Dungeon Lad

I felt that in order to write this review I had to come at it from a place of understanding, and so it was that I set out on a three-day adventure to become... THE Dungeon Lad. I purchased this game knowing only that it was developed by GGG, a wonderful developer and overall stand up guy. The description piqued my curiosity right away, as an avid fan of rogue-lites. The game starts off slow, with most runs lasting about 5-8 minutes as you slowly build up the orbs to change the landscapes of the dungeons to suit your play. However, the high scores suggested there was a threshold I had yet to achieve, so I began to think about the game more critically. Seeing where the mechanics drove me, rather than playing the game as I had expected it to play. Its more of a "dungeon dasher" than a "dungeon delver", so I set for myself a few rules, which in the end proved the most fruitful to my goals. The rules are as follows: 1. Time is your greatest ally. I stopped purchasing anything from the up...

This game rips and I am the best at it.

Dungeon Lad threads the needle between simplicity and replayability. It's not bogged down with complex systems and can almost be played with 4 keys alone, a mouse needed only for navigating menus. Games are fast and light, evoking the feel of classic arcade titles with the aesthetic of classic computer roguelikes. If a delightfully nimble roguelike experience is the metaphorical cake, then the cherry on top is the leader boards. Like all games from this studio, you can upload your scores so that others can see your triumph, adding a competitive aspect I didn't even know I needed for this title. Just when you think you are ready to pause and get back to work, you see another player has overtaken your high score. A quick visit to the orb store to purchase permanent upgrades, and you're right back to it.

simple and fun

Good simple game with high replayability. Dev is responsive and quick with updates.

Addicting gameplay with satisfying progression.

Very fun and addicting game. Easy to learn and can occupy you for hours with satisfying progression.

This is a very fun and simple game. Make sure you clear your schedule because it is EXTREMELY addicting. You'll keep wanting to come back because you were just so close the previous run. As the previous comment said, time is the most important resource. Always try to stock up on it.

Liking this one so far. Has good meta-progression, runs are quick, and it's easy to pick up. You can find quite a few synergies among the upgrades, which is always a plus for Rogue games. Ton more upgrades for me to unlock too, so I'd imagine there's quite a handful of synergies I've yet to discover. The music is- as other reviews claim- bopping. Songs have a good rhythm to them, and complement the "quick-paced thinking" the game encourages. Couple improvements would be appreciated; like making it possible to play with one hand, or some more sound effects. But these are nitpicks. Besides that, it's a pretty interesting take on dungeon crawling, and the developer shows clear improvement compared to his previous game in nearly all aspects of the game. Give it a shot.

A nice take on a classic genre. The real-time aspect (as opposed to traditional turn-based) as an additional element of excitement. The runs are quick, and the permanent upgrades seem to be paced just right to make you want to try another run. It feels like there's a good amount of variety in terms of upgrades and unlocks, along with different environments to keep things feeling fresh. The combat is particularly streamlined and helps keeps the runs moving quickly.