Dungeonmans

Great game ! :)

/me gives a kiss on the forehead of the developers

This is a fun rogue like that takes your characters through generations of characters who make each run a little easier. Granted you are going to die a lot. That is the name of the game. Play for a little bit work on a build and die. Come back and try a new unlock and unlock some more things.
You can also Pay 2 Lose which I backed to support the Dev team. A fun little tool that makes the game even harder. For those who enjoy modding their games. This title is not afraid to just let you have fun with their game. They respect your time and your abilities to edit TXT files.

Over all I think this is an enjoyable experience that I would recommend to those who like these kinds of games.

Super solid roguelike, one of my favorites. lots of content, good progression, quite challenging.

Careful. Cautious. On guard.

I'm not a big roguelike player, but this one was fun. Very beginner friendly with understandible gameplay mechanics and many QOL features to make things go more smoothly. Its sprites are clear, its art adorable and I absolutely love the heroic sounding music! The battle poultry is a great companion, soaking many hits for your ranged character. Or perhaps you want to feed him more ranged abilities to cover from afar. The game is though midway through, but bringing back proofs to your academy at least ensures you can empower your character even more in the next adventure.

All around I got no complaints. Just a good game!

Rating: 8.0/10

If you like rogue likes and goofy humor...this is your game. It's over 10 years old at this point, but I still highly recommend it. It flew under my radar for years, very glad I picked it up. Still gets updates on occasion.

**1. Long Play Review: Dungeonmans**

**Intro:** Dungeonmans, developed and published by Misfit Entertainment, is a roguelike RPG with a heavy emphasis on humor and character customization. You play as a student at the prestigious Dungeonmans Academy, tasked with graduating and proving your worth by delving into dangerous dungeons, battling bizarre creatures, and collecting loot. Prepare for ridiculous situations, over-the-top abilities, and a whole lot of puns. 😂

**Gameplay:** Dungeonmans features turn-based combat on a grid-based map. Character creation is surprisingly deep, with a wide variety of classes, skills, and backgrounds to choose from. Death is permanent, as is typical for roguelikes, but the game encourages experimentation and learning from your mistakes. The dungeons are procedurally generated, ensuring a fresh experience with each run. The humor is a defining feature, with witty dialogue, absurd enemy descriptions, and over-the-top special effects. ⚔️

**Story & World:** Dungeonmans doesn't have a deep, overarching narrative. Instead, the story unfolds through the player's interactions with the world, the characters they meet, and the situations they find themselves in. The world is lighthearted and cartoonish, with a focus on humor and absurdity. The lore is intentionally silly, with explanations for everything from giant rats to sentient furniture. 📜

**Graphics & Sound:** Dungeonmans' visuals are simple and functional, with a retro pixel art style. While not visually stunning, they are clear and easy to understand. The sound design is also basic, with chiptune music and sound effects that fit the game's aesthetic. 🎶

**Pros:**
* Deep character customization with a wide variety of classes and skills 💪
* Humorous and lighthearted tone throughout 😂
* Procedurally generated dungeons for endless replayability 🔄
* Addictive gameplay loop that encourages experimentation 🔁
* Charming retro pixel art style 🎨

**Cons:**
* Can be repetitive at times 🥱
* Visuals and sound design are basic 😬
* Humor may not appeal to everyone 🤷
* Permadeath can be frustrating for some players 💀

**Overall:** Dungeonmans is a fun and addictive roguelike RPG that doesn't take itself too seriously. Its deep character customization, humorous tone, and procedurally generated dungeons make it a great choice for fans of the genre who are looking for a lighthearted and replayable experience. While it's not going to win any awards for its graphics or sound design, its gameplay and humor more than make up for it. 8/10 👍

**Disclaimer:** This review was written with the assistance of AI.

**2. Short Play Review: Dungeonmans**

Dungeonmans: Hilarious roguelike! 😂 Deep customization, procedurally generated dungeons. Best: Humor, replayability. Worst: Basic graphics, permadeath. 8/10 ✨

I really want to like this game, but there's just too much going against it. I'm gonna try to organise this to be a bit more digestible.

