Roguelikes date back to the 1980s, and while they have become something of a niche genre today they still have their fans. Epic Dungeon gets most of the formula right, letting you pick from one of four classes (each with their own expertise) and exploring a dungeon full of fantasy enemies, treasure, and traps. There isn’t all that much of a story; it’s mostly an excuse to wade through seas of enemies to kill them and find cool loot, then proceed further into the dungeon. Basically a RPG with some positioning skills required, Epic Dungeon shows that this genre can still be fun today.
Played from an overhead view with very retro graphics, Epic Dungeon at first may remind you of Gauntlet and that’s not entirely wrong. Much of your fighting is done the same way; you move around, then move ’into’ enemies you wish to attack while they do likewise. RPG stats handle most of the outcome, though unlike some roguelikes this game is played in real-time so you have to think quickly. You don’t start out with much, but you’ll be able to loot new weapons and armor as you go and buy more at shops you find. You’ll even pick up some extra skills every few levels (RPG-wise, not necessarily dungeon-wise), such as the ability to do a spin attack that hits all adjacent enemies or deploy an orb that flies around and fights independently of you.
You’ll have to deal with a lot of the usual suspects as well, keeping a good stock of healing potions on hand, plenty of lantern oil so you can see where you’re going, and deciding whether you want to risk equipping new items before you’ve had them inspected; they might be cursed! And of course there are traps... though most of Epic Dungeon’s are in plain sight and can be avoided with good timing, so you don’t have to be paranoid about where you’re going.
While the game mechanics are simple, Epic Dungeon is not easy. Death is permanent and while you can save at any time, if you die then that’s it; your character is gone and you start all over just like in the old days. The dungeon also gets more dangerous with each level you go into, and various special encounters lie in wait where the outcome depends on both your luck and the choices you make. Some of them hold great rewards, while others will punish you for wrong choices (or bad luck), adding an interesting element of uncertainty to it.
Epic Dungeon mostly sticks to the standard roguelike formula, but does it faithfully and will keep fans of the genre entertained for a while. Any given session will last just a few hours, but you can always play through with another character class and at $1 you’re going to get more than your money’s worth from this. If you’re interested in a classical dungeon crawl at a great price, Epic Dungeon is definitely what you’re looking for!
