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There’s something I really enjoy about Endless Dungeon. Like we highlighted in the Closed Beta, the self-proclaimed “Tower Offense” title is an incredibly chaotic blast.
Combining all the stress of defending key objectives, generating resources and dealing with other players, it’s the perfect kind of game to whip out and have a few good screaming matches with. Yet despite this, there’s the problem any game that marches to the beat of its own drum faces- what if it’s too weird for general audiences?
Run, Gun And Manage
At its core, I quite like the loop of Endless Dungeon. While its levels are procedurally generated, its core loop isn’t. It’s an incredibly pragmatic rogue-lite- rather than being a straight path to the exit, you’re instead opening rooms in a dungeon, collecting resources as you move along. Then, you’ll reach some sort of crescendo event, where you’ll need to defend your Crystal and buildings from threats using your skill and those neat gun turrets you’ve hopefully been deploying.
As someone who’s not fond of rogue-lite games I find this to be really clever. You never have to worry about the rogue-lite elements until you die- up until then, you’re playing an excellent dungeon crawler, one that forces you to remember important details like Monster Spawners, or the location of any important buildings.
Even the crescendo events themselves are quite a lot of fun- just like in Left 4 Dead you’re going to occasionally just open a door that you shouldn’t have, and suddenly you’re out from explore mode and back to “Good lord I didn’t build enough turrets to defend the Crystal” mode. Maybe more organized people will prove me wrong but it will feel like there’s seemingly no way to do it perfectly- the game’s good at finding a way to catch you off-guard.
Squad Up
Of course, one other way that Endless Dungeon keeps it interesting is with the characters themselves. There’s a whole cast of heroes, divided into different battlefield roles and armed with their own unique skills. The encounters themselves are definitely not meant to be done alone- so even if you’re playing solo, an AI will take control of the other heroes.
Unfortunately for a game like this, team comp does seem to be pretty important. I noticed runs are way more fleeting if there’s no healer in the party, and it’s much harder to protect the Crystal if you’re simply not killing things fast enough or diverting enough attention from the people who are. I kind of wish there was a little more sauce here- something really wacky to reward more unorthodox comps.
You will also need to actually play the game to unlock all the characters- just playing through the story will net you more heroes, so that’ll give you plenty of time to learn how to protect an objective before you get the robot girl of your dreams.
The Joy Is In The Details
Honestly, I’m most impressed with the decisions behind Endless Dungeon itself. Enemy types are simple- different element types are good against different enemies, so you’ll want to make sure you’re aware of which enemies you’re seeing the most. Similarly, you’ll want to maintain your resources properly- while the Industry resource is an obvious early game pick since it lets you build more turrets, but you’ll eventually run into the problem of bog-standard turrets not being enough. That’s where you’ll need Science to upgrade said turrets, or Food to get healing for your heroes.
Considering these are tied to how many doors you open it’s quite an interesting dynamic. I once decided I’d plan ahead for once and invest early in Science, only to have had fancy turrets and not enough funds to build them, leading my Crystal Bot to an early demise. Never again, I said, vowing to live by a horde of bargain bin gun turrets , while longing for the intimacy of a single, upgraded platform.
Is It Too Weird?
While I enjoy just how much Endless Dungeon bucks conventional design trends, I can see where some people might not share my enthusiasm. Unlike the more blatant rogue-like elements that have become couture, Endless Dungeon genuinely makes you feel like each run might be the one. If you’re a new player I can imagine hoe demoralizing it might be to disccover that you don’t get to keep your toys on the next run- especially if you died just before progressing to the next zone.
Speaking of death, there is something to be said about the difficulty itself. Endless Dungeon is way more like a Dungeon Crawler when it comes to actual difficulty- you can’t just rely on upgrades to brute force your way through levels. You never feel like you’re missing tools, but the idea that you’re not going to find a magic ability that solves all your problem is one you’ll need to internalize.
That being said, if you’re the type to be looking for a new co-op experience I couldn’t recommend Endless Dungeon enough. It’s not content to just follow the beats of either of its genres- it blends them in a very fun and unique way. I can only imagine the trouble comes from what you lose from doing things this way- Dungeon Crawler fans might be annoyed at the idea of losing the perfect gun, while rogue-lite fans might find run times a little long if they’ve any skill to them. But to anyone else, it’s a complete breath of fresh air and a riveting good time.
Just remember to build turrets responsibly.
Game reviewed on PC. Review code provided by SEGA
The Review
Endless Dungeon
PROS
- Smart, inventive gameplay
- Quirky, cool characters
CONS
- Difficulty spike may be off-putting to some
- By being a mix of two genres it's sure to feel lesser
