PS5 Review: Dandy & Randy DX

Dandy and Randy’s Awakening?

Dandy and Randy is a 2D top-down old-school game featuring two of the worst archaeologists that have ever graced the Earth. Dandy and Randy are a couple of archaeologists who are in a pickle. They owe a ton of money to their bank, and they need a way to pay it back, or they are done for! Luckily, they have just received the information about a mysterious, fabled precious stone showing up on a faraway island. Can they find it, pay back their debts, and at the same time become rich? It’s up to you to find out!

At first glance, Dandy and Randy DX looks a lot like a 2D Zelda game like A Link to the Past or Link’s Awakening and you’d be right to assume they share a lot of similarities…they each have one item that can be equipped at a time to a button, they have heart pieces to represent their health and the levels are mapped out almost like a traditional Zelda dungeon, even if the majority of the levels are in outside areas like jungles and woods.

The story is fairly simple fair, but it does have an amusing twist towards the end that took me by surprise. It never takes itself seriously and actually has some funny dialogue from the bosses and the few NPCs you come across, some of which can actually become playable characters once talked to.

Each level has the same objective, find 4 different keys and reach the boss. Bosses are fairly easy, though they do become tougher as the game goes on, especially on Normal/Hard difficulty. Practice mode exists and is basically God mode for those who want an easy ride, plus it doesn’t impact your trophy progress either.

The great thing that sets Dandy and Randy DX apart though is being able to play the game with a second player locally. This came in very handy when playing on Normal where some areas were tough and moving to another screen to revive Player 2 was a godsend. Keys are found either by digging in certain spots or by completing puzzles like moving blocks into their respective areas, one clever puzzle was towards the end where two rooms were mirror versions of each other and you have to place blocks where you thought they had to be based on what was in the previous room.

It’s nothing new but there is something charming about the old-school look and feel of the game, especially when Zelda fans like me so far have no upcoming Zelda games in 2022, unless Nintendo decide to remake some to take away the pain of Breath of the Wild 2 being delayed till next year.

The visuals are classic of the 2D Zelda games in design and even parts of the interface, so the charm is there and will always be appealing to look at. The soundtrack is also pretty impressive with some tunes that could rival some areas of Zelda’s. The framerate is consistent throughout, and trophy hunters will be pleased to know that the game comes with both PS5 and PS4 lists, so you can double-stack your Platinum trophies if you wish. It’s also a steal at just £5.79!

The Verdict

Dandy and Randy DX is a love-letter to 2D Zelda, and I loved it. I only wish it was a bit longer as me and my partner sped through it in an evening when it would have been nice for it to last a bit more, but at the price point of under £6 it’s hard to be too annoyed at that. While it doesn’t add anything new to the Zelda-type of games, it’s still superb fun and even more so if you have someone else to play it with. I really hope we get some kind of sequel as this was enjoyable from beginning to end and I wanted more!

Score: 8.5