Sonucido: The Mage - A Dungeon Crawler by Daniel da Silva
Find your way through the depths of Sonucido in this turn-based Dungeon Crawler RPG, where every decision has an impact!
Sonucido: The Mage is inspired by recent Dungeon Crawlers but instead of a party you control one character.
Your goal is clear: Find the mage!
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Turn-Based Combat: Easy to learn but hard to master. No battle-dancing!
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Slay Enemies: Defeat a variety of enemies with different weaknesses and strengths.
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Replayability: Discover multiple endings and different paths through the depths of Sonucido.
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Exploration: Look around and find potions, optional side-quests, secrets and more.
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Bold Game Design: No inventory management, no novel-length text walls, no 30 minute tutorial.
Read More: Best First-Person Dungeon Crawler Games.
Wizardry 8
This game is a solid bargain even at today’s full price or higher.
Negatives:
Graphics are badly dated, but this kind-of disappears as you get into the game. They are adequate to show you what is going on so you can choose strategies and tactics.
When starting the game, the screen remains black for an unusually long time. This can lead new players into thinking something is wrong and pushing Esc or other keys to try to “unstick” it. This can ruin the game loading. Just be patient and the game will load reliably every time.
– Real player with 1235.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best First-Person Classic Games.
I want a modern version of this.
I played grimlock and did not like the puzzly stuff.
w8 the puzzels make the game easier. They dont generally block your progress.
the character construction is pretty deep.
the party integration is pretty deep.
the party fight mechanics are pretty deep.
they all fit together creating enough variety to change the way the game plays.
the content of the game is sparse and has a sort of empty feel….but that isnt a bad thing here.
what happens is that subsequent playthoughs are faster.
– Real player with 911.5 hrs in game
Der Geisterturm / The Ghost Tower
Der Geisterturm is a game i could only describe as “hostile”.
It’s a grid-based, first person dungeon crawler not unlike say, Warhammer 40k’s Space Hulk, except you’re piloting a mecha - and i don’t mean the “protagonist” kinda mecha. You’re essentially stomping around in the kinda grunt suit that gets oneshot by the Gundam 5 seconds into a battle setpiece. You know, a Zaku I basically.
Now, while nothing in the game will actually oneshot you, what this means is that combat is often going to be an extremely risky endeavor, as to even have the slightest chance of survival you’re going to have to learn to:
– Real player with 16.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best First-Person Dungeon Crawler Games.
The spin-off sequel to the mecha dungeon crawler Das Geistersciff. Der Geisterturm improves on every aspect of the original title. Like the original game, an emphasis is placed on moving with purpose instead of slowly farming experience for levels. The player must manage limited resources such as ammo and the overall durability of your Robotic Combat Suit through the use of repair stations scattered around the tower. The player also has to worry about the health of the suit’s pilot as durability decreases, putting a heavier emphasis on avoiding enemies and damage whenever possible.
– Real player with 16.9 hrs in game
Wizardry 6: Bane of the Cosmic Forge
Once upon a time, cRPGs didn’t care about your feelings. They crushed you and overpowered you with insanely hard battles… which forced you to find ways to survive and, with luck and perseverance, maybe win. “I can’t beat this game” was a perfectly valid option, which didn’t automatically mean you hated the game or would not recommend it to others; in fact it made the game more badass in your eyes; maybe after a few months or years you’d try again, with different tactics. Your path to success was often different from what the game designers had in mind; this is only possible with a complex enough system, a true sandbox of character development in which you could find the small cracks to break the game, or at least find optimizations that made you strong enough to survive the challenge. Because in this game, merely making a “standard party” with fighter, mage, thief, etc and them leveling them up “intuitively” and default-attack all anemies will almost certainly mean failure. As an example, without a bard in the early areas you’re likely doomed, and without some kind of planned multiclassing you’ll suffer a lot in the end-game.
– Real player with 127.3 hrs in game
I feel like I should preface this review by saying that A) Bane of the Cosmic Forge is the first first-person dungeon crawling crpg that I’ve ever played to completion, and B) I did this with the express purpose of importing a party into Crusaders of the Dark Savant. Also, this was within the last year, I wasn’t alive when these games came out originally.
Bane of the Cosmic Forge is something pretty unlike any other cRPG I’ve ever played. Sure, it looks uglier than sin and the character design has aged like shit and the story is complete nonsense BUT! The dungeon design, while really brutal in the early-going, consistently surprised me. Essentially the whole game takes place in a single mega-dungeon type area with several different subsections. The design of these individual subsections and the way they wove together at times was clearly the work of a group of designers who knew what they were doing. Once you’ve got a handle on the mechanics of this game, exploring these areas becomes so much fun. Some of the puzzles were pretty obtuse if you werent drawing a map (or unless, like me, you cheated and used the automap mod) but this is the age of information and if google’s at hand you’ll be fine, there’s tons of resources for this game.
– Real player with 116.9 hrs in game
Advent Crossroad
I came across this game after searching for games like Etrian Odyssey & Shin Megami Tensei.
