I want to preface this review by stating that I'm not particularly fond of the roguelike genre. My short temper and adolescent fear of losing what's dearest to me makes me incapable of handling most roguelike games. Yet still, I managed to enjoy quite a bit of Dungeon Souls. Honestly, it's pretty fun.
No wait, scratch that — it's downright amazing.
You see, I'm a strong believer in replayability. What separates the good roguelike games from the rest of the litter is how they manage to make each playthrough unique and enjoyable. Without some method to reel players back in, the game grows stale and unappealing. Most roguelike titles sport gameplay that's as bareboned as it can get, so they need other ways to keep us interested.
Fortunately, this wasn't the case with Dungeon Souls. With over eight unlockable heroes and fifty unique passive items that can change the pace of your playthrough, I was more than willing to die and restart again — a bit too willing if you ask me.
Ranger, Healer, Boxer, Warrior -- the list of playable characters goes on and on.
The title of the game fits the story nicely. In Dungeon Souls, souls of fallen heroes are captured and imprisoned by dark overlords. On occasion, one hero will grow strong enough to attempt (and ultimately fail) the daunting escape. You play that hero.
The amount of unpredictability in each playthrough makes this game so special.
I could ramble on about how fun the gameplay is, but by doing so, I wouldn't do the game justice. You see, the gameplay isn't that special. What really sells it is how the developer managed to keep me coming back for more and more. With so many items and character options at my disposal, each escape was special. I've played the game for about five hours and I'm still finding new items along my adventure. One time, I was lucky enough to find a powerful weapon early on, which helped me gun right to the last boss. Another time, I was impaled by a spike trap not more than three seconds after reviving. Such is the life of a Dungeon Souls hero.
Speaking of heroes, I have to commend Lamina Studios for creating characters distinct from one another. There are over eight unlockable characters to choose from, and each one appeals to a different play-style. You can be a tank who dives in and throws around a bouncing boomerang, or you can be a speedy little thief who's just as dainty as he looks. Combine this with the wide-selection of items present in-game and you have a title capable of holding your attention.
Feeling a little feisty? Consider playing a Barbarian.
However, the game is still in Early Access so it's not free of any faults.
An issue I had was the lack of any in-game help or tool tips. Fun fact -- I had no clue I was able to allocate skill points until very late in the game. I thought leveling meant leveling a skill. A little window that would let me know, "hey, you can increase your defense stat here," probably would've helped me die less.
The game could really benefit from tips and helpful information.
I also didn't know what the hell I was picking up half the time. Among the sea of coins, potions, and items, players will also encounter random resources. Texts displaying "+3 Ectoplasm" or something of that nature often popped up on my screen, but were not found in my inventory. I had no clue what purpose they had. It wasn't until discovering recipes that I figured out I could craft special items in the menu forge. It's funny though, I didn't know the menu forge existed either.
The game itself is simple, but it'd be nice to get a brief introduction to everything present when we first start.
Another issue I had was how clumsy the ability controls felt. Trust me -- I'm no stranger to hotkeys. As an MMO veteran, I've used every key on my keyboard. I can hit 'F12' on a whim, and press '7' and '~' without making a mistake. But still, I find it incredibly frustrating and weird to activate spells in this game.
You see, both of your secondary spells are bound to your RMB. When you press 'Q' or 'E' you're simply switching which spell would be activated when you right-click. This is counter intuitive. I have no idea why the development team decided to do it this way, but I think the game would benefit more if the spell activated on a key-press rather than a mouse-click. It's so frustrating that I've even opted to only level up one secondary ability.
Boss fights are rewarding and can take a bit of time and preparation.
But aside from those two faults, the game is amazing. I'm going to take a huge leap and say that, in its current condition, the game is by-far the best Early Access experience that I've ever had. The amount of replayability is astonishing. There's so many characters to choose from, and each one plays differently from the other. And if you ever get bored of that, the abundance of discoverable items is sure to make every play-through unique.
Dungeon Souls is one heck of a game. You play as a hero whose soul is snatched and trapped in a spiritual hell. Unfortunately, with its amount of replayability, the game has managed to snag my soul as well.
And I don't think I'll be getting out of this one any time soon, nor would I want to.
Are you interested in the game? The Early Access version of Dungeon Souls is available on Steam.
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