So yesterday, I talked a bit about cRPGs/dRPGs. Another sub-genre of a RPG popular back in the 80's is roguelike. Unlike cRPGs where the player builds a party of 3-6 characters traveling through labyrinths in a first-person perspective and going into random battles for combat, Roguelikes are generally characterized by its top-down perspective view on randomly generated levels, permanent death, and turn-based movements. The player would take control of one character and build them in numerous ways if the game allows it. Some games will have set classes for the player to choose from, or they'll have different skills to pick to make their own class, or they won't have anything at all and become whatever they do more of (melee attacks, ranged attacks, spell casting, etc.). Similar to cRPGs, Roguelikes never did die out throughout the decades and has always attracted a niche group of gamers. Also similar to cRPGs is the fact that most Roguelikes are unforgiving with a very steep learning curve along with risk-reward mechanics that often leads to death and starting over a real drag for those unfamiliar with the genre. Those familiar with the genre often find themselves enjoying the game for its infinite amount of replay value in randomly generated levels, high risk-reward satisfaction, tactical and strategic know-how to conquer stick situations, and the sheer amount of content it provides the player to experiment with. Lastly, another similar trait cRPGs share with Roguelikes is its popularity in Japan.
Roguelike Games in the West
Source: Youtube Channel IGN
Rarely do I ever see a Western developed rogue-like in this day and age. I did see a few throughout high school and early college made by fans as mods or original ideas they were working on, but they never see the light of day or evolve into much past hitting a few enemies and dying in some way. And then all of a sudden, in the past two years, we get Dungeons of Dredmor, The Binding of Isaac, FTL: Faster Than Light, and Sword of the Stars: The Pit. Despite all of them being indie developed, these games have the heart and concept of rogue-likes that reawakens the interests of fans of the genre and captures the attention of gamers of the new era. Although these games are a bit more talked about in the gaming community, they're still pretty niche. Honestly, it's very difficult to portray why a rogue-like is so much fun in a video (although the Japanese developed ones seems to be able to do so).
The first time I saw Dungeons of Dredmor, I thought it looked really boring. It looked slow, shallow, and boring. But it had a sale and I didn't mind spending $2.49 just to see what this game was all about. I played the demo and was thinking that there were way too many things going on and the tutorial music was starting to annoy me. So to finalize trying out the game, I decided to play on the hardest difficulty and leave permadeath on since I didn't think I'd play the game for very long anyways. To my surprise, the game was incredible! Rather than choosing one class, the player was able to select various skills to match the play style that they wanted, and each skill provided abilities and perks to make their character stronger. Unlike the tutorial music, the in-game music is unique, somewhat atmospheric, and quite memorable. As I collected more items, got stronger, killed various enemies, I started appreciating all the spontaneous and random events that could happen with every step and behind every door. The humor also made for a light-hearted adventure rather than a dark and serious one that most western developed dungeon crawlers seem to have. After about 5 hours of playing and eventually dying, I played another round. Needless to say, I really enjoyed the game and tried my best to let my friends know how great of a game it was. Unfortunately, not everyone that tried it enjoyed it, but roguelikes are like that: you love 'em or hate 'em (or just not care too much for them).
The Binding of Isaac isn't strictly a rogue-like, but it has many elements to the genre. The game utilizes permadeath and cannot be saved mid-game and must be completed in one run. Levels, rooms, and items and randomized every playthrough, so all sorts of events can happen throughout each playthrough. The player's character gradually becomes stronger by acquire different items, buffs, and companions. Combat and gameplay is not turn-based, but rather action-based and played like a twin-stick shooter (like Robotron 2084 or Geometry Wars). The game contains a lot of crude humor, lots of poop, and a nasty difficulty curve. But the game usually doesn't take up more than one hour per playthrough which makes it a great game for those looking for instant gratification as most rogue-likes do take a decent amount of planning and preparation. Another roguelike that doesn't take too much time to play is FTL: Faster Than Light. This game is also not strictly a rogue-like, but has many elements of one. Lastly, Sword of the Stars: The Pit is currently being developed and is set to launch on the Steam platform. All of these great games can be found on Steam.
