Brotherhood, Metal, and Even An Alchemist: A DROS Review

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC

I've had a love/hate relationship with 3D platformers over the years, especially ones that try to add in too many gimmicks in an attempt to set them apart from the crowd. I guess it makes sense then that I decided to review DROS, an action platformer that features a twin character system, sort of like what you'd find in a game like Banjo-Kazooie, as well as puzzle platformer elements, like what you'd find in the Oddworld series. It recently released on the Nintendo Switch, following an earlier release on Steam, and it's that version that we're going to be taking a look at today. There's a lot of ground to cover in this one, so let's dive right in!

What did he just say?

Time to make a run for it!

DROS tells the story of two unlikely allies, a bounty hunter named Captain who is finds himself near death following a botched mission, and a Dros named Little Dros whose very existence is rather precarious as she is currently searching for a much-needed Shell. Dros are slime-like creatures that live their life in Shells like hermit crabs, and they are also servants of a being known only as The Alchemist. Little Dros' escape brings her to the side of Captain and she agrees to fix him up if he agrees to become her Shell. Captain doesn't have much choice in the matter, so their alliance is set. Thus is born a symbiotic relationship that runs the entire course of the game. Prior to being left on the verge of death, Captain was attempting to locate The Alchemist's Flute, a flute which The Alchemist uses to assert control over the Dros. Seeing as they're both currently stuck in The Alchemist's Tower, our unlikely duo decide to see Captain's original goal to fruition, and maybe confront The Alchemist along the way. Through the course of the journey you learn more about the world of DROS, its inhabitants, and the lives of both The Alchemist and the Dros themselves. It's all a rather whimsical, and occasionally complicated, tale that is told in pieces so as not to bog down players with a lot of lore at once. I definitely was impressed with the story, as it's not often that one with this many layers is found within a platformer. That said, players not caring for all the lore can easily go through the game ignoring much of it, and only paying attention to certain bits as needed. Still, it's a story that can draw players in, and it has more than its share of twists, turns, surprises, and even touching moments. With that bit out of the way, let's move on and discuss the complicated matter of gameplay.

And so it begins...

The other dros are so mean.

I sort of hinted at it earlier, but DROS walks a fine line between of being an action platformer and being a puzzle platformer. There are long stretches of the game where you'll use the Captain's skills to attack and open up new areas, but most of the actual platforming will be done by Little Dros. That's probably the most important aspect of the game, the fact that Little Dros is able to exist outside of her Captain-shaped Shell. One hit will take her out in this form, though you'll still have to weather that possible outcome often in order to advance. On the other hand, Captain can take more damage, attack enemies, reflect certain projectiles, and defend. He can also move slightly faster if a button is held, and eventually gains additional skills. Besides acting as the offensive and defensive line, one of Captain's main tasks involves interacting with any object too big for Little Dros. This means you'll need him to open doors, hit large switches, or destroy barriers. Little Dros is the only part of the two-member equation that can actually jump, and she can even pull off a double jump when needed. Besides being the platformer-skilled one, Little Dros can also operate simple machines, pass through small openings and pipes, press small buttons and switches, and even reveal paths not open to Captain. The latter is an odd skill as you'll have to make note of things that only Little Dros can see, and then hopefully remember the layout when you reunite with Captain. Together they're able to navigate each of the game's many levels, though it may be worth mentioning that while Little Dros can detach himself from Captain at any time, Captain needs Little Dros in order to move and live. Weird how that kind of thing can work sometimes, but I'm rooting for Little Dros anyway.

Captain has to do all the fighting.

Little Dros does have some skills of her own.

​Everything within The Alchemist's Tower runs off of Prima, and this is the main item you'll encounter within DROS. Prima can be used as a simple collectable, much like coins in the Super Mario series, or used to activate powers via Little Dros. Each level has a goal to hit regarding Prima, so some players may want to hoard as much of it as they can. That's only its secondary use though. With the aid of Prima, Captain is able to dash or perform his special skills, and the use of these is unavoidable in some levels. Prima is also used to heal and revive Captain, so it's best to always keep your stock high. Prima is found scattered throughout, left behind by defeated enemies, and can even be picked up from vending machines. It probably goes without saying that Prima is a heavy plot component within the world of DROS, as life in The Tower seems to be very much reliant on it.

