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Brad Cummings
United States
Connecticut
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The Stats:
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch Universal
Current Price: $1.99
Developer/Publisher: Ayopa Games, Drowning Monkey
Version: 1.0
Size: 92.2 MB
Multiplayer: None
AI: Yes.
Itunes link: Dungeon Crawlers
The Good:
- Fun art style. The graphics are well suited for iOS
- The story is funny and engaging with numerous pop culture references.
The Bad:
- Old fashioned turn based battles can be long and drawn out.
- Missing secrets early in the game can leave you without needed equipment on later challenging levels.
Gameplay:
Dungeon Crawlers is a turned based adventure where players control a team of four heroes on a quest to clear out a dungeon of monsters. It has a strong D&D 4E flavor with video game features to fill in the storytelling.
In Dungeon Crawlers players take control of four heroes each with a specific role. There is a tank/melee fighter, a magic user, a rogue, and a healer. Each of these characters has special abilities that make them strong in certain situations. As players progress through the dungeon their characters will level up and be given new abilities. Players explore the dungeon level by level looking for treasure and secrets. Each level has hidden trophies (small figures hidden on the map) and secret rooms. It is important players find these secrets in order to not miss key items that will improve their characters. On each floor there are also encounters, or groups of monsters to fight. These can range from a handful of monsters to more than ten. Players must use their characters wisely to overcome these encounters. If a character is defeated they are gone until the start of the next dungeon level. Battles are very strategic and players must use each characters strength or the unforgiving AI will be victorious. This genre is something that many players will be familiar with and Dungeon Crawlers represents the genre well on iOS.
Implementation:
The key thing to realize with Dungeon Crawlers is that it is extremely fun. There are certainly several complaints that can be leveled at the game, but it is hard to ignore the enjoyment the game brings through its art style and, initially, simple game play. It may not be for everyone, but if you are a fan of D&D 4E combat and don’t mind a goofy story that does not take itself too seriously then this is worth picking up.
The art of Dungeon Crawlers is a light, approachable cel-shaded style. This distinctive style adds to the humor of the game while also making it look great on iOS. The developers picked a graphic design that fits within the limitations of the hardware. Visual touches are added to various characters throughout the game to give them a dash of humor. For example their are fat banshees and a warty Goblin King. The dialogue is also very well done with many Ghost Busters and other pop culture references throughout (I am not sure why this film in particular is focused on, but generally the references are quite funny). The visual nature of the dungeon is also important as players will have to use the game’s free moving camera to search for hidden trophies and secrets in each level.
The main interface for the game is touch based and this generally works quite well. In battle the tiles in which a player can move or attack are clearly shown in blue or red, respectively. Sometimes you may find yourself selecting the wrong tile but this is generally due to camera placement which can be quickly adjusted. Overall these elements of the interface work well and seem to fit the device, however, other parts of the interface feel extremely archaic. Each characters has several abilities and players must tap a small arrow button in order to scroll through them. This is not very intuitive and takes longer than it should. The menu system for items and characters statuses is also very old fashioned and burdensome to navigate. Item drops are rare so this menu is not used often, luckily. For a game that feels so sleek in many areas it is strange to have these clunky retro elements.
Dungeon Crawlers is of course a single player experience. They game currently has four chapters with three levels each, which may not seem like much but each level can take an hour or more to complete. There is plenty of content for your $1.99 and future updates are promised by the developer. The difficulty does ramp up quickly and battles can become very strategic and drawn out. The AI is very tricky and it is important you guard your weaker party members. A death means you lose that player for the rest of the level (sometimes making it near impossible to complete upcoming encounters), but you may restart from the start of the encounter if you wish. This is a great option but it can be very repetitive in the case of longer encounters. These battles are old fashioned in that you can often swing and miss or swing and do very little damage in an entire turn. This can be frustrating but admittedly is par for the course.
Another retro element is the loot in the game. Contrary to what the game ads would have you believe, there is not an endless supply of loot to be found (it is not like Diablo). Each treasure chest in the game is preset, meaning if you miss something from an earlier dungeon level, you miss it forever. Each level contains at least one secret room containing a treasure chest. If you miss these rooms you will be missing out on key equipment. You may still be successful in the game but you will also be at a serious disadvantage. Whether you call it old-school or hardcore really depends on your point of view, but it is important to note that this game is not as forgiving as many modern video games. While I think there should be some provision for new players, I do think that it is impressive that a game with such a silly story can pack gameplay that requires planning and thought. Whether in battle or exploring you must plan ahead or you will regret it later on.
Conclusion:
Dungeon Crawlers is not a perfect game and could use many additions. More content as well as fixes to previous omissions (such as a place to spend all that gold you are getting) will be very welcome. This app is very fun even in its current state. The graphics are endearing and the gameplay is nostalgic. I would recommend it for anyone look for some less than serious turn-based strategy.
Rating:  3/4 Good
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