There is one other rogue-like that I have played in the past 2 years called "Hack, Slash, Loot (HSL)", but it is one game I cannot recommend even to the most hardcore of fans. Roguelikes are known for their difficulty because of how random some events, enemies and levels can be, but they still require skill to play. And a skilled player can turn situations around in a rogue-like. In "Hack, Slash, Loot"; however, everything is based on luck. True, other roguelikes require a fair amount of luck for item drops, enemy engagement, and crits, but combat shouldn't be such a hassle. HSL is solely based on luck. If you can't find the equipment to improve your character, you will die. If you happen to run into the wrong enemy right around the corner, you will die. These sound pretty common. But the fact that your character will have a low rate of landing an attack? That's just absurd! Nearly every character/class I played had difficulty killing enemies because they almost always miss their attacks. The only class that I had somewhat of a chance with was the Amazon as her default bow allows her to build up hit chance % for each kill. And even then, enemies would still randomly kill her in 1-3 hits. The only way to get the other classes was by dying, a lot. For a game to revolve its content and gameplay around dying and luck shouldn't considered to be a game much less a roguelike. I was sorely disappointed with HSL. This is not to be mistaken for Hack Slash Crawl. It's a diablo-esque dungeon crawler with many roguelike features played in Flash. THAT game is just amazing, and free for the most part.
Roguelike Games in Japan
Source: Youtube Channel AtlusUSA
I'm not certain what was my first rogue-like game I've played, but one of the games I first noticed for its unique game mechanics was Izuna: The Unemployed Ninja. At first, I was sad to find out that the game wasn't an Action-RPG. Everything getting one turn per action meant getting hit multiple times per movement or attack. Dying meant losing all items that I had equipped and found. It was a daunting experience and I didn't play it after the first 30 minutes. But one night when I wasn't able to sleep, I tried playing it again and somehow found the flow of the game and how it worked. Being somewhat more forgiving than most Roguelikes, Izuna didn't have permadeath. Losing all your HP in a dungeon means getting knocked out and having people from the village carry you all the way back into town but can't carry all your items along with you back out. Unlike most Rogue-likes where the player has to focus on stats, classes, feats and such, Izuna focuses on character level only and equipment acquisition. This allows the player to focus more on items and combat and not have to worry about builds, class types, preparation, stat balance and losing absolutely everything when they die. Still, the game was really tough and how I mainly played the game was always carrying a teleportation scroll (Kikan I think it was called) and advancing into a dungeon as far as I can before warping out when things got too difficult so that I would ensure getting money, good items and levels out of the run through the dungeon. I'm still currently playing the 2nd one whenever I'm not playing my other handheld games and it's somewhat easier than the first one with a lot more content, but still puts up a tough challenge.
The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon spin-off series takes many aspects of Rogue-likes, but are not nearly as difficult. One Japanese developed Roguelike I really enjoyed was ClaDun: This is an RPG. The player could create and customize their own characters and combine them with other characters to enhance a stat to ridiculous proportions. It gets to a point where a character can one shot enemies, zoom past them at incredible speed, or cast a spell so devastating that a boss wouldn't be able to take a hit. It took out turn-based movement and battle for an Action-orientated combat mechanic but kept difficulty, randomness and high risk-reward aspects to the game for all sorts of shenanigans. ClaDun 2 was eventually released both for PSP and even for PC on Steam, which I have bought but have yet to find the time to play. Another Action-orientated Rogue-like I sadly never got to try is Baroque. It was originally launched for the PS2 but has also been released for the Nintendo Wii and Apple iOS iPad. Like many roguelikes, it's unforgiving and causes the player to start over if they die. Strange enough, I heard that some events can only be triggered by dying. Although roguelike games aren't made very often, there's one on its way to America this year.
Source: Youtube Channel MMediaEntertainment
Supposedly a spiritual successor to "Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman" for the PSP, The Guided Fate Paradox will be a Roguelike RPG with a vast amount of customization, content, and craziness. Being developed by the team who worked on Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, you can expect the skill animations to be flashy, colorful, and totally over-the-top. The game should be out sometime this Fall, but delays can happen.
