green-Eyed Illusionist, Lele, by trying, dying, and trying again.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

80%

Audience ScoreBased on 290 reviews

gameplay39 positive mentions

grinding7 negative mentions

The card system allows for a lot of creativity and customization in combat, enabling players to create unique combos and strategies.
The art style and character design are vibrant and charming, contributing to an engaging atmosphere.
The game offers a fun and lighthearted narrative with humorous dialogue, making it enjoyable to play.

The game can feel repetitive due to limited enemy variety and level design, leading to a lack of engagement over time.
The absence of invincibility frames during dodges can lead to frustrating moments, especially in crowded combat situations.
The narrator's constant commentary can become annoying, detracting from the overall experience.

gameplay
105 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
57%
6%
The gameplay is characterized by a fast-paced, card-based combat system that allows for creative combinations and strategic depth, reminiscent of titles like Hades and Dead Cells. While many players appreciate the smooth mechanics and unique card interactions, some criticize the gameplay for feeling shallow or clunky, with a lack of polish and a steep learning curve due to complex mechanics. Overall, the game offers enjoyable moments but may not appeal to everyone due to its situational gameplay and potential repetitiveness.
- “The gameplay is rapid, and it moves very smoothly.”
- “It's relatively intuitive, but the mechanics still have a lot of depth to them.”
- “Dandy Ace is an extremely solid roguelite that has an awesome card combo mechanic that really brings the game to the next level.”
- “But it is in the moment-to-moment gameplay where it becomes far too situational to recommend to a wide audience.”
- “The gameplay is running around, stop, throw hundreds of cards at the enemies (I still got the throwing sound in my ear, it's that annoying) and repeat.”
- “It's a game that obviously tries to be like Hades and other Supergiant games but lacks the gameplay polish that those games have.”
story
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
65%
6%
The story in the game is generally considered weak and simplistic, often described as juvenile or threadbare, with many reviewers noting it lacks depth and a satisfying conclusion. While some appreciate its whimsical and comedic elements, the narrative is often seen as an afterthought, primarily serving to facilitate gameplay rather than engage players. Overall, players are advised not to expect a compelling story, as it is overshadowed by the game's mechanics and aesthetics.
- “The story is quite simple and whimsical where a 'great' magician has trapped Dandy Ace and his two assistants in a magical mirror world where he's basically king.”
- “It's a Saturday morning cartoon story, nothing deep but lovely and wears its heart on its sleeve.”
- “The gameplay was crisp, there was a story, it had fantastic voice acting, and there was a sense of progression in the unlocks.”
- “The weakest point of Dandy Ace, I would say, is the story.”
- “There is no grand overarching story, big character choices to make, or any other distractions from the constant fighting that is going to take place.”
- “The story is incredibly threadbare and not even worth speaking about.”
graphics
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
43%
6%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and vibrant art style, which enhances the whimsical tone and humor of the gameplay. While many players appreciate the aesthetic and colorful visuals, some note that the environments lack diversity and can feel cluttered, impacting gameplay visibility. Overall, the artwork is considered a strong point, contributing to the game's appeal despite some calls for additional polish and variety.
- “The artwork is charming, and the voice acting is mainly passable.”
- “Loved the setting and beautiful graphics 👌🏻”
- “Dandy Ace is a really fun roguelite, with amazing visuals, great humor and a deeply customizable ability system, with lots of stuff to unlock.”
- “Outside of the in-game graphics, there isn't much to see here.”
- “The combat is fine, but the dash you have to dodge just is far too ineffective and I found myself getting cheap-shotted a lot because the visuals are quite cluttered. Some solid color contrast between projectiles and the foreground would've helped that.”
- “The environments aren't diversified enough and the whole aesthetic has a real 'samey' feel.”
music
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
50%
11%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its charm and suitability to the gameplay, while others find it generic and repetitive. While many enjoy the soundtrack as a fun accompaniment to the experience, a notable number of reviewers feel it lacks depth and could have better matched the game's theme. Overall, the music is considered decent but not exceptional, with some players opting to play their own music instead.
- “A nice roguelike with a cool theme, pretty artwork, and a fun soundtrack.”
- “Dandy Ace is a really cool indie game; the card system is really fun, and the stages and music are really well made.”
- “The background music is fun and enjoyable to listen to while playing.”
- “The one area where this game falls flat for me is the music.”
- “I found the music boring, repetitive, and mismatched with the rest of the experience.”
- “The music didn’t really impress me that much; it really felt like a generic soundboard composition.”
replayability
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
63%
16%
