An unlikely partnership.
Developed by Brisbane developer, EmergeWorlds, Dros is a dark take on the adventure puzzle platformer, something akin to the likes of Toad’s Treasure Tracker but without the color and positive vibes. Dros has you trudging through a crumbling tower full of sewers and decrepit locales as you track down a rogue Alchemist as you attempt to escape with your lives. Dros has moments of solid character work, hurmor, engaging puzzles, and while a few environmental assets can often get in the way, it nonetheless delivers a solid little adventure.
Dros may feature 40 levels brimming with some clever puzzle mechanics, but it also features a pretty deep story. You’ll first be introduced to Little Dros, a small black-slime creature that escapes the tower in hopes of finding a shell, a structure or form that will ensure her survival. Well, that shell comes in the form of a bounty hunter named Captain. During his quest to track down the Alchemist, and claim the bounty on his flute, Captain suffers a mortal injury, seeing their arm cut off and left to die in the sewer. As Dros is in need of a shell and Captain is in need of a miracle, the two band together to survive, one way or another.
Both Little Dros and Captain both have different reasons for climbing the tower, making their sudden partnership one out of necessity as it is of pure luck that they found each other. Captain is seeking to make good on the bounty for the flute, a device that allows the Alchemist to control the numerous Dros that fill the tower whereas Little Dros herself wants to put an end to that very control. While the two don’t always get along, often bickering with one another, their journey does a lot to cement their partnership into something a bit more friendly, with a key moment that took a game that was largely for laughs and working out the game’s numerous puzzles and took it down a pretty emotional road.
The gimmick that fuels what Dros is is that you’ll swap between both Little Dros and that of Captain at any time you wish, provided you have a use for them at the moment. Little Dros is agile and can jump, can activate basic switches, and explore where Captain cannot. Meanwhile, the bounty hunter himself can fend off attacks against the Dros that are being controlled by the Alchemist as well as smash down obstacles, switches, fuse boxes, and more. Captain is also unable to jump or breathe underwater and will come to rely on Little Dros to navigate them to their destination. It’s when you start working together and using their strengths to overcome each other’s weaknesses that Dros really sings.
Dros’s core gameplay takes a page out of Toad’s Treasure Tracker, Nintendo’s platforming puzzle game where you have a basic diorama that you can spin around as you guide Toad around from point A to point B. Here, that idea is present, but levels often expand significantly more, and you have various Dros forms that Captain will have to hack and slash away at. That said, if you’ve played Nintendo’s Triple-T, then you’ll have a good idea of what Dros offers at a fundamental level as you zoom out to glance at the location as a whole or spin the camera around to get a better angle at what you are likely aiming for.
Swapping from Dros to the Capain is done via the RB button, as is syncing them back up, regardless of how far away Little Dros may be. It prevents a good amount of backtracking from plaguing the game, often allowing several of the game’s 40 levels to be incredibly bite-sized and satisfying, never overstaying their welcome. While you can tend to optional objectives such as collecting crystals or machine parts or attempting to complete the level under a certain time limit, most stages usually last around five to ten minutes, unless you get stuck attempting to figure out your next move. And while you do have those collectibles to track down, I simply couldn’t find a single purpose for them, making them come across as filler to keep you engaged in levels longer than you need to.
As Dros, you navigate each area to find the path to the elevator, manipulating environments to make it possible for Captain to progress. However, you’ll easily get spotted by enemies and defeated, reverting back to Captain for another go. Each inch you make might require you to clear the way with Captain in order to return back to Dros as she can perform a spot of platforming, swimming, or numerous other ways of getting around.
Playing as Captain; however is more akin to a hack-and-slash adventure game, something like a very basic version of an isometric adventure game. You can slash, spin, and block, and you’ll also gain advanced versions of those moves, even if the dashing ability I only ever used a single time. Combat is remarkably easy and while you’ll have a decent range of enemies, you’ll learn the same three or four basic patterns to deal with all of them. Combat is a means to an end here instead of feeling as fleshed out as other parts of this adventure.
As you combat foes with Captain and take damage, you’ll recharge your health through Prima, a yellow substance you’ll encounter as you explore as Dros or smash boxes or find vending machines as Captain. If you die, you can pull from your reserves to get right back up. Occasionally, you’ll be given an advanced Prima drink, which is where you’ll earn those advanced techniques, such as a power spin or a reflection block, great for bouncing attacks right back at their source.
Throughout the quest to stop the Alchemist, you’ll encounter a wide range of characters, from Dros who have escaped the control of the flute, the Alchmeist themselves, to the countless denizens of this tower, Little Dros and Captain will meet and assist where they can, often the result of having little to no choice, or if Little Dros has volunteered their services. The most central NPC is Enki, an individual who is very familiar with the Alchemist and sets you on the path to proceed deeper into the tunnel. This is done by collecting a few rare objects for him, procured through a stage that doubles as a boss encounter. While there are your standard encounters with brain-controlled Dros, these stages are not a standard large encounter but more of a massive all-consuming puzzle.
While the entire game takes place within the tiers of this crumbling tower, roughly every ten levels are comprised of a theme. These are represented by earth, wind, water, and fire. These levels often based their puzzles on their respective element, meaning that fire will have puzzles surrounded by hot lava whereas the water-themed levels have you swimming, traveling underwater, or bouncing atop bubbles. While the elemental diversity is pretty noticeable, levels still have a constant look that acts more as an identity to this game than being looked at as constant reuse of the game’s aesthetics across the roughly 6-7 hour journey.
The ways you navigate each stage ranges from pulling switches to moving platforms, rotating entire parts of the level around, to using fans to propel yourself up and about. You’ll rotate gears, extend bridges, draw on platforms with your slime, to bouncing atop bubbles to moving on conveyer-like platforms to get to your goal. While you’ll see a few ideas recycled here and there, there are even more unique ideas here that are pretty damn enjoyable, even if you can often get the solution faster than you would imagine. Personally, my only gripe with certain aspects of some puzzles is having to wait for another platform should you miss it, which a few levels had some awkwardly long delays between said platforms.
Dros itself has a charming aesthetic, pulling from a particular style that has been a go-to for plenty of indie games. This is alongside some great hand-drawn character portraits that add to the game’s artistic flavor. While several environmental assets can often get in the way of attempting to view where to go, you can move the camera around thankfully to address that particular concern, even if I wish that those types of obstructive areas would just make those assets transparent. My entire time with Dros was via the Steam Deck and it honestly ran perfectly, making it a great game to have on the go.
I have to admit, I was pretty entertained by Little Dros and Captain, and their joint adventure to stop the Alchemist. Seeing them grow their partnership was just as enjoyable as the puzzles that would halt their progress. I don’t think every single puzzle, stage, or moment in the game excels as much as others, but if you are looking for a puzzle action hybrid with a lot of charm and heart, Dros just might be up your alley.
Developer - EmergeWorld Pty. Ltd. Publisher - EmergeWorld Pty. Ltd. Released - July 20th, 2023. Available On - Windows - Steam. Rated - (E 10+) - No Descriptors. Platform Reviewed - Steam Deck. Review Access - A review code was provided by the PR/publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.