GameLight - Dungeons of Dredmor

Official Site: http://www.dungeonsofdredmor.com/

Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment

When the game first released on Steam, I didn't much of it because I was hoping for an Action-RPG dungeon crawler (remember, I'm in the Top-down Action RPG phase right now) but saw the trailer and it looked so boring...Still, I kept my eye out for the game and was ready to try it out (even though it was only $5).  This past Sunday was the last day of the fall sales on Steam and Dungeons of Dredmor was at $2.49 and so I picked it up hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.  I think the trailer could've done better in highlighting the game as it's surprisingly really fun.  Dungeons of Dredmore is a "Tactical" rogue-like RPG.  Games like Shiren: The Wanderer, Izuna: Legend of the unemployed ninja, Desktop Dungeons, and maybe even (but very loosely considered) Pokémon Mystery Dungeon come to mind.  Rogue-like RPGs have a lot to do with risks/rewards, unexpected surprises, and getting smarter/stronger.  When I started the tutorial, I already started worrying about whether I'd enjoy the game as the music (though catchy at first) started to get annoying, there was a lot to take in, and the stats system was convoluted.  When I finally started the game, it gave me the choice of 3 difficulty levels (I picked the hardest one to test the game out), the choice to play with Perma-death (once you die, your character is gone, which I have choice to play with every game so far), and 7 skills to play with.  Just choosing from the large array of skills started to get me interested.  There are so many combinations I could play with.  After my first playthrough and dying on Level 3-4 (I don't remember since I didn't know about "levels" yet, I just went where ever I saw was open) from a boss monster, all I could think about was getting more out of the game.  I did even better my second time around (only because I played on easy difficulty the 2nd time) but still died because of a boss monster.  3rd time, I died in the first time from being mobbed by a bunch of weak enemies.  It made me laugh and I loved the unexpected situation I had got into.  Each time I played, the levels changed.  Yup, the game randomly generates the dungeons for an infinite amount of gameplay.  As I retry each playthrough, I understand more about items, how the stats system works, and trying out new builds.  It's so satisfying getting stronger and killing monsters so hard that they explode from a single strike or to burn in a pool of fire that you had set.  But the game also keeps you on edge with traps each step of the way, a crazy boss monsters on the other side of the door, or a huge buff in abilities for the player to dominate the enemies with.

To make short of everything, the game is pure tactics, action, and item management.  There won't be cinematics getting in the way of your killing, long-winded tutorials on how to do things (though the optional tutorial did feel somewhat long), and there seems to be something new for each play through of the game.  I'm really hoping I can get 50+ hours out of this game, because it really is that fun!  I haven't beaten it yet, and I plan on playing no perma-death mode one of these days just to beat it once.  This is just a vague preview of the game and I don't feel ready to give it a full review yet, but I'm enjoying the game a lot so far!