The World of DROS is split into four main regions, each having about ten levels each. There are no boss encounters in the traditional sense, though you will occasionally face off against enemies that are more powerful than the standard types. Instead of bosses, DROS introduces Dragnaughts. Dragnaughts are large, level-size creations of The Alchemist that you'll have to take down through a series of interconnected puzzles and item acquisitions. This actually works out very similar to the Divine Beast dungeons from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild. Each level is also a bit odd in that they're not just pure platforming. Some take place in actual towns or city-like areas, and you'll often be able to enter houses and engage with NPCs in between the action. This seamlessly blends together video game elements in a way that I don't think I've seen done elsewhere. It's by no means an open world set up because each stage still occupies only a minute area, but it's a nice touch nevertheless.

This is something of a boss.

Don't forget to master the reflect.

The goal in each level is to reach the elevator that takes you up The Tower, though you can of course revisit each level as you desire once completed. That last point is actually very important as there are quite a few collectables and hidden items to be found with the world of DROS. Admittedly I was nowhere near a completionist in my run for this review, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit to going back to a level if I recalled a path I didn't take. Most important of the collectables would have to be the Moderat pieces. These pieces come together to make machines known as... well, Moderats, that are needed in order to take down The Alchemist once and for all. Though you can clear the game without collecting them all, I assume one gets a different ending with them. If only some of them weren't extremely hard to get. I already mentioned the collecting aspect around the Prima, but there are other drops and items that can be amassed too.

While the various elements of gameplay might sound a bit confusing when just laid out in text and screenshots, I personally felt that the gameplay loop in DROS was quite enjoyable. Each stage feels like a sizable chunk of the overall journey, and finding their solutions was often quite satisfying. It helps that new lore and story bits are weaved into the gameplay too, and you of course gain new skills and abilities as the game progresses. I did find myself missing the more obvious goalposts like boss encounters, but the Dragnaught stages were a neat replacement in the long run. I found myself going through the game in rather big bursts of gameplay, simply because of how endearing the Little Dros/Captain combo was. Their banter was always amusing, and there's a charm to the whole experience that I find difficult to put into words. That said, even though I think the experience is largely a positive one, there are more than a few issues that I think should be addressed before moving on.

Part of me does miss traditional bosses.

They do look cool though.

I've sort of danced around the topic of controls, even though they're very important in platformers of all types, simply because I wasn't sure how I'd go about pointing out my issues with them. Let me avoid that discussion once again, and instead talk about the game's wonky camera first. I mentioned at the top of this review that I'm not a fan of 3D platformers, and one of the biggest reasons as to why has to do with the fact that a competent camera seems to be hit or miss within the genre. DROS' camera isn't the worst I've ever seen, but it also isn't great by any means. There were several parts of every stage where I never felt comfortable traversing because the camera was never in the right place. Even the ability to gain an eagle eye's view (a skill you unlock partway through the first area) doesn't always help things. Going hand in hand with those camera issues is the fact that Little Dros has one of the floatiest jumps I've ever encountered in a game like this. While you do have the ability to completely control her trajectory while in the air, it doesn't always help when the platforms you are aiming for are barely bigger than she is. Thankfully death is fixed with a quick respawn, but you can often be sent far back in the jumping section. It's not just Little Dros though, as Captain's combat controls are just as bad. I never once felt confident in my attacking skills, and there were several combat encounters that I won by pure chance. Getting the Prima goals in each stage was pretty much always a nope from me, as most of each stage's Prima simply went to keeping Captain alive. Then there's the biggest problem of all, the feeling of being lost within the game's levels. Now I don't mean lost as in not knowing where to go, though that is sometimes the case, but lost as in simply not knowing what is expected of you. The game often shows you little picture-in-picture videos of what you're supposed to do in order to clear an area, but they come and go so quickly that I more often than not missed them entirely. There were levels that took me twenty minutes to clear because I missed a switch that I needed, or accidentally ignored the video that showed me where I needed to jump to get to the next area. I guess more observant players than me might have less issues on that front, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who will spend half of the time wondering what to do next.

These snake-like enemies are annoying.

So many to collect!

