This week’s IGP First Look has us helping a recently-unemployed game programmer put together a roguelike puzzle RPG, debugging their dungeons with a little monster-fighting. Also, pants seem to be optional on this journey.
Dandy Dungeon -Legend of Brave Yamada- has us sharing a game dev journey alongside Yamada, a man who doesn’t seem to wear pants often and who has a big crush on his neighbor. He’s out to create a roguelike puzzle RPG, and you’re the one stuck debugging each stage. It’s a straightforward task, but one that can get pretty challenging.
On each dungeon floor, you need to figure out a path through the grid-like floor. The ground collapses behind you, so you can only step on each spot once. However, you need to step on each piece of ground on the level to complete it perfectly (and not get hit with fireballs for uncleared patches). That’s just the movement parts, as you also need to stab slimes and monsters with various properties and attacks. And fight bosses (who sometimes CHEAT). Luckily, you have some handy items that you can use multiple times. You just have to wait for their cooldowns to wear off.
The game may not sound too difficult from what I’ve described, but there’s a tight time limit to figure out your path through each stage. Take too long and you start taking damage. This adds a lot of stress to figuring out your path, making it exciting and challenging. Mixing this pressure-filled play with an absurd story of evil bosses and misplaced love, as well as the game’s laid-back, charming soundtrack, Dandy Dungeon -Legend of Brave Yamada- makes for a charming experience well-worth trying out.
Dandy Dungeon -Legend of Brave Yamada- is available now on the Nintendo Switch.
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