Skip to main content

Dandy Ace

Dandy Ace Game Cover
80%Game Brain Score
gameplay, story
grinding, optimization
79% User Score Based on 316 reviews
Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchPCXbox Game PassCloudMac OSPlaystation 4Xbox OneXbox Cloud GamingXboxSteam DeckWindowsPlayStation
Buy Nowfrom $16.56
Buy NowGet on Steam $19.99Buy NowGet on Xbox Games Store
Dandy Ace Game Cover

About

Dandy Ace is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Mad Mimic and was released on March 25, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"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
Dandy Ace screenshot
Dandy Ace screenshot
Dandy Ace screenshot
Dandy Ace screenshot
Dandy Ace screenshot
Dandy Ace screenshot
Dandy Ace screenshot
Dandy Ace screenshot
Dandy Ace screenshot
Dandy Ace screenshot
Dandy Ace screenshot
+5
Skip User Reviews

79%
Audience ScoreBased on 316 reviews
gameplay41 positive mentions
grinding8 negative mentions
  • The card system allows for a high degree of customization and creativity in combat, enabling players to mix and match abilities for unique strategies.
  • The art style and music are vibrant and charming, contributing to an engaging atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
  • The game offers a variety of difficulties and challenges, providing replayability and reasons to keep playing beyond the initial completion.
  • The lack of invincibility frames during dodges can lead to frustrating moments where players are hit despite timing their movements correctly.
  • Enemy attacks can feel overwhelming due to poor visibility and hitbox issues, making it difficult to avoid damage in chaotic situations.
  • The narrative and character interactions can become repetitive, with limited dialogue that detracts from the overall immersion of the game.
  • gameplay
    107 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game is characterized by a fast-paced, card-based combat system that allows for unique combinations and strategies, reminiscent of titles like Hades and Dead Cells. While many players appreciate the depth and creativity of the card mechanics, some criticize the gameplay for feeling clunky and overly complex, leading to a repetitive loop that may not appeal to a wider audience. Overall, the game offers enjoyable moments but lacks the polish and engagement found in its more refined counterparts.

    • “The gameplay is rapid, and it moves very smoothly.”
    • “The art is cute and colorful, the abilities are cool and the primary/secondary spell mixing mechanic is a genuinely interesting twist.”
    • “Dandy Ace is an extremely solid roguelite that has an awesome card combo mechanic that really brings the game to the next level.”
    • “All these points force you into this start-and-stop style gameplay where you unload your attacks, kill a few enemies, retreat so your cooldowns can reset.”
    • “The gameplay plays exactly like Hades, but just feels much clunkier and lacks the fluidity of that game. The card mechanics sound cool but come across as overly complex for no real reason, making it hard to understand their effects.”
    • “For a rogue-lite game, this is an utterly annoying and tedious gameplay loop.”
  • story
    52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in the game is generally considered weak and simplistic, often described as a juvenile, whimsical setup that lacks depth and a conclusive ending. While some players find it entertaining in a lighthearted way, many agree that it serves primarily as a backdrop to the gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. Overall, the story is seen as an afterthought, with repetitive dialogue and minimal character development, making it less engaging for those seeking a rich narrative experience.

    • “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.”
    • “However, I think repeating the same levels over and over is not very fun and the story is extremely poor.”
    • “The story is incredibly threadbare and not even worth speaking about.”
    • “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.”
  • graphics
    49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant and charming art style, which adds a whimsical touch to the overall experience. Many players appreciate the colorful visuals and unique aesthetic, although some note that the environments could benefit from more variety. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal, enhancing its fun and lighthearted tone.

    • “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.”
    • “Eh, it's all aesthetic and the gameplay loop isn't very satisfying.”
    • “Outside of the in-game graphics, there isn't much to see here.”
    • “The environments aren't diversified enough and the whole aesthetic has a real 'samey' feel.”
  • music
    40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its charm and suitability for gameplay, while others find it generic, repetitive, or mismatched with the game's theme. While many enjoy the soundtrack as a pleasant backdrop, a notable number of reviewers express disappointment, suggesting it could have been more innovative or engaging. Overall, the music contributes positively to the experience but lacks the standout quality seen in top-tier titles.

