A Spicy Fusion of Sisterhood and Savoury Pancakes
Doing my research, as I always do when approaching a game for review, I found out a couple of interesting things. First of all, a dosa is a “thin, crisp-edged, savoury, southern Indian pancake that contains a multitude of lovely things” Sounds good, doesn’t it? And the second thing I discovered is that Dosa Divas is a new game from Outerloop Games, billed as a “spicy, narrative turn based RPG”. With that my interest was piqued.
So, can we help two sisters overcome an evil corporation, or will it all end in a burnt, congealed mess in the bottom of the pan? Well, there’s only one way to find out…
A Tale of Sisters
Kicking things off with the story, in Dosa Divas we play as a trio of characters: Amani and Samara are two sisters who have a whole world of history between them; and then there’s a sentient mech called Diva. Once upon a time, the sisters owned a restaurant, and while various things have happened in the intervening time (no spoilers here!) Amani has returned to town. Soon, she and Samara set off on a journey to bring an end to an evil fast food corporation which is run by, you’ve guessed it, yet another sister! Lina, the third sister, seems to have gone down a dark path. Can the sisters bring her back to the straight and narrow?
The gameplay is an interesting mix, a bit of a fusion of a couple of different playstyles. We have traditional platforming, where the sisters ride Diva to explore the various locations of the game. But then there is also some turn-based combat, kicking in as we come across a bunch of enemies. And finally there are the cooking simulator aspects, as the sisters attempt to show the world the power of a home cooked meal. Fear not, it all blends together beautifully.
Spritely Exploration
In terms of the platforming, here the news is pretty good, as jumping about is all fairly straightforward. Diva turns out to be surprisingly spritely, sliding down zip wires and poles without any trouble. There are also other things to do when wandering around, with, best and first of all, a fishing mini game!
Now, obviously, a fishing game is worth at least half a star to any game’s review score, and here the fishing is pretty good – cast out, wait for a bite and drag the fish in. It’s simple, but works well, and when you upgrade your abilities, you’ll also gain the ability to put out crab pots to help gather ingredients. Further, we can also pick up veg, turning these into lovely meals that we can cook.
Mastering the Sizzle and Stir
Speaking of cooking, when interacting with the NPCs in the levels, they usually have grumbling bellies, and talking to them will allow us to see what it is they want to eat. Holding down the LT button will then start the cooking section of the game, and here we have to make sure, first of all, that we have the necessary ingredients. If not, we either need to gather some more, or visit the shop to buy what is missing. And then, once we have the stuff we need, it’s time to cook! Choosing the main ingredients, the flavours and the special ingredients, everything is chucked into a pan, as we cook what the people want. And then, with each cook comes various activities that need to be performed, from twirling the left stick at the correct speed to chopping things by pressing A at the correct moment – all of the cooking you could ever want is here.
From there, that cooking is then graded, and doing well will get us extra rewards, so it is worth concentrating. Once we’re done, it’s a simple matter of delivering the cooked meals to the waiting patrons, and Bob’s your uncle.
Flavour Profiles
The final part of Dosa Divas is the turn based combat, and here the news is also quite interesting. We can choose our attacks as usual, but this time there is a twist: pressing A at the correct time sees extra damage come to the fore, thanks to our abilities. The same goes for defending: if we can get the timing just right (and this is easier said than done) we can negate all incoming damage.
There is also an interesting system in play in the combat, as each of the heroes’ attacks have a type associated with it, be that spicy or sour. Each enemy also has a craving and so if you can hit them with the correct flavour profile, they become stuffed, taking extra damage from all sources. It is well worth trying different attacks to see what works, and luckily the three musketeers have different base attacks to utilise. The combat system is very well thought out and fairly deep. It may not quite be Final Fantasy levels, but it is engrossing.
Dosa Divas is helped along with a unique visual look, almost seeming to be like a puppet show. Every character moves in a slightly strange way, but the effect is quite pleasing. The worlds and locales available for exploration are likewise pretty good, with a lot of things to find and LinaCorp propaganda to destroy. Doing so helps raise the level of the village you are in, which rewards with new looks for Diva, so it is worth doing. The enemies and NPCs are quite well realised, and along with the sound effects, music and voice acting, it all adds up to a good looking game
A Charming, Consumable Culinary Adventure
All in all, Dosa Divas may well pull you in more than you will expect. It isn’t going to win awards for story writing, as every twist can be seen coming a mile off, but it is charming and that counts for a lot. The combat is fun, and the cooking gets progressively harder, but all in all, this is an enjoyable playthrough.
If anything, it’ll get you scouring Uber Eats for the finest dosa…
Important Links
Dosa Divas Serves Up A Spicy RPG Adventure Packed With Heart And Flavour – https://www.thexboxhub.com/dosa-divas-serves-up-a-spicy-rpg-adventure-packed-with-heart-and-flavour/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/dosa-divas/9n2fdwp5z4r3