TL;DR

-Sometimes tediously easy, sometimes very deadly
-Low feeling of control over some deaths
-Very easy to "slip up" and lose hours of progress
-Inventory system is clunky but frequently used
-Limited amount of actual content/gameplay
-Small annoyances add up
-Your save file might randomly get borked

Balancing & Permadeath

Progression balance doesn't really exist in this game. You'll effortlessly clear 3 dungeons in a row, then round a corner and get insta-bopped by a champion. Oops, there go the past 5 hours!

Permadeath stings particularly bad when dying feels like it's out of your control. Here are some examples:
1) The tower dungeon boss slaps you with 5x5 area hits that can one-shot unarmored builds.
2) The infamous "Triger" can again one-shot many low-armor builds, if in melee range.
3) A champion mummy surprised one run with a curse for 1/4th of max health per turn for 100 turns.
4) Trickster spellcasters can strip away your life-preserving buffs at inopportune moments.

Cost of Learning

All of the above cases are technically avoidable, but require you to make that deadly mistake at least once to learn what to avoid, which can cost you hours of time to recover from. Plus, there are situations where multiple high threats overlap in unavoidable ways, or you simply fail to notice one change among the dozens of enemies/buffs/debuffs on screen.

Inventory Management

Consumable spamming is expected to be your answer to most dangers. Thing is, your inventory is shown as an ever-growing list that takes longer and longer to navigate with time. Even favoriting just the "essentials" easily fills up more than a page, and it becomes very clunky and tedious to repeatedly access. The UI just isn't designed to handle that many items or be easily accessible.

Repetition, Repetition...

On the subject of tedium, the gameplay loop is very small. The only thing you really do is grind, grind, grind, and I find myself getting bored after the 10th dungeon with similar enemies. Only about 5% of players have the achievement for beating the game, and I suspect difficulty isn't the only reason for that.

Small Irritations

There are little things a bit everywhere that hamper the experience. Little things like having to go all the way back to the academy after every dungeon to cache in your relics (before you die and lose them), or the statue in the middle of the path that makes you walk around it instead of just walking up, or enemy animations that take just a little too long before you can take your turn. They're not that big of a deal on their own, but do add up.

Crashes & Save Corruption

I haven't had this as bad as some people, but I did lose an early-stage world to corruption. I could see this being particularly harmful if it happened later in a save file.


Thank you for coming to my TED talk, I didn't realise I was going to write this much.

Easily the most fun roguelike I've played.

Amazing old-school game. Very tactical and fun. There are a lot of easter eggs and references in it.
You don't need to fear death. It will get you sooner or later.
You WILL die... horribly.
There are times you will want to hide in the corner of a dungeon crying.
And no one will save you.
No one.

But true Dungeonmans fear no death!!!
They eat death at breakfast.
They live forever!

One of my favorite games in my favorite genre. The real joy of dungeonmans is that it applies roguelite progression to the traditional roguelike formula. It also features an extremely flexible and open-ended skill system that lets you make powerful chracters, and it has a ton of content. It's old but it's great, and I've silently enjoyed it ever since it came out.

To the dev, congrats on your thousandth review and here's to ten more years of dungeonmanning :)

A fun dungeoncrawler. Still is getting love from the developer.

After 10 years, it's still amazing.

Great game!

This game pisses me off. It keeps putting me in my place when I start feeling overconfident and bored and I'm lowkey a little angry at the creator cause that makes it feel like some unspoken war that's been started between us and I'll be damned if I lose.

I don't buy merch, either, but I'd deface some random property with Proof of Stremf stickers, given the chance. Haha.

Just play it. Go be annoyed like I am. It's fun.

Kill monsters, level up, get all the loot, laugh at the jokes, die, learn the game more, rinse/repeat. It isn't easy, but it's fun and rewarding.

It's a great turn-based dungeon crawling roguelike, loads of replay value from classes and loot and whatnot, cool systems, and chickens.

Really great game, I had a lot of fun. I really support this developer. The game is challenging and its fun.

Crush monsters and get sickass loot.

Get your ass beat because a stack of tigers looked at you funny.

Game's great.

Don't let the surface silliness mislead you, beneath it is a solid game with good mechanics. Also, I like the silliness. Great game still being updated over 10 years after release. Worth every penny at full price, and a dev that deserves the support.

Writing a review because the dev deserves it. The game dropped over 10 years ago, and the dev is still doing work on it. Not just dropping little bug fixes, but actively adding to and improving the game. He gives a shit, and it shows.