Source: Youtube Channel Ew Ae
The game I want to talk about most, and the game responsible for spurring the idea of writing this post, is a Japanese indie developed game called "Elona". Most people are probably familiar with the popular flash game "Elona Shooter" which was developed by the same person to promote "Elona". The game had been released back in 2007 as a freeware game and I had known about the game but did not try it. As my friends and I were talking about Roguelikes, one of them mentioned Elona and I had remembered the game mostly because you can be a Pianist as a class in the game. He described his experience with the game and highly encouraged me to try it out. So I eventually did and was already enraptured by the game through its character creation. There's a wide selection of races, classes, builds, perks, appearances, nicknames, and equipment quality that the player can roll for. Once the game starts, everything is up to the player. The game is open-world rather than being dungeon-only levels but still randomly generate levels inside caves and buildings. Hunger, thirst, fatigue, backpack weight, diseases and curses all play part in the adventure. The player doesn't lose their characters after dying, but rather lose some money, drop some items, and reawaken back at their home. When a player dies, they can leave a message that is sent out to the text feed of other players playing the game that announces where they died, who killed them, and their message. Does this sound familiar? It reminded me of Demon's Souls where players don't directly interact with each other (although they can in Demon's Souls when summoned) but can leave messages and blood stains when they die to warn other players. It also kind of gives it an involving feeling when you see messages of other players deaths and realize that you're not the only one getting killed and having struggles. Despite not being able to see and play with other players, players can make Moon Gates which is a rift that the player can go through to go to other player's houses. Some may contain riches and items that can help the player while others may be a sick joke by the player where it's ridden with high level monsters everywhere. The game is progressive and does have a story. And with the amount of content is provides, I imagine this game can last a very long time.
Roguelikes have a unique charm to them that no other genre really has. But they attract a niche group of gamers and are not widely popular as other RPG genres in the market. Even turn-based JRPGs are starting to become a niche in the RPG sector as Action-RPGs become more popular. It can be difficult for newcomers to get into Roguelikes, and there aren't that many easy ones to get into. If you are new to Roguelikes and want to try to get into it, I would recommend Dungeons of Dredmor above all the other ones I've mentioned as it is the easiest to pick up.
Showing posts with label Dungeons of Dredmor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dungeons of Dredmor. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Thursday, December 15, 2011
GameLight Review - Dungeons of Dredmor
Official Site: http://www.dungeonsofdredmor.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/98800/
Source: Youtube Channel GameBansheeDotCom
Developer: Gaslamp Games, Inc.
Publisher: Gaslamp Games, Inc.
Platforms: PC (Steam)
Release Date: July 13, 2011
Genre: Rogue-like RPG
Pros:
-Hundreds of combinations for all sorts of builds and play styles
-Stays true to the turn-based Rogue-like RPG of the past
-A different experience every new game is started
-Challenging, humorous, and really fun background music
-Unpredictable in every step and a surprise behind every door
Cons:
-Can be very difficult and not easily approachable to just anyone
-Things are randomly generated, be prepared for shenanigans to happen (like getting 1-shotted)
-Where did the time go? Easily eats up time in the day/night
Dungeons of Dredmor gave me a bad impression the first time I saw the video for it. It looked slow and boring. Still, it was an "RPG" sort of game and I was very curious. Being sold at the usual $5, I picked up the game during a sale for a mere $2.49. I'm so glad I did now. DoD is a Rogue-like RPG where the player custom builds a combination of skills and talents for the hero to walk into the dungeon with. The experience in how the player subdues enemies and compensates for lack of other abilities change depending on what the player chose for talents and skills as well as what randomly generates each play through. As I gained more experience (both in understanding and points wise), I started looting more, killing more, and delving even deeper into the dungeons. It might be a bit strange having the turn-based tile system of most Rogue-likes for the gamer that's accustomed to Action-RPGs, but it should be fairly easy to adjust to after an hour or so. The learning curve can be a bit steep depending on how quickly one learns, but learning how the game works and what everything does is half the fun. It is bothersome to be extra careful with each step in not trying to trigger a trap, but it truly adds to the tension of the game and reminds the player to be cautious and play smart. With so many combinations and the ability for the game to randomly generate levels, this game can last a really long time for the measly $5 that you pay for. Rogue-like RPGs are rare and good ones are even scarcer. Anyone looking for a unique sort of Action-RPG experience with tons of variation and replay value should definitely pick this one up.