    • “Other things of note are the music and graphics being ultra stylish and add a lot of charm to this game.”
    • “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, stages and music are really well made.”
    • “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
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players finding it lacking in depth and variety, particularly in roguelite elements and map choices, leading to a sense of staleness. However, others appreciate the multiple difficulty settings and diverse combat combinations, suggesting that there is potential for replay value, especially for dedicated fans of the genre. Overall, while some enjoy the replayability offered through unlockables and different modes, many feel it falls short compared to other titles in the genre.

    • “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.”
    • “As a roguelite enthusiast, I was sadly disappointed by the replay value and diversity in viable builds. Even map choices had no incentive to choose a harder map, so you played the exact same route every time.”
    • “Not as much depth or replay value as its inspirations, but still provided quality entertainment for a few days.”
    • “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
    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by self-deprecating and childish lines that initially amuse but can become repetitive and annoying over time. While many players appreciate the charming and lighthearted tone, along with the comedic design of characters and enemies, some find the limited voice lines lead to a decline in comedic impact. Overall, the game is praised for its fun, tongue-in-cheek humor and engaging storytelling, providing a refreshing contrast to darker themes in other titles.

    • “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.”
    • “This one is really fun; the art style really carries the lighthearted tone, and the narrator/villain really hits that sweet spot in humor of being so comedic levels of petty and pathetic.”
    • “An incredibly entertaining roguelite with a fresh setting, fun combat system, fantastic voice acting, and a great sense of humor.”
  • grinding
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be frustrating and tedious, particularly due to the slow progression and limited healing options that lead to repetitive gameplay. While the card system offers some unique mechanics, the overall experience is marred by the excessive number of runs required for upgrades and the lack of meaningful rewards, making the grind feel unnecessarily burdensome.

    • “That, paired with the first boss being a slog of a fight that grinds down your HP, forcing you to have to do multiple runs just to acquire the first health upgrade, makes the experience frustrating and tedious.”
    • “For a rogue-lite game, this is an utterly annoying and tedious gameplay loop.”
    • “Sadly, the 'unlocks' feel way too grindy and don't add anything but just doing 532 runs for the permanent unlock.”
  • atmosphere
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    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 titles 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

    Players find the emotional aspect of the game deeply impactful, with many expressing that the art and storytelling evoke strong feelings, even leading to tears. However, some feel that certain elements, like the music and sound effects, could be improved to enhance the overall emotional experience.

    • “Like they are touching you.”
    • “All the puns, the amazing art, made me cry.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    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 detract from the potential depth. 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

    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, standing alongside other gameplay mechanics rather than driving the story forward.

    • “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.”
Skip Critic Reviews

80%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
Skip Game Offers

Buy Dandy Ace

16h Median play time
13h Average play time
5-20h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like Dandy Ace

Games Like Dandy Ace

Curse of the Dead Gods Image
84%6.9kreviews

Curse of the Dead Gods

2021Role Playing
Nintendo SwitchEpic GamesPlaystation 4+10
Have a Nice Death Image
83%4.5kreviews

Have a Nice Death

2023Arcade Platformer
Nintendo SwitchPlaystation 5Playstation 4+10
Dreamscaper Image
88%2.5kreviews

Dreamscaper

2021Role Playing Shooter
Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPC+7
Astral Ascent Image
91%2.3kreviews

Astral Ascent

2023Casual Platformer
Nintendo SwitchLinuxPC+7
Crown Trick Image
82%1kreviews

Crown Trick

2020Role Playing
Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPC+5
More games like Dandy Ace
Skip Game News

Dandy Ace sees you feeling fancy in this roguelike isometric dungeon-crawler on iOS and Android

November 28 on pocketgamer.com
Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Dandy Ace is a action adventure game.

Dandy Ace is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac OS, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 13 hours playing Dandy Ace.

Dandy Ace was released on March 25, 2021.

Dandy Ace was developed by Mad Mimic.

Dandy Ace has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.

Dandy Ace is a single player game.

Similar games include Curse of the Dead Gods, Have a Nice Death, Dreamscaper, Astral Ascent, Crown Trick and others.