For the game itself? It's a more or less a traditional rougelike. If you're new to the genre, there are MANY worse ways to cut your teeth. The game's Dungeonmans Academy mechanic helps dying feel less traumatic, which can go a long way towards keeping newer players engaged.

If you know the genre, you know what you're up against. Note that the game doesn't take itself too seriously, so if you can keep your tongue in your cheek, you'll likely enjoy it. Give it a go. Snag it on sale if you're on the fence; trade one day's latte for hours of entertainment.

one of the most fun rogue likes I've played and I've played a lot

Was enjoying the game until I ran into a ridiculous, game breaking bug. Basically, the game crashed, got confused, and thinks I'm in the overworld and in a dungeon at the same time. This causes it to crash constantly, and I can't get out. My save file is fucked. But no big deal, right? I'll just make another! It's only 9 hours of my life down the drain.

WRONG. Now EVERY save, even fresh ones, crash when I try to load in to the world. I straight up cannot play the game at all. This is totally unacceptable.

Just a big thumbs up for a game i've played and loved for years.

One of the most fun turn based roguelites. Contrary to the stereotype of the genre this title is designed to be straightforward to get into. Easy to play, hard to master, plenty to keep you entertained crushing monsters and exploring dungeons.

I am a Foomologist

.

If you played Nethack in high school you'll probably like this. If you've never heard of Nethack, you probably won't like this.

A mighty good timesss

60+ Hours and I feel like I'm still running into new content. Difficult but rewarding.

it's just a solid, retro RPG. 10+ years of updates, with new content still getting added, that's dedication!

If you like turn by turn dungeon delving, don't look any further.

I tend to find humor a bit tacky in these types of game, but Dungeonmans' sense of humor is in good taste and just enough to give you a smile and not be oh-so-lol-random obnoxious :)

wheres berserker or paladin classes?

Awesome traditional roguelike for beginners and seasoned players alike. Very much akin to TOME(Tales of Maj’Eyal) but more beginner friendly imo. Thumbs up

Good!

Without a doubt one of the best turn-based RPGs out there. Lots to do, lots to find, deep skill system, and a great sense of humor to boot. I would highly recommend this game!

Incredibly fun and challenging tile-based RPG!
Super fun to play even if it means you dying over and over again.

Good and fun roguelike game. It is a simpler version of tales of majeyal.

Foomtastic!

Deep, funny, and incredibly engaging. One of my all time favorites.

👍

solid turn based roguelike! gives dungeon crawl stone soup vibes with progression elements
sparks joy

Happy birthday

10 Years and still updating

Silly traditional roguelike. Be sure to use a funny name. Well worth your time.

It's a hoot. A unique take on the classic rogue formula that's not quite like anything else. Includes a robust, fully optional metaprogession system, so you can go old school or build up steam for your next run. Thoughtfully designed and endlessly playable.

good game

In the famous words of the Southern Gentlemans: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

good game

...

fun

An awesome game where you get to relive the true meaning of hardcore mode and ensure every step is tactical. I've been into older PS1 tile-based game like Torneko and Chocobo Dungeon, and this really hits the spot! There are plenty of veteran players in-game and also seasonal items. Don't miss them out.

I have not really completed the game, but I will soon. As the game has very limited build guides, i'm posting this here for the beginners to progress easier. Or you'll be an old poke like me heading into 60+ hours before understanding the game ;)

Beginner Build:

1) Perk : Southern Born + Tireless
2) Dual Wield + Bow
3) Get Light Armor, Rapier Wit
4) Banners (both Physical / Magic Range banners)
5) From here on, enjoy the game!

Strategy:

1) Always rest before battles / opening doors.
2) Don't rush into battles or you'll die.
3) Get your Chicken (Pet) asap. It helps!
4) Rapier Wit / Light Armor all the time unless you have 2000 HP.
5) Use scrolls(pin to win, despair) and potions (barksin pots, battle pots, champion pots)
6) Always check the dungeon difficulty as you progress lower. It gets a lot tougher.
7) Frequently imbue your armor/weapon with enchantment scrolls.
8) Don't stay in a poison cloud unless you have a shield on / poison resist.
9) Bleeding kills. REALLY FAST.
10) Join the discord , it's a great community.

Peace!