Dandara: Trials of Fear+
A Metroidvania Adventure Hunt
How much does Dandara: Trials of Fear+ cost?
Prices are current as of 16 Oct 2026.
Dandara: Trials of Fear+ has no in-app products on record in the United States.
10+ alternatives to Dandara: Trials of Fear+
| Dandara: Trials of Fear+ |   Skate City |   Crossy Road Castle |   LEGO® Brawls |   Dead Cells+ |   Gibbon: Beyond the Trees |   Oddmar+ |   SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit 2 |   Monomals |   PPKP+ |   Terraria+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating / 5 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.8 | — |
| Reviews | 446 | 90K | 79K | 43K | 36K | 23K | 21K | 14K | 7.1K | 2.1K | — |
| Released | 2021 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | 2022 | 2022 | 2021 | 2025 | 2019 | 2023 | 2026 |
Dandara: Trials of Fear+ reviews
4.6 out of 5, based on 446 reviews.
What people like
- Beautiful art style and music
- Unique movement mechanics feel natural
- Story is moving and engaging
What they complain about
- Controls feel clunky on touch screens
- Respawn points are too far away
- Difficulty is punishing and unforgiving
Fantastic so far!
I must admit, I’m not very far yet, as I just beat Augustus, but I can say I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. The game definitely kicks the difficulty up a notch after the first boss, so if you don’t enjoy challenging games, I wouldn’t pick it up. However, if you enjoy challenging metroidvanias like Hollow Knight, this should be right up your alley. The movement is truly unique and the controls are incredibly intuitive, especially for a mobile game. This is one of those few mobile games truly worth it.
Addictive gameplay ruined by sadistic difficulty and Souls-like mechanics
Dandara belongs to a subgenre called “Souls-vanias” that attempt to marry Metroidvania open-ended experiment-and-exploration with the unforgiving difficulty of Dark Souls. If that sounds like a bad recipe, that’s because it is. A true Metroidvania game gives the player wide margin of error via large HP pools (Samus has how many energy tanks? 20?) and an accompanying license to explore a huge world. A Souls game punishes the player heavily for mistakes by imposing high difficulty and making them forfeit their experience points on death, then kicking them back to a distant, rare save point, forcing tedious replay. This setup just doesn’t work together. There are so many design decisions that truly are there just to punish the player. If you use a healing item and get hit before the animation is done, it’s wasted. You have next to no invincibility frames when you take damage, so you get hit again and again, try to heal, waste your item and then die. You can recover your XP if you find your corpse before you die again, which you will, in which case it’s gone for good. Or if the place you died is a one-way exit—like a boss fight or certain dungeons—your corpse is locked in there and you have no way to get it back without clearing that boss or area. As a result you don’t have enough XP to level up to beat that boss/area. So you have to grind. Mandatory grinding is a failure in gameplay design that merits one star. The player should never be forced to do it. On the contrary, grinding should be a choice to let the player control the game’s difficulty, which they can’t, because they can lose it all by taking one wrong turn. (It gets even worse.) There is a lot to make you want to like Dandara, once you get used to the jumping mechanic and thinking like it’s a puzzle game. But then you die for the twelfth time today and finally get fed up of replaying the same part over and over again just to get back to where you were. And that’s if you don’t get softlocked and find yourself forced to die and respawn. The game even deliberately softlocks you inside one certain area until you clear it (Ephemeral Station). You have no way to gain XP if you need to level. You just blew your save file. Again—this is 100% intentional. The game even laughs at you as you hit your head on the wall. That was the breaking point for me. You don’t treat your customers like that, totally removing agency over progression and forcing them to start over. That’s a mortal sin. That gets you E.T.’ed/WarCraft III: Refunded if this were a physical copy of a game. There is a hardcore market of gamers who like Souls-like games and their tough difficulty. Those are the ones who will like this game. But if you aren’t part of that niche, skip/delete Dandara and move on. It’s just not worth it. P.S. Developers should understand that the mainstream gaming market does not want to play yet another Souls clone. Can we please have a real Metroidvania for iOS already?
Beautiful, engrossing, challenging.
