Filip Novotny In May, Blizzard finally released the third installment of the Diablo series after years of development. But how about taking a break from him for a while with two interesting parodies of the RPG genre?
After twelve years, we finally got it, and it looks like Diablo III will replace last year's Skyrim as the most talked about game by game reviewers and enthusiasts alike. Professional evaluations are generally high, but opinions differ. Some players enthusiastically devour the new Diablo from start to finish (and then again and again on increasingly higher difficulties), while others begrudgingly ask themselves where the magic of the now immortal second installment has gone. But however you look at the trio, wouldn't it be nice to take a break from all the hype with a couple of great titles from the indie scene?
Dungeons of dredmor
Although this game is definitely not among the newest, it is worth recalling, since it seems to be almost unknown in our parts. Despite very good foreign reviews, local reviewers may have overlooked it due to the current boom in indie games, or even dismissed it with an obvious misunderstanding of the concept. It is remarkable in that it is the first product of the Canadian studio Gaslamp Games, which counts only a few developers. At the same time, a lot of indie titles have been released recently thanks to digital distribution, but there are few really high-quality ones. In this regard, Dungeons of Dredmor can be ranked among the successful debuts of the likes of LIMBO, Bastion or Minecraft.
But what is it really about? First of all, a dungeon crawler game that parodies all kinds of devil games and roguelikes. Here, the main character has to fight his way through ten floors of a dark dungeon divided into square squares. Turn after turn he will fight his way through hordes of monsters to finally come face to face with the absurdly tough final boss, Lord Dredmore. This is how we de facto summed up the whole story. That you can't build a proper RPG on such a plot? Hand on heart, with many similar but "serious" games, it's basically the same, despite excellent dubbing and superbly executed cutscenes. Just look at the introductory text that introduces us to the "plot": an ancient evil has been reborn in the dark dungeons, and only one hero can defeat it. Unfortunately, that hero is you. Now try to come up with a game that doesn't build on this ancient formula.
Although Dredmor has basically zero story, it is perhaps more spirited than some devils. It is literally riddled with references to all kinds of game classics, their successful parodies, as well as a number of absurd monsters and objects. In the dungeon, we can meet a walking carrot-type creature snarling "FUS RO DAH", we will fight a necromantic pineapple, we will have weapons such as the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch or perhaps the Shield of Agnosticism (displayed with a large golden question mark). At the same time, the game recognizes three character archetypes (warrior, mage, rogue), to which thirty-three skill trees belong. Among the seven of them that you can choose when creating a character, in addition to the obligatory specializations for individual types of weapons, you can also include oddities such as Necronomiconomics (the study of economic relations between the dead), Fleshsmithing (whose building block is meat) or Mathemagic (a special type of magic, from which all give a headache). Each of the trees then contains 5-8 active and passive skills; needless to say, there are some real oddities among them too.
In addition to the ubiquitous absurdity, the game also largely relies on the element of chance. The fact that the levels themselves are randomly generated every time will probably surprise few people, but the quests entered, the subsequent rewards and a lot of unique items in general are also random. An interesting game element is also the altars, on which it is possible to have any piece of equipment or equipment enchanted. It is again a matter of percentages and algorithms whether the resulting enchantment will be positive or negative. Of course, the heavy emphasis on randomness makes the game very unfair. On the other hand, it's the uncertainty that makes Dredmore so much fun. You never know if there is a pile of money and treasure hidden behind a closed door, or a Monster Zoo with a hundred bloodthirsty enemies.
However, it must be said that Dredmor also has its faults. Some skills, such as making your own weapons or other tools, can only be used partially, as the game suffers from a bad trading system. All merchants only have a handful of recurring items available at any given time, so it's always difficult to find the right ingredients. That's why you prefer to give up on crafting after a while and prefer to go for the collect-sell-buy better style. The high number of attributes, attack types and corresponding resistances is also somewhat counterproductive. Although there are treasures of existential resistance ("You think, therefore you resist") hidden among them, the number of different enchantments from character management, equipment and weapons becomes a bit chaotic. On the other hand, when comparing items, one can think back to the good old days and reach for a pencil and paper model of an oldschool RPG.
Despite its imperfections, Dungeons of Dredmor is a very fun game that brings experienced players a fresh perspective on roguelike games, and introduces newcomers to the genre in a catchy manner after lowering the difficulty. Either way, you're in for a few afternoons of great dungeon action for little money.
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[button color=”red” link=”http://store.steampowered.com/app/98800/“ target=”“]Dungeons of Dredmor - €1,20 (Steam)[/button]
Quest DLC
The second reviewed game also contains a completely typical story. One day, a menacing villain kidnaps a beautiful princess with golden hair, and our hero - of course - sets out to save her. If we talked about zero story with Dungeons of Dredmor, here it is somewhere around the number -1 on the imaginary scale. But of course DLC Quest is about something completely different again. This game is also a parody, this time not only of RPG titles, but of all games that have succumbed to the current DLC (downloadable add-ons) trend. One of the earliest and best-known examples of this tactic is the famous Horse Armor Pack from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Yes, Bethesda really paid for just adding horse armor. Even if not all the DLC released are this absurd, many of them do not match the quality of their purchase price. In addition, recently it has become a common practice to lock certain parts of the game that the player actually already has on their media, only that they must first pay for them before they can access them. A shining example of this practice is Mafia II, from which its mastermind Dan Vávra ultimately gave up because of the approach of the publisher 2K Games. In short and well, despite some exceptions (for example, GTA IV, where it is more about digitally distributed data discs), DLCs are mostly evil, which unfortunately has already penetrated various game genres.
So how exactly does DLC Quest parody this issue? Pretty rough: at first you can't do basically anything except walk right. You can't turn around and go back, you can't jump, there's no music, sounds or animations. Everything needs to be paid for first. However, not with real money and to the developer himself, but to the game character in the form of gold coins collected on the game map. After a while you get the option to walk left, jump, get weapons, etc. However, there is also complete uselessness such as a set of top hats for the main character or a Zombie pack ("although it does not fit at all, but the publisher claims that it can be used for cooking"). And the famous Horse Armor Pack is not spared either, as it is the most expensive DLC in the game.
Anyone who has been following the gaming scene at least a little lately will surely have a great time in the first few minutes. However, after the initial excitement of a good idea from Canada's Going Loud Studios, a minor sterotype begins to stick out its horns as the game descends into a mere primitive platformer. There is no real danger waiting for the player, it is basically impossible to die, and of course collecting money soon gets boring. Fortunately, the creators set the length of the game time correctly, it will only take you about 40 minutes to complete the game, including all achievements. However, the short playing time is not harmful at all, after all, it is mainly about poking fun at big publishers and their unfair practices. For a symbolic price, DLC Quest will offer a few funny moments, nice graphics, pleasant musical undertones, and above all, it will give you food for thought about the direction the gaming scene is heading.
[app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dlc-quest/id523285644″]
I can't find the game Dungeons of Dredmor.. I tried the Slovak app store and the American one.
You can find the game on Steam, we have already corrected the error in the article and added the link.