Dungelot: Shattered Lands Review

Dungelot Shattered Lands PC Game Review Screenshot 1

The third entry in the series, Dungelot: Shattered Lands is an epic roguelike dungeon-crawler that may remind you in some way of Minesweeper. Do not let that fool you though because it is far from being Minesweeper.  It is such a fun, addicting and fresh take on the dungeon-crawler genre. There about 100 floors in the game. Your goal in the game is to explore each floor and get as far as you can. Each floor is different and random. Even if you die, have to restart from floor 1, you will not get the same experience as you did before.

First off I loved that Dungelot: Shattered Lands took place in a fantasy world filled with all sorts of monsters, medieval weapons, magic, and other typical fantasy elements. You play a hero who must travel through the shattered lands and fight zombie cows, ghosts, skeletons and more. When you first install the game there three worlds to explore, four characters to choose from, and 18 dungeons to fight through. In each floor your goal is to look for the key in order to open the door that will take you to the next floor. Many people who play the game might think that in order to make it to the next floor/level you have to defeat all the enemies. All you have to do to beat the floor is find the key.

I found that refreshing in itself. I have played many dungeon-crawler type games and after a while it can get dull doing the same thing in each dungeon. For some dungeon-crawlers it almost seems like you will never defeat the dungeon. In Dungelot: Shattered Lands it is refreshingly simple. You do not have to defeat monster after monster or level up your character to some ridiculous level to beat the dungeon. All you need is your wits. Players click on dungeon themed tiles to find the key that will open the door to the next level. There are also a variety of things hiding under each tile. Some tiles do not have anything, some have items, coins, and others have a monster.

Dungelot Shattered Lands PC Game Review Screenshot 2

For some of the monsters you do not even have to fight them once you have discovered them. You can just leave some of them alone and click on another tile to find the key. Once you do find the key you do not have to explore the rest of the dungeon if you do not want to. You can even leave the floor with enemies undefeated. There are other things that can hinder your progress and cause you to restart all over again. Even if an enemy doesn’t cause you to die your character does need food to survive in the game. Your character will also have moral points. Your character could die of starvation or if your moral falls too low you will fail and have to restart from the first floor.

Having to restart all over again from the first floor isn’t fun at all. There is no checkpoints or anything like that. If you are on floor 20, about to face the boss, and get defeated you will have start from the first floor. Like I said before there are items that can keep you from this fate. You can even craft items as well. You can collect coins and buy items in the game. Each floor also has hidden items that you can collect for free such as abilities, bombs, food, stat buffs, and more. Once you reach a certain floor you can go to the store and buy more items if you need to. I loved all the different ways to obtain items, the sheer variety of items to choose from and that it wasn’t a complicated system. It was easy to understand what each item did, how to craft them, and where you can get them.

Dungelot Shattered Lands PC Game Review Screenshot 3

Crafting was always one thing that I avoided in a dungeon-crawler because most make it super complicated. They also make it hard to get the items you need to craft a weapon or other item.. I was so happy to find the exact opposite in this game. The crafting process is a breeze. Sometimes simpler is better in a game. Another great thing about Dungelot: Shattered Lands is that the difficulty is spread out. There are some floors that are easy and others that are more difficult. The controls for the PC version are easy as well. All you use are the WASD buttons and the mouse.

I think what really makes the game complete is the bright and cartoonish graphics. Everything from the enemies you face to the items have a cheery and cartoony look. The game is also very user-friendly. You do not need to be RPG expert or hard-core fan to get into Dungelot: Shattered Lands. Anyone at any age can get into it. Even though this is the third game in the series it doesn’t feel that way. Everything you loved about the original is in this one with some new elements added in. Dungelot: Shattered Lands can be challenging but at the same time does a great job of sucking you in.

Rating 9

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary PC code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.

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