Aesthetics
I'll be very honest, but the graphics are rather shoddy. Everything looks like it was painted in Flash and was crudely drawn. but after playing the game for a while, I didn't mind anymore. The style of the graphics were consistent and worked well for the game's humorous theme. What does bother me is things that are obscured or hidden, such as traps behind a wall or door, or a potion behind a book shelf. I was also disappointed that equipped items do not reflect back at the main character's look. All equipped items are stat changing and has no change in the character's appearance. Animations are simple but portray the actions of attacks, enemies and traps within the game. I think what makes up for the graphics is the audio. The sound effects have a significant role in the game as it helps tell a player when they've stepped on a trap, got a critical hit, when they can't hold anymore items, etc. My first experience with the music, other than the title screen, is the tutorial tune. At first, I thought "wow, this is kind of catchy". By the 5-7th tutorial mission, the song started to get annoying. Luckily, the rest of the game cycles through various tracks created for the game. Better yet, the music for the game is awesome! There's the dark type of atmospheric tunes with jazzy upbeat ones. It actually made the game a lot more entertaining! The graphics and animation aren't incredible, but they work for the game in a way. The music I ended up liking a lot. Aesthetics: 8/10
Buttons
The game was really confusing at first, but there's an optional tutorial that the player can play through. It helped me get started, but I ultimately had to figure out everything else on my own. The stats system is convoluted and detailed, and I barely go past looking at it as "the higher the numbers, the better they are". The inventory can get really messy too, but the added "sort" button and its compact screen makes it easy to leave it open and still be able to play the game and keeping it organized. I'm glad they allowed the use of the keyboard for movement as well as mouse. Some may feel more comfortable using the mouse to click where to go, but I started using the keyboard more as each step has its danger in the game. The controls and User-interface isn't the easiest to learn, but I think it's mapped out pretty well once I got used to them. Buttons: 7/10
Concept & Content
I believe there's 10 floors total for each playthrough and they're all randomly generated. The goal is to get to the 10th floor and defeat Lord Dredmor himself. Along the way, the player can fight monsters to gain experience points, learn new skills, gather strong equipment, and gain items to use against the many enemies in the dungeons. The concept is basically a Rogue-like back in the 1970's but with nicer graphics and a (much) more approachable user-interface. Their interpretation of a Rogue-like is actually much easier to understand than most, even though it's still a bit complicated. And as the game states when you start the game: "don't make finishing the game your goal as you will miss the fun. Get better each play through and experiment to see what works and what doesn't." If the player just tries to rush through the game, they will often find themselves quickly killed by traps, a boss monster, or by their own hands (stepped on my own spell rune once, I was curious). There are three difficulty levels to choose from and the option to turn on Perma-death. So if the player dies in the dungeon, they have to start a new character. I play with Perma-death on since it makes it that much more pivotal to play carefully and strategically. It has that tension that wouldn't be there if I knew I could just rush around everywhere and continue from my last save if I mess up. A new option added to the game just this week is a shorter version of the game which makes all the floors smaller, but give the same amount of experience points so that the player can go through the game a lot faster. While a successful playthrough could probably last at least 5-15 hours of gameplay time, the amount of combinations available offers tons of ways the game can be played which lengthen the gameplay time even further. A new DLC was added yesterday (Dec 14, 2011) with new levels, weapons, enemies, and items as shown in the video above. I dislike DLC a lot, but I really like the game and will be willing to get it during a sale. The DLC is $2.99 (yup, only $2 less than the actual game). But for the original package offered, $5 is a really good deal for what you get. I only wish that items have an actual change of appearance for the character. Concept & Content: 9/10
Duration
As mentioned above, the game has a lot to offer as long as the player is still enticed to the concept and try out different combinations of skills. Watching the gameplay doesn't give a good sense of the pacing as it looks really slow. While playing the game, the pacing moves at a moderate speed. Each room can be a reward or a nightmare which places the player on edge each time. I can't complain about the game being too long or too short as the game itself is so fun that I didn't really care. I've already died about 5 times in the game and each new playthrough got me even more excited than the last as I learned more and want to try a different build. My latest save file got corrupted in the patch this week, which I think the developers knew because I got an achievement for having the game crash stating that it's a "thank you" for doing a bit of QA for them and letting them know that old saves don't work. I started another character with the same build and realized that they added new skills to the branches of the talent tree. I can imagine myself playing this a lot more before I feel like I've gotten all I can out of the game. Duration: 10/10
Fun
I was so skeptical about getting this game. The gameplay looked boring, the graphics were amateurish looking, and the sell price of $5 made me question the quality of the game. I'm so happy that the game turned out to be so much fun! I haven't played a good Rogue-like (other than Desktop Dungeons) since Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja on the Nintendo DS back in 2006. I was still weary about what to think about the game when I played through the tutorials, and I was super confused when I started up the game and I encountered so many things I didn't in the tutorial. But once I started to get better weapons, learning strong skills, and descending farther down the dungeon, I was hooked. The feeling that you get after your character dies or you finish the game is wanting more. The game really does change the way you approach enemies and situations depending on the talents you choose from the beginning. The music really got me into the mood in playing the game too. It does feel disappointing when your character dies and you spent 10+ hours on it though. This game truly surprised me and is one of the more memorable ones this year. Fun: 9/10
Overall
Dungeons of Dredmor isn't for everyone, but for $5 there shouldn't be any reason not to try the game out. It's unique, comical, challenging, and has a surprise behind every door (*cough* monster zoo *cough*). What a player gets out of it is an everlasting adventure experience that leaves a lot of room for experimentation, one which can last a long time if the player wants it to. My only advice for those who want to play the game: be patient and keep playing, because it just keeps getting better and better as you continue to learn more. Overall: 8.6/10
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/98800/
Source: Youtube Channel GameBansheeDotCom
Developer: Gaslamp Games, Inc.
