Game A Day

Desktop Dungeons is the first roguelike I’ve featured on Game A Day, and I’m happy to say it’s probably my favorite. It’s designed to be extremely accessible, in that an entire game can be played in around 10 minutes. Make no mistake though, just because the game can be finished in a few short minutes doesn’t mean it’s a pushover.

In fact, Desktop Dungeons is one of the most difficult games I’ve played, but the satisfaction of actually beating an end boss is so rewarding, you’ll find yourself loading up another dungeon just to see if you can perfect your strategy with your chosen race and class.

Before you even start the game you’re faced with the typical class and race selection, with pros and cons for each. Selecting the proper make up for a character here is important, as monsters that are even just one level ahead of you pack quite the wallop. You’ll need to plan your moves strategically as well, since each square of the dungeon you uncover replenishes your health and mana.

Thus, Desktop Dungeons works almost like a puzzler as well, since you’ll need to face the same level monsters in order to level up, while not exploring too much of the dungeon and thus robbing yourself of the ability to regenerate health and mana later on in the dungeon.

The object of the dungeon is to clear the level ten boss. Doing so with your tier one classes will unlock the second tier of classes, such as the Berserker, Monk, and Rogue. These classes operate similarly to their tier one counterparts, only with greater benefits and higher repercussions.

Aside from the normal challenge dungeon, there are also several others you can unlock, as well as a high score system you can utilize to upload your scores. Overall, Desktop Dungeons will reward you with hours of gameplay as you work to figure out the best strategies and unlock the tiers of characters and classes to play with.

Desktop Dungeons is a Game Maker game developed by Nandrew of the NAG forums. If you’re interested in giving it a shot, you won’t be disappointed. Nandrew works tirelessly to balance the game and ensure the user experience is a good one, so if you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to let him know.