Replayability in this game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the variety of difficulty settings, unlockables, and different builds that encourage multiple playthroughs, others find the gameplay stale and lacking depth. Many reviews highlight that although the game can be enjoyable for a limited time, it may not sustain long-term interest for all players, particularly those not deeply invested in the genre. Overall, the replay value is seen as decent but not exceptional, with some players noting it could provide hours of fun while others feel it falls short of expectations for a roguelike.
- “With four different difficulty settings and an innumerable number of combat combinations, there's a lot of replayability here.”
- “High replay value and addictive.”
- “I haven't played much but I've just finished my first run, and I've seen tons of different weapons, powers, and upgrades, so I can see good replayability in the future.”
- “Not as much depth or replay value as its inspirations, but still provided quality entertainment for a few days.”
- “A very tentative 'no' review, because this game is quite fun for about 3 hours which is pretty good for the price, and I can see some people getting even more out of it, but it really lacked a lot of the replayability and variety that roguelikes should have.”
- “The game has very little replayability; I wanted to quit in the middle of the nightmare run because of how stale the game is.”
humor
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek tone and comedic character designs. While some voice lines become repetitive over time, the overall charm, engaging dialogue, and entertaining narrative contribute to a fun experience. The game's art style and quirky characters enhance its comedic appeal, making it a refreshing break from darker themes in gaming.
- “Dandy Ace has a lot of charm, is very well balanced, is funny, has a nice graphic style, and although I already finished the run once, I plan to beat the other bosses and get the other keys just for fun.”
- “The fighting is satisfying, the enemies are hilariously designed, the characters are funny as well, and I love the setting with the magicians and everything.”
- “The humor is very tongue-in-cheek, which I like, and the game never really takes itself too seriously.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with limited healing and low rewards contributing to a slow and repetitive experience. While the card system offers some initial excitement and customization, it ultimately leads to a cumbersome gameplay loop that feels overly grindy, especially in a rogue-lite context. Overall, the enjoyment is diminished by the excessive amount of grinding required for meaningful progress.
- “Ultimately, the complexity that initially is very exciting proves to be very tedious in trying to think out the best combos for your cards.”
- “A fun idea that some narration could be built of, but it gets tedious even two hours in.”
- “For a rogue-lite game, this is an utterly annoying and tedious gameplay loop.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The atmosphere of the game is noted for its unique art style and attention to detail, creating an engaging environment that enhances the overall experience. While some players find it less enjoyable compared to similar games like Hades, many appreciate the distinct feel and the dedication of the development team in crafting a fun atmosphere.
- “The game's art and atmosphere is also great.”
- “It's an amazing game with a very unique style and atmosphere with a wonderful dev team behind it which really wants you to have fun!”
- “If you've played Hades, this game is similar, but with a different feel and atmosphere.”
- “A very unique art style with various little details regarding objects, levels, scenes, and the atmosphere.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional impact of the game to be profound, with many expressing that the art and storytelling evoke strong feelings, even leading to tears. However, some critiques suggest that certain elements, like the music and sound design, could be improved to enhance the overall emotional experience.
- “Like they are touching you.”
- “All the puns and the amazing art made me cry.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Overall, players find the optimization aspects of the game to be a mixed bag; while there are interesting choices to be made, the simplistic effects limit their potential. Many users believe that certain elements could benefit from further refinement and optimization to enhance the overall experience.
- “It makes for interesting choices and optimizations.”
- “Even though I really liked playing it, there are some little things which I am sure can be fixed or optimized.”
- “[h2]Performance/Controls:[/h2]”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game features impressive character designs and voice acting that enhance its aesthetic appeal, even in the absence of a deep narrative. While it excels as a roguelike with diverse environments and engaging gameplay elements, the character development itself is not a primary focus compared to its visual and mechanical strengths.
- “It's a really stellar indie game with cool character designs full of voice acting.”
- “The aesthetic and character design are another matter; they shine bright even without any given story context.”
- “There are several different tilesets, a bunch of different enemies, cool bosses with great character design, loads of unlockables, different difficulties, etc.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
- “I was disappointed by how predictable the character arcs were; they didn't evolve in any meaningful way.”
- “The lack of meaningful choices in character development left me feeling detached from the story.”