Very well done. Beautiful art direction and great controls-innovative and responsive. The world is deep and interesting and the level design is very thoughtful. It is challenging in parts, but the largest test is one of patience. Most of my troubles came from wanting to move and shoot faster than the game or circumstances allowed for. You must account for things like the half second charge on a shot when deciding to move in sticky situations. And if you are impatient, you will suffer for it. Edit: after playing further into the trials, no, the controls do become problematic. Later in the game the vast majority of deaths come from swiping the screen, seeing nothing happen, then getting killed. It’s still fun but in a game that’s going to require fast, perfect control, the interface can’t be anything less than perfect.
Eh
I feel like you can just kinda aim anywhere and just rapid fire it, but at the same time the controls are kinda just weird and doesn’t allow for good momentum to be built
Held back by atrocious difficulty tuning
Great, unique movement system heavily burdened by a difficulty design that is nonsensical, borderline sociopathic.
Takes Me Back to Metroid Fusion
Metroid Fusion is one of my favorite games within the 2D Metroidvania genre. I remember being sucked into that game on the Gameboy Advance back in the day. I don’t play a lot of games on my phone these days simply because I either A. Don’t have the time or B. Don’t really like the games. Games either feel like a massive time commitment or are too simplistic to enjoy long term. This game is the first game in ages that has actually caught my attention. The controls are intuitive and fun. The gameplay is challenging yet rewarding. You can play for a few minutes or a few hours. When Apple Arcade first launched the titles on there were pretty lacking. It’s genuinely nice to see games like this on the service. This is probably the best one I’ve played on here.
Very bad
I downloaded the game and spent all day trying to figure out where to go but it’s so confusing. Not even a hint of where to go.
Très bon jeu
Gameplay sympa, pas mal d’exploration et des mécaniques intéressantes à débloquer progressivement. Seul petit bémol, certains passages sont un peu trop pointilleux pour un contrôle au tactile qui reste imprécis.
Trials of frustration
Just don’t bother, really, it’s not worth you time and the entire game and this reviewing system (discarded my long breakdown on the game, thanks Apple) is a testament to how bad mobile gaming truly is. If you think Apple Arcade can offer a serious gaming experience on you phone…think again, I know I will.
?!
How do you complete the game!!!!!!🤬🤬🤬🤬
One of the best mobile games I’ve played
I haven’t even finished the game and yet I love it. Any person who loves metroidvania games like Hollow knight, Haiku The Robot, or Ori would love this game. There’s not as many fighting modes that you would see in games like Hollow Knight, but that makes sense because it’s on mobile. Even with that it makes up for it in accessibility. You can play or pause any time in the day and you’ll always have this game to play wherever you are because it’s on your phone. Sure, you can play Hollow Knight on switch but I honestly find PC better. So, having a game like this is great because it’s not too complicated, and it gives you a lot of story and enemies you can fight. I’ve always been a fan of metroidvania games, but I don’t have enough time to really experience them on PC because I’m too busy. It’s great to have a game that I can play everywhere.
Doesn’t save!!!
I was really enjoying this game… spent several hours on it… and then I found out that when the game said it was auto saving, it actually wasn’t. In fact, it didn’t even have my initial save that it forced me to create when first starting the game. A game can be fun, beautiful, and have a great soundtrack but it is worthless if you CANNOT SAVE YOUR PROGRESS. I can’t even play this game on a different platform because apparently this is a problem across other devices as well. What a disappointment.
Great game, but impossible to finish
Lovely game that’s inspired by an actual person from Brazilian history. The gameplay and story are very interesting. But two things put me off. One, controls on an iphone mini are awful. There is no consistency in the missile controls. And dodging enemies is very hard to do on a smartphone in the advanced levels. I think this game is better off on an xbox or play station. Defeating the final boss was so hard I just gave up.
Do you even test games
Two hours in and I hit a room where I can’t proceed because of a glitch. After meeting jonny B, I can jump and shoot the first stone barrier, but when jump to the last upside down platform my button for the energy blast disappears so I can’t shoot the 2nd wall!! An absolute joke! I can only presume it’s an issue with the HUD graphics on an iPhone 11 Pro as I’m not reading the same issues for others. I’d love to complete this game, but as I can’t even go back I’m well a truly stuck
Great Ideas, Finicky Controls
The ideas for the game are great and well suited for a mobile device. The swiping controls did not work for me very well on my phone. The would often close the app and such, causing me to die. The camps where you respawn were often pretty far from where I would die, so there was a lot of going through the same areas again and again. The graphics and story were fantastic. I loved the idea for the gameplay, it just wasn’t great for how I was playing. I would still recommend this game, despite the issues I had.
