Mighty Dungeons Review

By , on April 11, 2013


Mighty Dungeons
Download on the AppStore
3 out of 5

PROS

  • Manages to capture the spirit of board-game dungeon crawlers; simple, but hiding the occasional twist.
  • Developer actively updating the title to address depth/complexity issues; adding these elements will open up the game to genre fans.

CONS

  • No depth or complexity to the gameplay; real time movement of monsters on the map makes positioning difficult, and the tap-to-win combat is only made difficult if you forget to resupply between stages.

VERDICT

Mighty Dungeons is a solid and appealing dungeon crawler for those who hate the idea of having to read a novel's-worth of tutorials just to survive the first level - it's a simple hack and slash, and for some that's more than enough.


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[Editor's Note: The developer has said they're interested in fleshing out the combat by adding in 'hit zones' (head, arms, torso, etc.) with each one affecting the monster in different ways. By making this an option players can switch on for their character, there's the potential for at least some level of depth as you weigh up the pros and cons of hitting a weak-spot and potentially missing.]

We're not going to begrudge the Android platform and its initially exclusive titles - not when the successful titles then make their way on to the iOS platform, giving us an almost guaranteed smash-hit. Mighty Dungeons by Laylio Games presents itself as a casual rogue-like and ends up feeling like a re-imagined version of the board game Hero Quest. As such it acts as a sort-of gateway title, giving players a taste of dungeon crawling, but removing the burden of knowledge (and as a result, the depth of gameplay) inherent to the genre.

After selecting a character class and choosing a level of difficulty (including modifiers such as permanent character death), you're given the option of approaching any one of a number of quests. Each of these are broken up in to a series of chapters with fixed map layouts where you must explore and complete the objectives handed to you in order to complete them and move on.

It's a simple affair - all you need to do is tap on the map of the dungeon (as viewed from a top-down perspective) to move around and interact with the world. At its most basic level you can open doors and explore furniture for hidden goods, but it's not long before you're facing enemies and traps as well.

In the case of enemies you'll face them down one at a time no matter how many rush at you, and you can choose to either engage them in real-time battle or turn-based. The first options gives you five seconds to act before you're hit by the enemy, whereas the latter gives you all the time in the world, however anything you do will consume a number of 'action points' before you're hit again.

It's an easy to pick up system that's complimented by an inventory that has a limit on how many times you can use each item. This makes sense for consumables such as potions, however armor and weapons alike will 'degrade' with use and will no longer be available if they reach zero. Once you're back at the village you can 'repair' and replenish the number of charges available, and any additional items you can't use can be sold to help fund your quests.

However, as fans of dungeon crawlers may already note, the lack of strategic elements or solid character customization removes almost all of the depth that comes with the genre. This makes grinding each dungeon a matter of simply loading up on supplies, entering each room and clearing it out one monster at a time, chugging potions and casting spells as needed.

Thankfully the developer is interested in addressing this issue and we'll keep our eyes open for this update, however for now the game remains an entertaining gateway title for casual players, but a bit on the loose and repetitive side for those who already enjoy the odd dungeon crawl.

Screenshots

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