Publisher: Gaslamp Games, Inc.
Platforms: PC (Steam)
Release Date: July 13, 2011
Genre: Rogue-like RPG
Pros:
-Hundreds of combinations for all sorts of builds and play styles
-Stays true to the turn-based Rogue-like RPG of the past
-A different experience every new game is started
-Challenging, humorous, and really fun background music
-Unpredictable in every step and a surprise behind every door
Cons:
-Can be very difficult and not easily approachable to just anyone
-Things are randomly generated, be prepared for shenanigans to happen (like getting 1-shotted)
-Where did the time go? Easily eats up time in the day/night
Dungeons of Dredmor gave me a bad impression the first time I saw the video for it. It looked slow and boring. Still, it was an "RPG" sort of game and I was very curious. Being sold at the usual $5, I picked up the game during a sale for a mere $2.49. I'm so glad I did now. DoD is a Rogue-like RPG where the player custom builds a combination of skills and talents for the hero to walk into the dungeon with. The experience in how the player subdues enemies and compensates for lack of other abilities change depending on what the player chose for talents and skills as well as what randomly generates each play through. As I gained more experience (both in understanding and points wise), I started looting more, killing more, and delving even deeper into the dungeons. It might be a bit strange having the turn-based tile system of most Rogue-likes for the gamer that's accustomed to Action-RPGs, but it should be fairly easy to adjust to after an hour or so. The learning curve can be a bit steep depending on how quickly one learns, but learning how the game works and what everything does is half the fun. It is bothersome to be extra careful with each step in not trying to trigger a trap, but it truly adds to the tension of the game and reminds the player to be cautious and play smart. With so many combinations and the ability for the game to randomly generate levels, this game can last a really long time for the measly $5 that you pay for. Rogue-like RPGs are rare and good ones are even scarcer. Anyone looking for a unique sort of Action-RPG experience with tons of variation and replay value should definitely pick this one up.
Aesthetics
I'll be very honest, but the graphics are rather shoddy. Everything looks like it was painted in Flash and was crudely drawn. but after playing the game for a while, I didn't mind anymore. The style of the graphics were consistent and worked well for the game's humorous theme. What does bother me is things that are obscured or hidden, such as traps behind a wall or door, or a potion behind a book shelf. I was also disappointed that equipped items do not reflect back at the main character's look. All equipped items are stat changing and has no change in the character's appearance. Animations are simple but portray the actions of attacks, enemies and traps within the game. I think what makes up for the graphics is the audio. The sound effects have a significant role in the game as it helps tell a player when they've stepped on a trap, got a critical hit, when they can't hold anymore items, etc. My first experience with the music, other than the title screen, is the tutorial tune. At first, I thought "wow, this is kind of catchy". By the 5-7th tutorial mission, the song started to get annoying. Luckily, the rest of the game cycles through various tracks created for the game. Better yet, the music for the game is awesome! There's the dark type of atmospheric tunes with jazzy upbeat ones. It actually made the game a lot more entertaining! The graphics and animation aren't incredible, but they work for the game in a way. The music I ended up liking a lot. Aesthetics: 8/10
Buttons
The game was really confusing at first, but there's an optional tutorial that the player can play through. It helped me get started, but I ultimately had to figure out everything else on my own. The stats system is convoluted and detailed, and I barely go past looking at it as "the higher the numbers, the better they are". The inventory can get really messy too, but the added "sort" button and its compact screen makes it easy to leave it open and still be able to play the game and keeping it organized. I'm glad they allowed the use of the keyboard for movement as well as mouse. Some may feel more comfortable using the mouse to click where to go, but I started using the keyboard more as each step has its danger in the game. The controls and User-interface isn't the easiest to learn, but I think it's mapped out pretty well once I got used to them. Buttons: 7/10
Concept & Content
I believe there's 10 floors total for each playthrough and they're all randomly generated. The goal is to get to the 10th floor and defeat Lord Dredmor himself. Along the way, the player can fight monsters to gain experience points, learn new skills, gather strong equipment, and gain items to use against the many enemies in the dungeons. The concept is basically a Rogue-like back in the 1970's but with nicer graphics and a (much) more approachable user-interface. Their interpretation of a Rogue-like is actually much easier to understand than most, even though it's still a bit complicated. And as the game states when you start the game: "don't make finishing the game your goal as you will miss the fun. Get better each play through and experiment to see what works and what doesn't." If the player just tries to rush through the game, they will often find themselves quickly killed by traps, a boss monster, or by their own hands (stepped on my own spell rune once, I was curious). There are three difficulty levels to choose from and the option to turn on Perma-death. So if the player dies in the dungeon, they have to start a new character. I play with Perma-death on since it makes it that much more pivotal to play carefully and strategically. It has that tension that wouldn't be there if I knew I could just rush around everywhere and continue from my last save if I mess up. A new option added to the game just this week is a shorter version of the game which makes all the floors smaller, but give the same amount of experience points so that the player can go through the game a lot faster. While a successful playthrough could probably last at least 5-15 hours of gameplay time, the amount of combinations available offers tons of ways the game can be played which lengthen the gameplay time even further. A new DLC was added yesterday (Dec 14, 2011) with new levels, weapons, enemies, and items as shown in the video above. I dislike DLC a lot, but I really like the game and will be willing to get it during a sale. The DLC is $2.99 (yup, only $2 less than the actual game). But for the original package offered, $5 is a really good deal for what you get. I only wish that items have an actual change of appearance for the character. Concept & Content: 9/10
Duration
As mentioned above, the game has a lot to offer as long as the player is still enticed to the concept and try out different combinations of skills. Watching the gameplay doesn't give a good sense of the pacing as it looks really slow. While playing the game, the pacing moves at a moderate speed. Each room can be a reward or a nightmare which places the player on edge each time. I can't complain about the game being too long or too short as the game itself is so fun that I didn't really care. I've already died about 5 times in the game and each new playthrough got me even more excited than the last as I learned more and want to try a different build. My latest save file got corrupted in the patch this week, which I think the developers knew because I got an achievement for having the game crash stating that it's a "thank you" for doing a bit of QA for them and letting them know that old saves don't work. I started another character with the same build and realized that they added new skills to the branches of the talent tree. I can imagine myself playing this a lot more before I feel like I've gotten all I can out of the game. Duration: 10/10
Fun
I was so skeptical about getting this game. The gameplay looked boring, the graphics were amateurish looking, and the sell price of $5 made me question the quality of the game. I'm so happy that the game turned out to be so much fun! I haven't played a good Rogue-like (other than Desktop Dungeons) since Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja on the Nintendo DS back in 2006. I was still weary about what to think about the game when I played through the tutorials, and I was super confused when I started up the game and I encountered so many things I didn't in the tutorial. But once I started to get better weapons, learning strong skills, and descending farther down the dungeon, I was hooked. The feeling that you get after your character dies or you finish the game is wanting more. The game really does change the way you approach enemies and situations depending on the talents you choose from the beginning. The music really got me into the mood in playing the game too. It does feel disappointing when your character dies and you spent 10+ hours on it though. This game truly surprised me and is one of the more memorable ones this year. Fun: 9/10
Overall
Dungeons of Dredmor isn't for everyone, but for $5 there shouldn't be any reason not to try the game out. It's unique, comical, challenging, and has a surprise behind every door (*cough* monster zoo *cough*). What a player gets out of it is an everlasting adventure experience that leaves a lot of room for experimentation, one which can last a long time if the player wants it to. My only advice for those who want to play the game: be patient and keep playing, because it just keeps getting better and better as you continue to learn more. Overall: 8.6/10
Thursday, December 1, 2011
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!
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!
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