It’s that time of year where everything from AAA blockbusters to indie darlings fight for their space at the table, and it’s a fact that with so many games launched in time to hit that Christmas deadline, some will fall through the cracks. One such game I feel is French developer Amplitude Studios and Sega’s latest title – Endless Dungeon. A game that mixes tower defence with the essence of a twin-stick shooter and a dash of roguelike.
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Endless Dungeon takes place on a space station that has gone a bit rogue. The sentient can is now trapping those who stumble across it in the void of space, functioning a bit like a cosmic prison.
Simple but Effective Tactics
You’re one of the unlucky ones trapped on the hungry and hulking platform and your goal is simple. Find a way out at all costs.
Endless Dungeon sees you picking from one of a cast of heroes, of which there are eight in total. Each of the eight has their own quest lines, skills and abilities that help shape your play experience. You can run through Endless Dungeon solo with AI buddies or in co-op with two mates.
The heroes are an interesting bunch. For example, Sweeper is a space janitor with an ability that lets him control the flow of fights as he covers the floor in soapy water slowing enemies down.
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There is also a healthy arsenal to wield if you explore off the beaten track. You’ll find chests with goodies in them for each of your unlikely heroes. A lot of them feel like elemental swaps but there are still a few interesting tools of destruction to find too.
Your mission is often to escort a crystal bot from its dock to an exit that is hidden somewhere within each level. And part of the fun is that you’ll be under constant waves of attack and you’re going to have to fight every step of the way.
In Defence of Towers
This is where the tower defence side of Endless Dungeon comes into play as you find sockets in the floor of each room. These sockets let you build a number of automated stationary weapons. Stuff like turrets and traps that will slow enemies. Planning where to put them is often key. You’ll want your turrets to follow the path of the crystal bot, rather than cover some room in a dead end.
Powering this side is a simple but effective currency system built around three tiers – food, industry and science, which you’ll gain with every door you open in the level. So, keeping an eye on and managing your amounts is often key to clearing levels.
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It’s a solid system as it adds in a risk-reward cycle to the game. Should you open that extra door to bank some resources to upgrade your turrets? In doing so, you could meet another monster spawner behind that very door. This spices up every little decision and livens the game up even more.
Risk of Raining on Your Parade
This gameplay loop holds things together well for most of the game, but in the later half, luck can play a huge part. This is especially acute as resources become limited. The resources you will have at the tipping point when monster become unlimited is just a huge factor for which you ultimately cannot plan.
It’s also worth noting that levels in Endless Dungeon are procedurally generated. And impressively, they never truly feel like repeats or re-heats. When you are often fighting down long corridors and forced to defend wider open areas, the level of care with the procedural generation is a huge plus. It’s also very refreshing when compared to other games of its type that use similar methods on this scale.
Enemies will also keep you on your toes. There are several main types, ranging from bots gone wrong, to phase-moving creepy crawly space spiders and armoured bio-mutants. Each type comes as a number of units with various skills and powers to overcome. Thankfully, they also come with unique weaknesses that you can take advantage of.
However, when the enemies start to play off of each other in attack, you had better be ready as this new-found synergy knocks the difficulty up a few steps. Fear not if you fall. Death is not the end. There’s a roguelike loop to Endless Dungeon – if you die, you’ll respawn in the Saloon, a sort of HUB area. Here you can grab permanent upgrades and take stock for the next run, as well as talk to the locals on the station.
That Dungeon Look and Sound
Endless Dungeon is a top-down isometric affair that packs the screen with detail. There’s a lot to take in as you run a from room to room through bursts of flame and acid before the game gives you quieter moment to appreciate the presentation.
Endless Dungeon has a stellar soundtrack. There’s a melancholic western feel to it and you will probably spend more than a few minutes just listening to the band playing in the Saloon. In addition, voice acting is fun and light-hearted with a real Saturday morning cartoon vibe to it.
Effortless Cool, Inviting Endeavour
Endless Dungeon takes a few genres and throws them in a mixer to create something that, on paper, shouldn’t work. In reality, the mix pours a fun, addictive and enjoyable wee title whose visual and audio charms gets their hooks into you while that perfect ‘one more run’ loop traps you like a space station prison.
Endless Dungeon hits a sweet spot in its balancing in many areas – in attack, tactics and progression. And it’s wrapped so neatly in an effortlessly cool sci-fi theme. Luck can be against you sometimes, but it’s a game well worth taking a gamble on.