The Dungeoning

Easy mechanics, but funny and complex gameplay. Pretty animation, good level design.

Played and enjoyed the game years ago, but unfortunately the game doesn't function on my newer system. The game crashes after about a minute of play. None of the dev's troubleshooting tips helped. It's a solid little title, but it's hard to recommend a game that might just not work at all for you.

It is a pretty fun game, but since it seems to be abandoned and some achievements are broken, it makes it hard to recommend the game.

This game is basic fun, distilled down to simple yet engaging play with no story filler, no stat filler, and no loot filer.

It does not take too long to get good; there is a bit of learning early on and only a little in a slow pace a bit later on with new monsters, environment obstacles. traps, etc. However, once I discovered how to cope with the monsters and the mechanics of the game I really felt motivated to keep playing.

I kept cringing before entering each new exit because I figured, oh it's going to ramp in difficulty for sure now. Yet while the monsters do get tougher and the dungeons get bigger after about 5 or so levels with each change including updated environment graphics and new monsters populating an expanding randomly generated dungeon each time, it doesn't feel like it's being too cheap or too random.

My guess is that the developer played his game. A lot. This might sound like a stupid thing to write, of course game developers play their own games, but I have a feeling that the dev of The Dungeoning loved and played his game with as much humility and excitement as required to make a very good, fair, and most importantly repeatedly fun, game that will keep players coming back.

It's not all perfect of course, and yes, there are some pointless things that occur; like rooms that are just empty, with no rhyme or reason, but those are easily tolerated because it's fun to play. However, I did not find a room chock full of high powered monsters. Everything, monsters, chests, loot, health, potions, etc. was sort of on this slow pace which made everything much more tolerable to a casual player like myself. You aren't overwhelmed with new weapons and armor, quite the contrary I found very little of those upgrades throughout my sessions thus far, but I really like that aspect. Too often rogue-like or rogue-lite games just copy the original rogue, or each other to the point where it becomes so predictable and boring when it comes to loot management and figuring out which piece of gear is better than which, this game is not weighed down by that kind of thing at all. Instead, it focuses on exploring the dungeons, learning how to stay alive by avoiding or killing monsters in the way, and finding the next exit.

Movement in this game is solid and the platformer side of things is not at all difficult. The combat and inventory is shallow, but it's deep enough to make it not as trivial and the RPG stats and leveling have a direct impact on the outcome of the game. There are no fluff stats, it's all related to the game somehow. I find this a breath of fresh air as the game doesn't try to do all things but it pays homage to and definitely uses the RPG bits and pieces (attributes, leveling, derived stats like HP, MP, and stamina) very well.

I've not completed new game+, I made it to level 15 though and just read in the community that there are only 16 levels total. It took me around 2 hours to reach level 15, and I don't have that much experience with the game yet. I can see a full pass through all 16 levels by a good player taking about 45 minutes to an hour, and I can't speak to NG+ yet.

Overall, The Dungeoning is definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a light, platformer with player advancement, and mostly-fair and fun randomly generated dungeons to explore and conquer.

If you're into the whole pixel side-scrolling, rouge-like combat dungeon crawlers then this is for you.

The Pros:
*Controls feel good and responsive
*Early levels are quite hard
*Variety of weapons
*Stat modifyers
*L!nk's Downthrust sword technique
*Mar!os's Wall jump technique

The Cons:
*Game is way too short, then you need to finish it like 3 times? the +, ++ and +++? or something like that
*Could use more variety of weapons (or at least add stats to see which item is better (value) or what effect it has)
*Needs more variety of enemies between levels, such as minibosses or bosses (the game doesn't even have a boss)
*Some achievements are not synced from in-game with steam, I only obtained 39/50, probably due to a problem with the statistics from the game itself. (Couldn't obtain the playtime one, cutting bushes, killing eyesores, falling from high altitude, etc...)


I would recommend to get this game when on sale.

I played a few minutes and already knew that the €2 I paid for the game are by far too less. It's worth more than that and should receive more attention.
I like the really enjoyable music, good retro graphics, controls that feel very responsive and intuitive. You could say that it's a nice mixture between Rogue Legacy and Spelunky but with wall jumping and fall damage. I love it.

It's worth your money.

I really wanted to like this game. I dig the style and I dig the approach, but there just isn't enough in it that I can rely on to have fun, if that makes any sense. The controls feel pretty good actually, but it lacks a certain rhythm that I crave when I play this type of game. It was a valient attempt and I definitely see the vision, but I get the feeling that the dev never really polished it or fleshed out his vision in the way he originally intended when he started this venture. If you're reading this, sir, I want to say that I think that you're on the right track and you could leave a huge mark in the indie world if you just get back on the saddle with this idea and see it to completion. You have it in you, both with your creativity and your idea, I feel like you just got burnt out. I'm following you for your next games, but I hope that you eventually come back to make the knock-out game that we all know you can provide.

I usually end up getting bored of rogue-like games but that is not the case with The Dungeoning. The sytle of the retro art is great. The unique ememies you come across are creative.

Maybe it's the leveling up that I like or the ability to keep weapons or discard them so you feel like your customizing your character. Each weapon will have a different effect and there aren't just swords, but bows, mages staffs which shoot magic, health bonuses, and leveling up your characters abilities over-all. And I like that it doesn't spoon feed you and tell you what each weapons damage rating is - you have to figure it out for yourself and experiment.

All of these elements make this rogue-like more intersting so I keep coming back for more, more dungeoning that is!

Overall, I would recommend The Dungeoning. It's addicting, however there's currently not a whole lot present to keep you interested for very long. If you're in to these types of games, then I would recommend you at least consider The Dungeoning.

