Devious Dungeon 2

Review

Devious Dungeon 2 is a medieval-themed platformer with a strong RPG flavor mixed in. I went into the game with an expectation of a generic 2D pixelated-platformer, but right off the bat, it hit me that this is something different and unique.

Plot: Medieval times were harsh and crude, where the strong rule the weak, and prove themselves throughout their whole life with their bold and daring adventures.  It was considered romantic and heroic to venture out into the grim and dangerous unknown to find new land and treasure.

One of these dangerous and mysterious places is called Dark Castle. It’s rumored that the Dark Castle holds mysterious treasures. Many brave men have ventured into the castle to obtain them, but none have ever come back.

Now it’s your turn to try.

Gameplay: Devious Dungeon 2’s main attraction is its gameplay and features, although there is not much added to the game yet, the amount of content that is available is well implemented.

The base gameplay is nothing new, with Arrow keys to move and space & X to jump.

Combat, although adequate with hitting Z and C to perform the same attacks, the Single type of attack and its single animation became repetitive really quickly.

Movement, Jumping, and double jumping felt excellent and smooth, which kept the flow of combat seamless.

Added RPG flavor: What makes Devious Dungeon 2 stand out to me in a long list of 2D pixelated-platformer is it’s added RPG flavor:

1. 3 Unique characters with unique attributes: Barbarian, Mage & Rouge.
2. Quests; there are multiple mini-quests added to the game. Although they’re nothing special (just killing or smashing particular enemies and items) it gives the players something to work on.
3. Wanted Mini-Bosses; there are 12 mini bosses spread throughout the castle. Killing them will earn you rewards.
4. Collectables; there are a limited number of collectible treasures spread throughout the Castle; another thing players can look forward to.
5. Shop; you can buy new weapons, armor, potions & trinkets from the shop in exchange for gold that you have collected from the castle.

World: A well-designed pixelated world, with good attention to detail. The only obvious downside would be its texts when you walk up to the citizens in the town; due to the bright background and poor text-shadow, it’s hard to see what they are saying.

The castle is divided into six general areas: Mines, Crypt, Barracks, Dungeons, Great Halls & Library. Sadly, although the castle is divided into six areas, there are no major visual clues to make them standout.

Level design: Upon my first death, I was shocked by the decision to make the checkpoints randomized; it threw me off guard. And things got a little confusing at times, due to the fact that I wasn’t sure where I was in the castle. But other than that, the levels were very well-designed and planned.

Issues: Although the game runs and plays out pretty smoothly, there are a few hiccups, such as texts from town’s citizens being hard to understand, glitched-out achievements, auto-shifting between items while browsing the shop, random map popups while jumping, etc.

But by far the worst issue/annoyance would be that you can’t change key binds, which is a big no-no from me. Who hates using the arrow key and the assigned keys to perform attacks?

Other than that, there’s nothing else to complain about. It’s well planned and engaging, and the base gameplay is solid and enjoyable.

Review written by BiteMexD for Zeepond.com!