Amplitude Studios has been able to improve the Endless series quite a bit over the years, managing to translate it into different genres always with excellent success. Whether strategic or 4X, Endless are synonymous with games made with great intelligence and care, which offer never banal interpretations of the genres to which they belong. In it Endless Dungeon Review, we will discover if the same thing happens with the studio's latest work, which reaches the market after years of development and is the son of that Dungeon of the Endless that already received so much success at the time.
Successful mix
The endless dungeon is a truly successful mix of genres. We could define it as a tower defense action role-playing game, with procedurally generated levels, that uses twin stick shooters for the combat system, in which the different natures harmonize well with each other, creating a compact experience that manages to improve every aspect of it. We are facing a very refined title, in which the player must make many microdecisions to move forward, all with their impact on the game. Our obiettivo is to be able to take a robotic crystal to the center of a large Endless space station, capable of capturing all passing spaceships. By the way, the Endless are an ancient, long-gone civilization whose technological marvels that have survived the test of time, and the special resource Dust needed to create them, are the basis of the entire series.
In the main loop of the game, the player searches for the exit room of the station level they are in, opens the doors that connect them, and in the meantime faces the creatures that want to break the crystal into pieces. When entering a room you can no longer close access. Basically, the entire map becomes one big battlefield, with waves of monsters coming from multiple directions that you must be able to manage somehow. Thus, the first assessments that must be made refer precisely to exploration, because opening all the doors allows us to find more resources, but also activates more enemy fronts that, from the third level onwards, when the difficulty peak increases significantly, represent a serious threat to our survival. Having found the exit, the crystal sets out to reach it and open the access, unleashing endless waves of enemies, whether giant insects or supernatural creatures, malevolent remnants of the era in which the Endless still existed.
Defense
Fortunately for defend In Crystal we will not only have at our disposal the characters selected at the beginning of the game, but also turrets, which can be built in specific nodes present in the rooms, always clearly visible. Naturally, the further we advance, the more we will need improved tools, which can be obtained by spending three means: Science, which allows the study of new types of turrets, more powerful, or turrets to support offensives; Industry, the currency with which towers are built; and Food, with which to improve characters and generate healing items. Resources must be managed with some caution throughout the game and you must be aware of their scarcity, so as not to waste them. One of the most common mistakes in the first games is exploring all the rooms without following any criteria, compensating for the arrival of enemies from different directions by building more turrets. It's a shame that investing too many resources at once can make it very difficult to manage advanced levels, where it's also not enough to shoot characters into funnels (narrow hallways, doors) to stop the advance of the hordes. So after a few deaths, Endless Dungeon reveals that it has a small management side that's less banal than it might seem after a quick look. It is true that there are generators that provide more resources of one type (selectable), but the latter are lost when changing levels, so you should not count on it too much.
Remember you have to die!
No matter how well one can play, in Endless Dungeon you will end up dying anyway, especially at the beginning. After all, it is a roguelike, it is normal for that to happen. Reaching the end of the nine levels of the station and conquering the last one is a task that takes many hours and forces you to rethink several things about the strategies to adopt. Fortunately, between one death and another we can visit the Saloon, where we can manage the character progression, which is actually quite linear and concentrated, and obtain missions from the rest of the station's prisoners. In addition, we can select who to take with us to try the attack on the core again. Keep in mind that even if you play alone, there will always be two active characters: one guided directly by the player and another support character guided by the CPU, who can be given simple commands. In co-op, of course, things change. It must be said that bots are much less effective than human players. Probably to better balance the combats, they are less aggressive than they could be, although they do their job very well, following our instructions without blinking. This way you can choose between taking the entire company with you or using your colleagues strategically, for example, by having them cover certain passages. In a cooperative things change a lot, but we took it for granted.
Balanced systems
Endless Dungeon manages to balance all its systems in a truly admirable way, which can provide great satisfaction. In this, the work done by Amplitude Studios is truly admirable, as is the fact that the developers have chosen to keep the formula as dry as possible, so as not to risk going overboard. However, some problems begin to appear in the advanced phases, in which the high number of enemies can generate a bit of confusion, making what happens on the screen less legible, and in which the weight of the progression begins to feel less , with the improvements. which seem to slow down, probably to maintain certain balances in the game. IThe artificial intelligence of the enemies is decidedly basic., since the latter simply attack the crystal head on, destroying everything in their path. The confusion that arises during horde attacks may explain why the combat system does not focus on dodging, which in some cases could even be counterproductive. It's better to fight hard... you can be reborn after every death.
Conclusions
Tested version PC with Windows digital delivery Steam Price 29,99 € Holygamerz.com 8.5 Readers (2) 8.5 your voteEndless Dungeon is a successful title, which did very well during the early access period, no matter how refined it is in each mechanic. It doesn't scream miracle, but it looks exceptionally solid. It's a shame about the fluctuating difficulty starting in the mid-game and some confusion in advanced combat, but otherwise this is an excellent work that works as it should.
PRO
- Well finished mechanics
- The mix of genres works very well.
- Satisfying and well thought out.
AGAINST
- Confusion in larger fights
- Progression can become a bottleneck