I think that's enough about gameplay, let's tackle the visuals next. Even though I personally like the visual style found in DROS, I have to admit that it may look quite dated to modern eyes. Even though the entire world is in 3D, the graphics feel like they'd be comfortably at home in a high-end PS2 title, or maybe a lower-end PS3 one. They don't push the hardware limits by any means, though I guess that might be for the best since the Switch isn't exactly the powerhouse of the current console generation. Other than that I really dug the messy dystopian feel of the world that somehow still feels like it was ripped out of a well-drawn storybook. The models all look great, there's lots of details in the world and its inhabitants, and the only complaint I have would have to be the fact that the enemy designs are fairly basic. That negative is somewhat put aside by the illustrations that accompany most characters in-game, and the sketched out cutscenes that occur between some levels. This is a really beautiful world, even though parts of it feel rather unfinished. Even though I'm sure the sketchy look of the cutscenes was intentional, other parts seem less so. Entire stretches of the game feel completely unpopulated, and the tighter areas feel like they were made for a game that had a far better camera. None of this is a deal breaker by any means, but it did leave me disappointed that the developers didn't stick the landing when it came to the visuals.

Sound is another aspect of DROS that I found to be somewhat lacking, even though it didn't pull down the presentation very much as a whole. I literally can't tell you anything specific about any tune found in DROS' soundtrack as it mostly just existed in the background. Part of this is due to the fact that the music is placed very low in the mix by default, but a bigger part of it has to do with the fact that the music is far more atmospheric than it is engaging. There were literally some parts of the game where I had to turn the volume all the way up to make sure that the game wasn't simply running in silence. I then was greeted by only the barest of melodies for my efforts. While I guess one can argue that it adds to the aesthetic of the game, I feel that it goes too far into minimalism to the point where it becomes near non-existent. Then there's the voice acting, or the noises that the game passes as it. I actually liked these parts of the game, as it gave the world a sort of Animal Crossing vibe, but the developers didn't really commit to the bit as much as I would've liked. Entire passages of dialogue are reduced to a few mumbles, and much of the game is still left unvoiced even though said "voices" are literally just nonsense sounds and random syllables. Similar to the visuals though, there is nothing about the sound that is truly negative, it just feels like a huge missed opportunity to deliver something great.

An example of the picture-in-picture thing.

Never trust an alchemist.

There is a lot to see and do in DROS, especially if you want to complete the game fully 100%. Simply getting to the end will probably take most players 6-8 hours, the higher end being for people like me who were lost for dozens of minutes on end in some levels, but you can expect to spend twice that amount of time if you want to hit all the goals in each of the levels. I personally don't know if the latter is truly worth the time investment, especially since some of the challenges border on insane, but I can definitely see some falling in love with the game to the point where that doesn't matter. While I'm of the mind that DROS has more than enough content to justify it's current (at the time of this writing at least) price of just $9.99, I'm not sure how I feel about its full $24.99 price point. Putting aside the fact that I think that's a bit too high for the gameplay experience on offer, I'm more than a bit put off by the fact that the game has a launch discount of 60%. Steep discounts like that are usually reserved for shovelware titles, and DROS is anything but that. I think a lower normal price, with a far more reasonable discount, would help so much for the optics of the game. DROS isn't perfect, but it doesn't warrant such a fluctuating pricing scheme. I guess that is what it is though.

Something like that.

I guess it's neverending.

Even though I'm going to suggest picking it up now that it's on such a steep sale, I have to say that I was going to give DROS a full recommendation regardless of my issues with its pricing. It really changes up the 3D platforming formula to the point where I actually enjoyed it, and it has a lot of quirky charm to it that is just hard to put into words. I had a blast despite its issues, and I look forward to what the developers come up with next. I still think that it's unfortunate that I can't recommend picking it up at full price, mainly due to the fact that the price can only go lower from here, but I guess that's just how it's going to be. Grab it now and thank me later. See you in the next one!

Check Out DROS on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/dros-switch/

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Story: A
Gameplay: B
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: B
Value: B-

Overall: B

Pros:
+ A unique mix of action and puzzle platforming gameplay.
+ Little Dros and Captain are some of the most likable characters I've seen in a long while.
+ The entire world of DROS is rich in lore and story elements that are seamlessly woven into the main gameplay.
+ Though some may prefer standard boss battle, the Dragnaught stages are a neat addition to the formula.
+ While by no means perfect, the game offers a rather balanced experience that is sure to match the skills of many different types of players.
+ Lots of collectables means that one can play this game far beyond simple completion.

Cons:
- The controls are all a bit off in their own ways, which is not a good thing for a platformer of any type.
- The graphics leave a bit to be desired and resemble something out of the PS2 era.
- Sound-wise the game is quite lacking, and there were stretches of the game where I had to make sure the game hadn't simply fallen silent.
- I'm not sure how I feel about the game getting such a steep discount (60%) at launch. That practice is usually only reserved for shovelware.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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