One of the Greatest Games I’ve Played
It was truly a moving experience to play Dandara. You can tell so much went into the art style, the music, the narrative. I loved it! It exceeded all expectations I had going in. The game was hard but not too hard; the story flowed well, while never feeling restrictive or too linear. I find myself looking for new games that can match the feeling of playing Dandara for the first time, which should say something about the impact this game can have ❤️
Не заходит
В игру не заходит вообще
Too punishing right from the start
Immediately, the game feels amazing. Awesome movement mechanic. 5 minutes in you feel like this game will be one of your new favorites. . . Then you die and have to go WAAAAAY back. So far back that it takes you emotionally out of the game and just incites frustration. That’s not difficulty, it’s a poorly executed attempt to make you feel that good kind of gaming anxiety that pushes you to do better in a thrilling way. Games have to really earn that by good design and pacing. This unfortunately has none of that, and spoils the fun movement mechanic. It just comes across as poor design. Devs, allow the player to place more checkpoint flags!
Jogo bom, mas…
Peca na jogabilidade, mais especificamente no controle, fases como a torre do relogio se tornam MUITO mais dificultosas deslizando na tela, algo em forma de joy stick ajudaria bastante.
One of the best iOS games I’ve ever played
I’ve seen some other reviews on here complaining about “clunky” controls and no clear progression / story. I completely disagree. This game is one of THE best iOS games I’ve ever played, and I’m super picky with my iOS games. I loved this game so much I played through it twice. The controls are unique and take some time to get used to, but what makes them so brilliant, is they FEEL like they were made for a touch screen. This is what most games get wrong on mobile. Most developers just create a game for console and then port it over to mobile. This game feels like it was made for a touch screen and it’s genius. Quick finger movements is all it takes to maneuver through the entire game, and it feels super dynamic. In terms of confusing progression, it’s a Metroidvania, so that’s part of the intrigue and puzzle of playing the game. It doesn’t hold your hand, but it rewards you for your curiosity and skill. A fantastic Souls-like on mobile. I can’t recommend this game enough!!!
Not Optimized OR Fun
This game has clunky controls, a confusing layout, and a convoluted story that confuses “mysterious and deep” with “vague and ambiguous.” Dandara has you jumping around random locations in hopes of finding some new useful item, but in reality most of the power ups you receive actually just make the game HARDER! There’s no clear sense of progression, using the Dark Souls template of souls and bonfires (yawn), which is made worse by the fact that every new challenge you encounter is solved through trial and error. The gameplay loop is more or less progress to next room, die, get back to that room, collect your souls, go the next room, die, repeat. The learning curve, confusing controls, and lack of clear I-frames routinely leave you cornered by enemies, unable to heal, dodge, or fight back because you’re being pushed around from every angle. This game may have worked better with a controller or a console, but as a mobile experience this game just feels anti-player from the ground up. A terrible port that just punishes you for even picking it up.
Great concept but…..
As far as getting to the first camp your on your own to find out what to do and I still after 4hours was not able to find the objective in the village and the game does not explain enough all it does is explain the controls the game is great but just add an objectives list or make the game have a more simple mode such as a mode where you can actually get what to do.
Super sympa
Le jeu marche super bien sur mobile et tablette par contre il marque compatible Apple TVMais au moment de choisir une partie et ben ça charge dans le vide on attend on attend on attend toujours pas réglé ce problème depuis le temps dommages 😢du coup enlever de mon Apple TV 5⭐️ lorsque ce sera enfin réglé si jamais c’est le cas
Thumbs up.
Well done, one of the more unique games that I’ve seen in a while. 👍
Don’t get me wrong the game is good, but…
It’s way too easy to get softlocked. One area with the moving tiles can only be moved if you’re standing on it. When you enter an area, its position resets. This can be awful if you’re in a place where you cannot progress through it. In these positions, you must return to your camp and forfeit all of your salt that you’ve earned. Please fix this.
Controls are a pain
Only thing keeping me from liking this game is that controls are just plain annoying to use and can’t be optimized to fit user preference like most other games.
Incredible!
This game is massive! Everytime I think I’m close to clearing up a ‘corner’ of the map, it expands tenfold into a new zone. Before writing this, I just beat the heart and gained access to the nightmare zones, practically doubling the map size. There is so much to explore and look at.
