Your house is in disarray, and you’re not a top-grade adventure, but you dive in and that all begins to change. As you delve deeper and deeper into your curiously vast basement, you grow to not only become a master of dungeon exploration, but recover artifacts and additional playable characters ranging from fantasy staples like a knight to heroes from classic literature, like Red Riding Hood. The biggest classic to inspire the game though, is none other than Minesweeper.
You didn’t misread that – Minesweeper. The madmen and women of Cyberlodge Interactive managed to combine Minesweeper with a turn-based rogue-like into an epic quest for loot, and they did a fantastic job of it! Every level is presented as a set of nine cubes, and the only way to reach the next level is to find the key that unlocks the exit. Interacting with one cube reveals those around it, meaning you might find treasure, a random cobweb, or something dangerous.
Along the way, you have to contend with managing your equipment, fighting monsters, running the odds during random encounters, hunting that pesky vermin stealing all your thing, and evading whatever is lurking in the dark. Downgeon Quest captures the survival and RPG elements of a rogue-like brilliantly, requiring you think creatively to maximize your survival.
For instance, light is as valuable as health, but it consistently depletes once per-interaction. You can temporarily dodge whatever is lurking in the dark by hiding in random cabins found underground, but there’s a chance someone might steal one of your items. Every interaction without light results in lost health, but sometimes you’ll go a good few moves without receiving any torches or the crafting resources to refill your lantern.[sc name=”quote” text=”Everything in this game is finely polished and properly balanced.”]
Now, if you’re clever, you can use what resources you do have to either clear out enemies ahead of interacting with them, or by refilling your health until you come across a new light source. The game doesn’t blatantly point this out either – letting you naturally learn through experimentation, as a rogue-like should.
This isn’t to say you receive no guidance, as the game introduces all its core mechanics elegantly, but it rewards the curious and thoughtful. It also rewards you if you have a sense of humor, because the game is always tossing out quips about the world you’re navigating. It’s not to the level of Nonstop Chuck Norris, but the jokes are pleasant and add to the game’s charm. Not to be outdone, Downgeon Quest‘s visuals and soundtrack are just as great.
Everything in this game is finely polished and properly balanced. I never encountered a glitch during my entire time playing. I could just keep going on listing reasons why it’s a good game. It has a clever means of progression by unlocking ancient family artifacts that subsequently lead to unlocking new characters. All the different playable characters have their own unique traits.
There are daily challenge quests on top of your usual adventures that can grant you unique rewards. The game is even incredibly pro-user in that the Android version has exceedingly minimum freemium elements, and the iOS version only costs a single dollar.
I normally have some criticism to bring up at this point in a review but… I don’t. My biggest complaint is that Downgeon Quest was too addictive once I got on a solid groove with it, and that’s one of the best non-complaints I’ve levied at a game across several years of reviewing games. Play it. Follow the links below. Go and play it. Seriously, go, stop reading this review and play Downgeon Quest.
[appbox appstore id1156758845]
[appbox googleplay com.runmittechnology.downgeon]