This game is very, very fun. It's like a Castlevania game with roguelike elements. I've only played a bit but I am currenty enjoying it. It is a difficult game, which I am personally a fan of, (though I know many others get frustarted easily and may be annoyed by the difficulty), and I feel a lot of the games fun comes from good gameplay and difficult levels. This is an early access game, so obviously many things will be added to the game in time. But there are a few things I would like to see added to the game. First, some bosses. While I found each level to be a challenge, I was dissapointed to see no big bosses. So I look forward to that hopefully being implemented. Also, some sort of stats for wepons in item descriptions would be nice. Maybe even add some new characters with different starting stats and weapons like dark souls? I look forward to each new update and seeing what's added to this awesome game!

Unless I missed some in-game options the game currently does not appear to support WASD movement nor binding mouse buttons even with the rebindable keys. I ended up using the numpad for most of the keybinds just to keep action buttons on the right side and movement on the left. It seems that most of the reviews stating 'fluid' or 'solid' controls are either used to arrow key movements or are more likely using a gamepad.

Gamepad or autohotkey required with this game for those that prefer a WASD setup.

No complaints beyond the controls

This is an exceptionally good game. If you're into the whole side-scrolling, rougey, procedural, pixely, dungeon crawlers then this is for you.

+Graphics and audio are top notch
+Controls feel good and responsive (espeacially on xbox controller)
+Enemies can get pretty damn hard
+Fun weapons and stat modifyers
+Wall jumping!

-Game is way too short. It didn't take me very long to beat it
-Could use more variety of weapons and stat modifiers
-Needs more enemies
-WTF, there's no boss!!!

Nonetheless, it's a fun playthrough. I don't regret the $4.00 I spent on it (Steam Summer Sale 2014)

Initial impressions are bleak.

Tight controlls are essential in a game like this, and the dungeoning does them well. The only thing keeping me from doing a proper pogo stick kill from above is my reflexes.

However, the enemies are identical for two levels, after which the difficulty shoots up. Seriously, I went from bats and green slimes to GIANT SLIME EYEBALL MONSTERS WITH A HUGE HEALTH BAR. There's no sense of ramping up at all.

Leveling and progression is classic RPG, STR, VIT, INT, DEX, items seemed fairly basic. I've only gotten 2 or 3 levels in, but I find myself wondering why I am not instead playing Rogue Legacy.

If there's any sense of long-term progression in this game, I'm missing it, which is not good for a roguelike.

It's not that I dislike the game. I just don't not-like it, I guess? It's mediocre, the music is pretty low-par, the generated details are minimal, every room looks identical.


Save your money, get rogue legacy. Sorry the dungeoning, you do too little to keep my attention.

I would say it's a 50/50 call.
The play action is good, the level gen has decent variety, and it provides smooth bug free game play.
But it's a little quick to feel some rinse repete from play to play.
And any rouge like game, that lacks a save and quit fetaure, really should be sure that a play through can happen in a decently short amount of time.
If a game's average play to end time extends past 45min, it should have the save and quit function.
I'll give it a thuumbs up, mostly for haviung decent game action and no obvious bugs.
But i can't say i would generically recommend this to just anyone.

i dont recommend the game at the current state
Gameplay 7/10
Music 5/10
Graphics 2/10 (i love pixel art, but this is bad)
Length,replayability 2/10 (nothing new and interesting after each level you pass, no boss fights)

Very fun game! But Needs work.

So far i've only done one run and it was a blast, very unforgiving but if you have the instinct to explore you will be fine. If you're a fan of some hardcore platformers and the Souls series, you'll find something to like here. I hope the developer sticks with the project long enough for maybe a graphical upgrade, and maybe souls style multiplayer? Exploring a dungeon and seeing enemy players challenging you for your weapons/gold would be exciting.

Improvements that the game needs

-Smoother UI,
The menu system feels very dated, I'm not sure if this was on purpose but I thought it was just frustrating. there's not even a way to use your cursor when playing with a keyboard.

-Proper Controller Support
The game advertises controller support but this does not seem to be the case, the game would crash if I even moved my anaglog stick which seems to be a problem many players are having.


To the developer I hope you stick with the game and make it the best it can possibly be. You're on to something special here.

This is Dark Souls through a Legend of Dungeon filter. Deep combat, tight controls, beutifully-colorful pixel art with dynamic lighting, and item-borne lore. A roguelike whose charming aesthetic does not come off as gimmicky as many others of its ilk. The difficulty is relentless but fair, and the music and sound effects are expectedly old-school and immersive. If you enjoy Risk of Rain and Legend of Dungeon, but wish they were more "Souls-y", The Dungeoning should already be in your library.

An old-school roguelike through and through, The Dungeoning is a hardcore platformer that shows little to no mercy to the player. Beneath the simplistic appearance of this game lies a great deal of genuine depth, and a great deal of genuine fun (well, once you get past the whole "dying in the first few minutes thing"). Be warned, though; this game is more than happy to beat the living hell out of you, and you are going to have to work at it in order to succeed.

The Dungeoning is pixely. It is brutal. There doesn't appear to be any after death progression like in Rogue Legacy, however this game doesn't really need a feature like that.

The nostalgia is definitely there. The gameplay too. Played this on a 360 with the fancy dpad, works very well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCjoS9BsHoo
Above is my early look into the Dungeoning. It was recorded before it was on Steam, but the info should still be pretty accurate.

The dungeoning features rock hard difficulty, fluid feeling controls, and simple graphics. This is one of my personal favorite rogue-like/lite games. I love how easy it is to get into, but difficult to master. I've already finished the game once, and currently working on game+.

Overall it's a fun light romp, that could have you coming back for more.

Positives:
- Easy to understand mechanics
- Fluid feeling controls
- Will challenge the player
- Multiple "Game+" for replay

Negatives:
- Might be too simple looking for some
- Might be too hard for some
- Could use more options and features