Just as there are indie titles that may stumble in places but have qualities that make you root for them, hoping they turn out well, there are those that you watch struggle without much hope. The type that are capable of staying afloat just well enough to survive, but that clearly can’t quite pull things together and do more than that. DROS, in my eyes, feels like such a game, absolutely possessing some elements and charm that can give you hope, but whose execution keeps it from making a better impression.

In the game you’ll roughly play as a sentient ball of goo who can move around and take possession of a “shell”, which in your case will be a knight who met a pretty grisly fate. Each brings something to the table, with your goo ball being more nimble and capable of jumping and exploring, and the knight bringing the muscle to the duo, able to tackle combat and situations in need of his bulk. In general you’ll enter stages and new areas, split off to explore, return once you’ve cleared some obstacle holding the knight at bay, and then proceed until you need to repeat that same formula in some way. Of course, you’ll also want to keep an eye out for collectibles as well, usually not far from the beaten path but requiring either some dexterity on your part, or perhaps using your ability to see hidden platforms and then try to remember where they are well enough to move your knight across them.

Where the game runs into some trouble is sadly where execution is concerned. First, while I’m not typically picky about games like this having a great story or wowing me with their presentation, in this case all of it struggles, sometimes making it feel like the attempts to develop and cultivate the story were efforts wasted. Second, especially since some of the best parts of the game involve its platforming in some way, the angle of the camera and very limited ability to move it at all can make it more frustrating than it needs to be. There are simply sections and jumps that are harder than they need to be due to your angle giving you horrible depth perception, and that can sometimes simply make finding everything in each stage feel less appealing. Between that and just oddities in the control and overall feel of everything, it just feels like there’s a quirk or flaw for every positive that it manages.

With all of that in mind, the experience mostly inspires a shrug overall, clearly not terrible but also falling short of being “good” much of the time. The general ideas and even some of the level design aspects are there, the game just really needed a few more iterations and possibly some editing to help smooth out its rougher edges and make itself more appealing. If you’re feeling patient it may be worth a look, just be aware that there are clearly competitors of various kinds that look and play better, some even at a lower price.