Knew this game was gonna be a banger as soon as I recognised Paul Eiding as one of the townspeople. At one point he narrates an ancient tome found in the labyrinth in his serious Colonel Campbell voice and it was just wonderful. Anyway, there's more to this than Paul Eiding. There's other voice actors. And a game around them. That game is good.
I was struck by its simplicity most of all. Straightforward XP and level up system, just 5 stats, non-respawning enemies. The entire game takes place in one town and one labyrinth that descends ever further; as soon as you clear a floor, the difficulty of the next one is solely down to the decisions you've made. No amount of grinding goblins is going to help you. They're not even in the game for one.
The simplicity helps it endure though. How many flash or indie games use this scenario? There's something approachable about these ideas that transcend the basic gameplay, which is largely clicking on skeletons and goat men. There's a wonderful enemy progression through the floors, each floor will typically have at least one new enemy, and they get bigger and cooler the further you go. No longer do I just kill skeletons, I'm killing 50 huge armoured behemoths who explode in a cyclone of fire when they die. It's heartwarming.
The graphics are nicely evocative, particularly the enemy design and animations, but the sound design is what carries. Sound is more important anyway, never skimp on sound, especially when you're making a game in 1996 that'll be played by me in 2023. Get yourself some good voice actors (kinda hit and miss here, the witch's performance is a kind of wooden that loops back round to being animated somehow), good music (the town theme is a tune that totally sets the atmosphere and the dungeon themes continue it), and good sound effects. You know it's a good game when a ring drops and it makes a satisfying ting, because they knew the player should love that ting. You will love the ting.
Most of all, I'm just so glad I actually liked a game in this style because I've been fascinated by them for a while now. This is a focused game with such a grasp on the more alchemical aspects of game design that it really endears you to the company that made it. Blizzard made something timeless here. So excited to see what they'll do next!
I was struck by its simplicity most of all. Straightforward XP and level up system, just 5 stats, non-respawning enemies. The entire game takes place in one town and one labyrinth that descends ever further; as soon as you clear a floor, the difficulty of the next one is solely down to the decisions you've made. No amount of grinding goblins is going to help you. They're not even in the game for one.
The simplicity helps it endure though. How many flash or indie games use this scenario? There's something approachable about these ideas that transcend the basic gameplay, which is largely clicking on skeletons and goat men. There's a wonderful enemy progression through the floors, each floor will typically have at least one new enemy, and they get bigger and cooler the further you go. No longer do I just kill skeletons, I'm killing 50 huge armoured behemoths who explode in a cyclone of fire when they die. It's heartwarming.
The graphics are nicely evocative, particularly the enemy design and animations, but the sound design is what carries. Sound is more important anyway, never skimp on sound, especially when you're making a game in 1996 that'll be played by me in 2023. Get yourself some good voice actors (kinda hit and miss here, the witch's performance is a kind of wooden that loops back round to being animated somehow), good music (the town theme is a tune that totally sets the atmosphere and the dungeon themes continue it), and good sound effects. You know it's a good game when a ring drops and it makes a satisfying ting, because they knew the player should love that ting. You will love the ting.
Most of all, I'm just so glad I actually liked a game in this style because I've been fascinated by them for a while now. This is a focused game with such a grasp on the more alchemical aspects of game design that it really endears you to the company that made it. Blizzard made something timeless here. So excited to see what they'll do next!