Hiring

Dungeon Crawler games come in many forms, but all contain unknown elements that make them so appealing. Should I risk fighting a mini-boss or cut my losses and run? How much should I explore knowing death can come at any turn? Risks and rewards have made the genre a fan favourite for decades. Bit Dungeon Plus is a 2D roguelike dungeon crawler  that recently came out on Xbox One, courtesy of Dolores Entertainment S.L. All the fundamentals are here: weapons and armour complete with stats that set them apart. Magic spells and Mana meters that can clear a crowd should you run into trouble.

 

The first thing I noticed in Bit Dungeon Plus is that your character does not level up in a traditional sense. Occasionally, after clearing rooms you will be given a choice of three attribute boosts: damage, health and critical. Whichever one you choose will add 5 points to your character in the chosen area. Everything else in terms of your strength is tied to your weapon and items. Weapons, capes, chest plates, shoes, rings and more all have various stats. These items are acquired through opening chests, and thankfully before swapping items you can easily compare strengths and weaknesses through a popup UI. You might have to sacrifice armour for critical chance or speed, but these are standard fare in the dungeon crawler genre. As you pick up different items and weapons your character’s visual look will start to change as well. I really liked how it gave each run a little sense and feel of personalization.

The rooms in Bit Dungeon Plus are all connected, and many times you will have to choose one direction in favour of another. Sometimes I found a direct path to the boss door and other times it was the last room I discovered. Either way the smartest method of progression is visiting every room in a level before moving on to the boss. When you enter a new room, the door locks behind you and you must defeat everyone in order to proceed. A key will drop from the ceiling and you can choose your next room or backtrack. When you return to a cleared room there are purple scavengers feasting on the corpses of your slain enemies. These scavengers will attack but are easily dispatched with one swing, and often drop health or mana potions. Fighting bosses is relegated to spamming your magic and regular attacks until it dies. You are then permitted to save, but if you happen to die you must start from the beginning.

 

I enjoy the gameplay overall but it does have its issues when it comes to controls and variety. I never felt like I was given full range of motion with my character. Sometimes I would try and manoeuvre to attack and it just felt like I was limited to vertical or horizontal movements. This cause me to take a lot of damage when I opted to dodge attacks instead of using my shield. Every level has a different look when it comes to environmentals and enemies. It doesn’t take long to discover most enemies share attack pattens, they just look different in their respective level. Nevertheless I kept on going and tried my luck as things got more difficult. Bit Dungeon Plus has that intangible quality that made me want to keep trying when I fail.

Graphically I really liked the retro art style and use of colours. It’s a nice touch for my character to track bloody footprints when stepping across his handywork. The chiptune music fits perfectly with the graphical theme, but it does get repetitive after a while. Bit Dungeon Plus can also be played locally with a second player. Whether this appeals to the buyer will vary on a case by case basis. Achievement wise you’re looking at 19 for a total of 1000g, with many grindy ones.

 

 For the asking price of $6.99 USD you are getting a basic, affordable roguelike dungeon crawler with some fun to be had. It scores points with me for the art design, price and affordability. It is not my fluorite roguelike game on Xbox, that would be Quest of Dungeons, but it looks the part and is accessible enough for gamers of all skill types.

 

Final Score 6.5/10

 

Written by: Jordan650

 

Catch me on Twitter, Twitch, Mixer and Xbox Live at the same handle

 

A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review

 

You can purchase Bit Dungeon Plus on the Xbox Store Here

 

Release Date - Friday‎, ‎May‎ ‎5‎, ‎2017

Price - $6.99

Download Size - 389.15 MB