Outerloop is no slouch. Their latest game, Dosa Divas, is a fiery, spicy yet somehow cool and chill RPG.
Dosa Divas is by far one of the most interesting, dare I say scintillating, games I have played in quite a while.
For me, it is a true paradox of an experience.
The story is so rooted in a South Indian take on the classic sci-fi video game story of misunderstood odd ducks taking out their feelings on the world, with the heroes stepping in to make them see the error of their ways. I’ll get to more of that in a moment, but first.
Dosa Divas also inspires with a rhythm-based combat system that is punishing to master, yet it is served to you in a way that is refreshingly not punishing. Stay tuned, this’ll be worth the wait.
Dosa Divas Is All Empty Calories
It pains me to say that Dosa Divas’ story is mostly nonsensical.
After 10 years apart, Samara and Amani reconnect on a sisterly road trip with their ancient spirit-mech Goddess to see the cities on their island before returning home at their parents’ request.
We quickly learn that in the past, Samara and Amani, with help from their more business-minded sister Lina, took over the family restaurant.
They ran it as Dosa Divas, hiring a few friends along the way.
One day, Samara finds a group of spirit-mechs, essentially gods of food, resting beneath the restaurant, and learns she and the whole team, aside from Lina, have the power to pilot them.
Jump back into the future, Lina has let the years of envy turn her into a corporate shmuck, holed up in her very evil-looking office tower for her company, LinaWorks, built on the bones of the Dosa Divas restaurant.
From her black ivory tower, Lina has begun making LinaMeals — tube-packaged, ultra-processed mystery slop that is making people across the island unhealthy and unproductive.
The latter is a major problem, seeing how Lina has her army of middle managers, lawyers, and law enforcement stand-ins, who have turned the people into enslaved people, making the very food that is causing them issues.
Samara and Amani’s road trip quickly turns into a tour of destruction as the sisters grow increasingly upset with what their younger sister has done.
Dosa Divas story leans heavily into the sci-fi tropes of this genre of video games, but I’ll hand it to Outerloop that it manages to add a zest of Indian culture.
As a game wholly based on South Indian culture, you’re in for a world of colour and texture, set to upbeat, danceable music. You’ll come across all sorts of story beats and interactions straight out of a Bollywood movie. Goddess can be decked out in different finery that includes henna, younger characters will call Samara and Amani, a village elder asks for praise based upon his beard and hair growth. When it all comes down to it, this is a game about sharing meals and humanity, which is delightfully flavourful. And yet, this is the one thing Dosa Divas struggles to balance. Because below all that flavour and culture is a cliché sci-fi revenge plot.
That mostly went over my head, aside from knowing it was there. It wasn’t for me, but I think it’s really cool to be immersed in some culture.
My cooking is cooking that creates the heavens
I gave this review a title that is a play on Gurren Lagann’s iconic speech on progress…that is really just a phallic joke…because all my time with Dosa Divas has screamed Gurren Lagann to me, the game even has a level that requires the use of a drill attached to the Goddess to get around and harvest rock salt. It makes a reference to that very anime; accordingly, photo evidence is included below.
Cooking dosas, or South Indian crepes, is done in a spirit realm where the whole party takes part in another rhythm game, each contributing to the cooking.
You’ll organize ingredients and then take part in mini-games that include QTE inputs at the right time, holding a ball in the middle of a target while it is being pulled outside, and doing quick circles with the sticks.
As you move through the story, these challenges get harder by forcing you to press unrelated buttons to move obstacles during the cooking process or by turning the power back on by alternating bumper hits.
You will never fail a cooking segment, as even choosing not to partake in the mini-games grants you a dosa. However, if you master both challenges you face while cooking, you’ll be awarded more dosas. Dosas are also a very smart way to help NPCs while also helping yourself.
You’ll have to cook for NPCs to help them rebuild the damage Lina has done to the island, while advancing the story by becoming an honourary local, and helping inspire the people to take up the fight against Lina.
Meanwhile, you also pocket dosas for yourself. And in battle, these dishes offer healing, Skill Point refreshment and cures for things like confusion and silence. The better you are at cooking, the better the buffs from dosas.
All is fair in cooking and war
Where Dosa Divas is at its best is in fighting the many, many goons out to protect Lina.
Combat follows the modern “it” formula, largely based on parrying. Dosa Divas adds ingredients of turn-based RPGs and also sets the whole thing to a rhythm game that rewards you for being in the groove by granting no damage to those who can master each unique enemy pattern.
In terms of being an RPG, Dosa Divas gives its party characters a general attack, powerful skills, the use of items, and a deadly “all-out” ultimate attack that you’ll really only use during boss battles with other spirit-mechs.
Each attack comes with a type based on a different sense of taste [salty, savoury, citrus, spicy], with goons being weak to three or four of these. The game will give you a goon’s weakness or two for free, and then will expect you to find the rest out.
Speaking of goons, they all fight pretty vastly differently. Some enemies will slowly one-hop towards you and offer a sort of stuttering rhythm to their attacks, while others are happy to whack you in the face with a shovel all forte. The reward for learning how they work is a satisfying, no-damage animation unique to each party character.
Here’s where Dosa Divas becomes the perfect paradox: much like cooking itself, this game is surprisingly tough yet also a very fair experience. Dosa Divas provides you with an animated flash cue as to when attacks are going to land, but it’s also pretty happy to grant you auditory clues that make it even easier to block for days.
There is no “Game Over” status within battling. When all party members fall, they fall into a pan in the spirit realm, where you are instantly flung back into the fray.
Verdict
Dosa Divas is food for the soul, but it’s also got empty calories.
Story-wise, it doesn’t stray far from the safe beats or offer anything out of the ordinary. But there’s a certain comfort to that. While it wasn’t for me, I am very happy to see that it has a South Indian flair that is seemingly underrepresented in games.
I absolutely love how this game strikes a gameplay balance that’s tough but also throws you right back into cooking and combat. When you remove the ability to fail, it’s hard to provide a satisfying challenge. Dosa Divas does both masterfully.
Dosa Divas is a food-based RPG experience that is sure to leave you feeling full and fulfilled.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
