One More Dungeon 2 Review
If, like me, you managed to miss the first One More Dungeon, don’t panic. One More Dungeon 2 is an entirely self contained game, the latest to come from Stately Snail and Rataliaka Games.
Promising to be a “dungeon crawler roguelite in a fantasy setting” (not a description that is in any way unusual these days), can One More Dungeon 2 bring anything new to the table, or is it a case of seen it all before?
There’s no doubt that One More Dungeon 2 is almost disarmingly fluffy and cute; from the enemies to the snails who force us to venture into their dungeon, everything is absolutely lovely. Even the rats that accost us look very cute, so much so that you will want to give them a cuddle rather than a swipe of your sword. Of course, they don’t behave as cutely as they look, happy to mess you up if you aren’t careful.
The dungeons themselves look pretty good too, quite large in size, procedurally generated to ensure that they are different with every run. The game is presented from a first person perspective and roaming around, fighting the various denizens of the dungeon is a smooth experience. In fact, I haven’t had any technical issues playing through the game.
There is nothing but positives in terms of the audio too, with nice music and the usual suspects as far as sound effects are concerned – swishing swords and whooshing spells are all present and correct. All in all, while One More Dungeon 2 isn’t the most graphically intensive game you’re ever going to find, it does work well.
The story isn’t really deserving of the name, though. We wake up in a cell, given an audience with the king of the realm – who just happens to be a snail. A Stately Snail, some might say… Anyway, we are tasked with going through five different dungeons, getting all the way through each one and killing its boss. Oh, and if we die, we are resurrected, so there’s no taking the easy way out. Basically, triumph or die and then try again…
The gameplay loop found in One More Dungeon 2 is fun. We are armed in our attempt to beat the dungeon with a weapon in either hand, beginning with a wand in our left hand, and a sword in our right. And the attacking is child’s play – a pull of the RB button swings our right hand weapon, and a push of the LB button attacks with our left hand weapon. As we go through the dungeon, we can pick up new gear to help us stay alive – new wands that have elements other than fire, such as ice, and even new melee weapons like maces. We can even find shields and all sorts in those runs; making sure that we are sufficiently tooled up to meet the challenges is a big part of the game.
It’s about here where we need to drop a note about the magic weapons of One More Dungeon 2 – they run on what I assume to be a Mana bar, and when that is exhausted you can no longer throw fireballs. Top tip – this is best reserved for the more troublesome foes. Hitting baddies from range, and then sneakily blowing up barrels in the landscape when enemies are near them is a valid tactic and keeps mana expenditure down to a minimum. You can find and store health potions as well as mana potions, and using them at the right time can mean the difference between glorious victory and a crushing defeat.
Being a roguelite, there is a penalty to death in One More Dungeon 2, and this comes in the shape of losing a proportion of the gold that has been collected in the run. And, obviously, as you battle and defeat foes, you will level up as you go. Each level that you gain comes with a perk to choose, from a selection of three. These can be things like immediately going to the next area of the dungeon, or extra attack power, or bolstered defence – each perk able to ensure you can survive for longer; and so it is an idea to do as much fighting as you can.
Finding bombs allows you to blow up snail statues that give crystals, which in turn are used to power the staff attacks. However, finding a bow is a bit of an odd choice, as they too need crystals to be used. Not sure why, surely they shoot arrows, not crystals? Still, there is a good mix of weapons to use, multiple classes to unlock, and with five different areas to explore, the game does have quite a lot of content about it.
Whilst One More Dungeon 2 isn’t the most demanding game, and can feel a bit repetitive as time goes on, the bosses ensure things are mixed up a bit. It means that this is a competent game, but it lacks the spark needed to make it truly great.
