Roguecraft DX review

Many modern roguelikes offset defeat with permanent upgrades, which ensures that failed runs leave your hero a bit stronger. But Roguecraft DX isn’t interested in these kinds of contemporary concessions. Originally a 2024 Amiga release, this dungeon crawler adopts more of a traditional approach. Here, Badger Punch Games invites you to enter the depths of Mordecoom, find each floor’s key and keep descending. The expanded DX campaign contains 15 procedurally arranged stages, but most attempts last only about 30 minutes. That succinct approach makes it well suited for shorter play sessions, like taking the train.

Although its ruleset is easy to absorb, Roguecraft DX is more tactical than its presentation might suggest. Each step advances the monsters by one turn, while melee attacks are performed by press toward an adjacent foe. Simply trading blows can be an ineffective approach, especially when the RNG produces a string of misses. A better strategy is to study enemy movement and exploit the room itself. Coaxing some tentacled brute onto spikes or leading it through fire can eliminate a foe without sacrificing health. Sure, it’s not especially deep, but fighting without fighting can prove satisfying.

Fight Fire with Smart Footwork

Cleverly, character selection determines difficulty. The rather resilient Warrior dishes out and endures punishment, making him the best choice for a your descent. The Rogue demands more finesse, with a blink ability that can slip behind monsters before following up follow with a potent back-stab. Meanwhile, the Wizard can fire magic missiles from a safer distance, but his fragility makes a single lapse costly. Their abilities alter how you move through rooms rather than merely adjusting statistics, justifying replays.

Potions introduce a curious uncertainty. Their colors don’t carry permanent abilities across attempts. So, once a red potion has been identified during a run, every red vial behaves consistently for the remainder of that descent. However, when you begin again, the red flask might produce an entirely different effect. Drinking an unknown mixture can uncover healing, regeneration, invisibility, or others useful power, but experimentation is dangerous when your health is running low.

Badgering Your Foes

Familiars offer a more dependable form of assistance. After finding a caged creature, you can pocket it and summon it when a room becomes troublesome. Companions such as the badger fight beside you and can collect loot that might otherwise be difficult to reach. However, they’ll be active for only a few turns. This restriction prevents them from becoming permanent damage dealers and turns usage into another thorny decision. Release one too early and its help will be squandered. Wait too long, and you might not be alive to use it. Roguecraft DX doesn’t overwhelm you with dilemmas but it wisely doesn’t overcomplicate things either.

Pleasingly, dungeons have a bit of personality. Hand-crafted isometric pixel art gives glimmering treasure or stonewalls a tactile quality, while animated Lovecraftian monsters around with suitably unnatural energy. Their roving eyes and probing tentacles are balanced by aggressive chickens, keeping the game from just being another drab D&D-inspired crawl. Best of all, the automap provides a clear visualization of each floor’s layout, making layouts and routes easier to perceive. Meanwhile, an Amiga-style tracker completes the vibe, blipping out the soundtrack along your descent.

Death by a Missed Diagonal

Unfortunately, the very same isometric perspective that gives Roguecraft DX its distinct appearance can undermine its precision. Diagonal movement does not always feel intuitive, both on keyboard and controller, and missing a diagonal input can make you attack in the wrong direction. Since every action advances the turn, even a seemingly minor mistake grants nearby creatures another opportunity to move or strike.

Sure, Roguecraft DX lacks the massive item inventories and persistent progression found in many modern rivals, so its long-term play has limits. Yet that restraint is also part of the game’s appeal. It’s trio of playables, mutable potions, and environmental traps generates just enough decision making for a quick run. We need more titles that can be completed on a single commute. After concurring Mordecoom on the way into work, maybe making it through the rest of the day might seem possible.

Roguecraft DX was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher