Dungelot 2 Review

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Dungelot is back — and this time, it’s free with IAP. Does that ruin the roguelike experience?

Dungelot 2: On the plus side

Rogue-like games have been around for an awfully long time, so it takes an interesting hook to get me genuinely addicted. Red Winter’s Dungelot did just that when it was released, as it combined the random dungeon crawling nature of a roguelike game with a tile tapping mechanism that brings to mind that evergreen office time-waster minesweeper.

It's the willingness to eat roast beef they found in a dungeon that separates the heroes from the rest of us.
It’s the willingness to eat roast beef they found in a dungeon that separates the heroes from the rest of us.

Dungelot 2 does much the same thing; you’re still in a dungeon, seeking out the key for the next level by tapping on tiles until you find the enemy holding it. There are powerups — quite a few more than in the original game — as well as temporary and permanent power boosts to find.
It's still awfully cheery when you have died.
It’s still awfully cheery when you have died.

Powerups have choices within them, so for example you could opt to have an item boost your health cap permanently by 2 per cent, or have the next couple of tiles add directly to your current health. If you’re fine, the 2 per cent makes sense, but if you only have a few hearts left, the latter is the better option.
Sometimes, you just can't win.
Sometimes, you just can’t win.

Dungelot 2 is quite a bit busier than the first game, and this is most evident in the changed art style. Out goes comical cartoon style in favour of a more generic fantasy style. That’s just an aesthetic thing; I think I preferred the original cartoon art but it doesn’t change the game in any real way.

Dungelot 2: On the minus side

Dungelot 2 is a free game where its predecessor was a paid title. That’s very much the way the games app market is going, and it’s not hard to see how the game has been tilted towards getting you to part with cash. You can spend money on gold to buy boosts with, but the most prevalent form of IAP within the game is for runes, which allow your character to revive after death.

Runes cost money, which is a downer. On the upside, at least Orko is getting steady work.
Runes cost money, which is a downer. On the upside, at least Orko is getting steady work.

In-game credits, in other words, and this is accentuated by the fact that Dungelot 2 ramps up its difficulty quite a bit faster than the original game. As such, the push to buy a rune so you can delve a little deeper this time is a little stronger, although as always it’s tempered by the game’s random nature. I’ve played games where it’s kicked me down very quickly and there was nothing I could do, and others where I’ve sailed through because I’ve hit the right assortment of random dungeon treasures.
Cutting edge humour in action.
Cutting edge humour in action.

That speaks to me of a little bit of game imbalance, and, again, that’s always been a part of roguelike games. When you’re paying a one-off fee for a game, and you know this, it’s not an issue. When you’re paying IAP for continues that may not be worth much more game time, I think it is a problem.
It’s early days for Dungelot 2, too. There’s no sign as yet of an Android version, and the iOS version has a few bugs in it, including random use of Cyrillic script, because the developers are Russian, and a few placeholder parts besides.
Many brave adventurers had died along the way, but at last the treasure lay before them. Long would they sing songs of the wonders of the NEW TEXT MESH.
Many brave adventurers had died along the way, but at last the treasure lay before them. Long would they sing songs of the wonders of the NEW TEXT MESH.

Dungelot 2: Pricing

Dungelot 2 is free, with in-app purchases of runes to continue your game, starting at $2.99 for 10 runes.

Dungelot 2: Fat Duck verdict

My biggest fear with Dungelot 2 was that in making it IAP based, it would be ruined by (like Dungeon Keeper) being titled too heavily towards dipping into the player’s wallet at the cost of playability. Thankfully, that isn’t the case, with the cost of runes being the only really critical bit of IAP, and one that you can ignore. You can pay real money for cash for upgrades and other items, but that’s very much an optional matter.
That’s not to say that Dungelot 2 gets off entirely scot free, however, because in reality its biggest competition comes from itself.

Tap tap kill, tap tap kill, tap tap die. It's very much the same game it ever was.
Tap tap kill, tap tap kill, tap tap die. It’s very much the same game it ever was.

Dungelot is still available as a standalone app with no IAP for $1.99. It’s still essentially the same game, but without the busy nature of Dungelot 2, and for less than the price of one pack of runes.
There’s nothing essentially wrong with Dungelot 2, and if you have mined all the play you can out of the original you will have some fun with this game. At the same time, its random nature means that you can have just as much fun with the first game.

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