Não perca seu tempo
Horrível
Fantastic game! Can’t figure out how to change weapons
I really want to keep playing this fantastic game, but I can’t figure out how to change my weapons, and it’s stopping me from progressing. The art is fantastic, the story simple and beautiful, and the gameplay is seamless. I really hope i can get some help with this. I did email you, and I eagerly await your response.
Loved it - great with a controller
Super fun game, unique style. Great difficulty.
Looks great, controls are terrible.
On the outside this game looks great! Retro 16-bit like I was looking for, but the fact that you can’t just run and jump like a regular game, and instead have to find a place to slingshot to and have to keep moving like that the entire time totally ruined it for me. I played the game for two minutes and deleted it. I know this was the developer’s way of making this game unique, but it’s just too clunky and hard to use to be enjoyable. If this were to be fixed, where the character would move around like every other game out there then I’d definitely re-download and play again.
Great Game, Garbage Boss Battle
Had a lot of fun playing the game up until Tormenta where the fighting mechanics and opponents no longer seem to add up.
Awesome Controls - New Favorite
I’ve only beaten the first boss but I’ve been super impressed with this game! I went in with pretty much zero expectations about the game hand have been having a blast since. First off, the controls are fantastic with a touch screen. Typically, on-screen controls are tolerable at best and unplayable at worst, but the movement and firing mechanics in this game feel incredibly natural with touch controls, to the point which I feel having a controller would actually be more a hinder than a help. The attacking mechanics work similarly to the movement mechanics and after a few minutes of adjusting, it’s satisfying to just fly around the map and disintegrate enemies in your path. I love this game so far and would recommend at least trying it out.
What we’re they thinking with this control scheme.
The opposite of fluid. What a tedious way to play what could have been a neat game.
Ne se telecharge pas
Sa ce telecharge mais sa ce coupe a la moitié du telechargerment
One of the best mobile games
Wow. This game is really good. Dandra is incredibly fun and a one of a kind expierence. It’s just challenging enough that it feels like you’re not just fighting super easy enemies and doing easy stuff. The bosses are well designed and if you have arcade play it. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!! When the game started I wasn’t sure about it in the crib of creation but then I got to the village of artists. That area was super fun and a nice intro to enemies and a bunch of future mechanics while having its own mechanics. The boss was fun pretty easy but fun. Primal woods is a nice area but only really serves the purpose of getting from one area to the next. Remembrance desert is fun and it has this weird feeling where you are backtracking to past rooms but taking different paths. Beila was unexpected but a very fun concept. Dream lands were confusing and pretty annoying the only area I didn’t enjoy. Now the last part of the game is Fantastic. The golden wall the capital and fortress are so well designed. The wall feels impenetrable until you go to the sides and realizes it’s not just lasers and infinite bullets (well it is but their not as bad) and then you get inside. The way you slowly deactivate the wall and go around is Fantastic. And then the fortress is pain. Pain that’s fun. It is very hard but it makes you realize you’re taking down enemies that used to be so hard. The final boss was surprisingly easy but I enjoyed it! :) Side note: the camps and upgrade system I enjoy. The go back to where you died mechanic is similar to hollow knight but feels different enough. This game is fantastic, play it!!!!
Ignore the Press Reviews
This game is fine… nothing special and very forced through parts. You can easily find better games out there. Mechanics, visuals and story are all mediocre on the high end.
Dandara: Trials of Fear+ FAQ
- Is Dandara: Trials of Fear+ free?
- Yes. The app is free, in all 172 countries it sells in, and it sells nothing inside it.
- Does Dandara: Trials of Fear+ have a free trial?
- No. None of its offers (US) come with a free trial.
- What are the best alternatives to Dandara: Trials of Fear+?
- Skate City (4.8 from 89,969 reviews), Crossy Road Castle (4.7 from 78,539 reviews) and LEGO® Brawls (4.7 from 43,007 reviews).
Dandara: Trials of Fear+ download
Last updated 4 years ago.
Dandara: Trials of Fear+ sells in 172 countries. It was released 4 years and 10 months ago, on 3 Dec 2021. It holds a 4.6 rating from 446 reviews.
Supports 10 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Spanish.
How much does Dandara: Trials of Fear+ make?
Third-party estimates for the last 30 days, worldwide — not the store's own figures, which Apple publishes for nobody.