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Review of Epic Dungeon Indie Game for Xbox Live by Protomario

3,708 views · Published 10 January 2011 · 9:15 · Indexed 23 October 2026

Channel: ProtoMario · 2011 · Gaming

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This game is epically cheap.

There's a fine line between a game that is just averagely epic and one that is decidedly epic, it's a line that truly separates the men from the boys. Epic being used as a word for discussing how challenging or difficult a game can be. Well not really, still though Epic Dungeon is in fact epic enough to earn its namesake.

Developed by Eyehook, Epic Dungeon was the first game released in the Indie Uprising event being kicked off by a number of Xbox Live Indie Game developers. As I'm sure you have already surmised, the game is a roguelike that entails you to choose a character and explore ever increasingly difficult floors of a dungeon.

Really it's everything you'd expect out of a solid roguelike dungeon crawler.

As mentioned above, Epic Dungeon is, in fact, a roguelike game that has your character waking up in the first floor of a dungeon. From there it's simply a matter of exploring each floor and making your way down to ever expanding and more challenging levels. All in all, Epic Dungeon nails the feel of the roguelike while at the same time providing any newcomer to the genre a decent first time experience without being unbearably difficult.

Speaking of the difficulty level, while the game starts off relatively easy enough — for newcomers — make no mistake that Epic Dungeon is a roguelike at heart and once you even hit the third and fourth floors you'll begin noticing that the game is getting increasingly more challenging. Of course, this is what we expect from roguelikes. This is the genre where true gamers come to test their mettle and Epic Dungeon is a fine testing ground in those respects.

Of course, what Epic Dungeon might lack in the intricacies and complexity of other roguelikes it makes up for in simple "get in, get out" gameplay. This is what I loved about the game most of all. Each character starts with one skill and their normal attack, of which you just run into things to attack them and use your singular skill which is mapped to a specific button. Too often roguelikes can get mired in confusing menus and systems that make no sense, Epic Dungeon keeps it simple

The game also comes with the option of selecting four distinct classes: berserker, gambler, tinkerer and shaman. Each one has a different skill which they can level up faster. Additionally, each class comes with a slightly different opening storyline. Overall, it's just enough to get somebody to come back and play a few more to experience the different classes.

Finally, as one would expect, Epic Dungeon comes with all the typical RPG features that are expected in roguelike games. Your character can level up, assign stats, acquire new skills, collect items, equip new weapons and armor. It's all there.

Epic Dungeon is a decidedly retro game complete with retro 16-Bit graphics to go along with it. It's hearkens back to a time when NES games were championing the same type of gameplay. Of course, there are nuances here and there of a more modern graphical style, like in the way the game handles the fog of war effect, but overall this game is dripping in delicious retro charm.

As previously mentioned Epic Dungeon doesn't really have a solid story. Instead, each class you choose, has an opening story line which reveals why your character is trapped in this dungeon. The real story elements of the game come when you discover events. These events unfold various scenarios where your character can either reap the benefits or suffer the consequences depending on a number of factors like class, level, or luck.

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Epic Dungeon is a great game, and a fine way to kick off the Indie Uprising event. Anybody who loves the old roguelike games owe it to themselves and Eyehook to at least check this game out. From there, if you enjoy the game you can buy the game for a mere 80 MS points ($1). Again... highly recommended.

Reference-
http://www.diygamer.com/2010/12/decidedly-epic-epic-dungeon-review/

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