I’ll start with the positives :)
The good
The ‘vibe’ of the game is very similar to Devil Survivor, artwork is nice, story starts off nice and simple and gets more involving as you go through.
Battle system is similar enough to above mentioned games and also varied enough for you to get a kick out of organising your party with a selection of acquired skills (collected via getting hit by a monsters attack whilst you use a turn to absorb said monster skills).
– Real player with 18.2 hrs in game
A great dungeon crawling game! I had a lot of fun finishing it. The SMT inspirations did a great job here, btw! Can’t wait to see your next project and good luck!
– Real player with 15.4 hrs in game
Legendary Journeys
So, this game is rough right now but it has all the pieces to be a decent blobber. Folks don’t make those anymore, so I strongly suggest supporting this game if you have the means.
It has several classes, races, stats and skills that make up ye olde fashioned crpg. Now it just needs to be cleaned up and more content added but the basic framework is there. I found the monk, bard, necromancer to be incomplete at best.
There are skill levels initiate, novice, expert, master. Most of the expert trainers are missing as the land they live in hasn’t been developed. You can level up to max but it’s not in questing, just endless respawns of mobs. There are some higher level mobs to make it less tedious.
– Real player with 158.8 hrs in game
If you are old school, like me, and loved playing Might and Magic, you will love this game as well. Yes there are quite a few bugs, but it is EA, as soon as I watched the video, I immediately bought it, knew it was my cup of tea..so to speak. Most of the bugs are fairly minor(more annoying than anything). The one that stops me is when I get to the temple, all my icons in the HUD disappear, as soon as I enter and cannot move other than spin around. But reading the discussions, the developer is very active, and addresses the issues. So with that in mind, try the demo first( I did not, cause it is my type of game). The map to this game is huge, when it gets done there will be many hours that will go into playing this Journey. I know I cannot wait, so I am off to start a new party. :)
– Real player with 49.1 hrs in game
Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown
Of all the dungeon crawler games that followed the template set by Wizardry (grid-based, first-person perspective), Might and Magic is probably the second most important one in terms of renown, forging its own path from the very first game by basically using the ideas from Wizardry but offering something different and unique.
Where Wizardry was a dungeon crawler, Might and Magic games were basically world crawlers that emphasized exploring a large overworld at the expense of in-depth and intricate dungeons. Might and Magic does have them, but they are often simple structures with few vertical levels and really there to throws lots of monsters at you, not get you lost in them.
– Real player with 36.7 hrs in game
This game is that little nugget of gold you find in the lees. First thing I thought when I fired it up was Might & Magic 3,4, and 5-arguably my favorites. Imagine if MM had a really easy interface and user friendly controls. The menu swapping is nice and fast, simple clicks to rearrange and sort. The game play isn’t tedious.
-The good-
You can tell the art (despite the lack of animation) is quite nice and does a good job to capture that old fantasy wonderment. It’s pixeled but the graphics are just it’s painting on the car. It’s pretty colorful and you can easily tell what things are. Pretty good variety of character portraits for both male and female.
– Real player with 17.9 hrs in game
Das Geisterschiff / The Ghost Ship
Short version: You can die in the tutorial. Hardcore! 10/10!!!
Long version: This game is the long lost cousin of King’s Field, if it was a sci-fi title made for the Virtual Boy. As such, those looking for shiny graphics and twitchy gameplay should stay away: the game’s unique art style looks blocky (although in exchange it works with a toaster, if you can read this you can play it), it’s a turn-based dungeon-crawled that demands patience to be played.
The sound effects are okay, nothing special in my opinion, but they do their job. The music though, it’s something else: It perfectly conveys the nightmarish, claustrophobic survival horror scenario that the author wanted to convey.
– Real player with 12.5 hrs in game
Laser-focused, ultra-minimalistic dungeon crawler. Think id’s mid-to-late 00s mobile RPGs (Orcs & Elves, Doom RPG, Wolfenstein RPG) their slim frame further stripped down of tissue so that the mere bone of combat, resource management and exploration remains. There are no crutches here, nothing placed at one’s disposal is superfluous or optional - one really must master what mechanics there are. Tutorial mustn’t be skipped.
The presentation is just as spartan yet equally put to just the desired use, minimal wireframe visuals supported by excellent soundtrack conveying this desolate, claustrophobic feeling.
– Real player with 6.7 hrs in game
Ebony Spire: Heresy
Throwing items at enemies it’s nothing new, but what about enemies throwing things at you? It would be terrifying and exciting, right? This is the big highlight of Ebony Spire: Heresy , a dungeon crawler with kleptomaniac enemies who can use the same items as the player. Yep, this includes casting spells, using scrolls and drinking potions. Think twice before throwing that giant axe on someone – they can, and they will, throw back in your face.
– Real player with 20.0 hrs in game
Ebony Spire is a grid-based RPG in the old-school style, but with a twist: It’s designed to be played during a lunch hour or a coffee break.
Imagine you’re waiting for something, an email to come through, a bus, or the bath to finish filling… You want to play something, but are fed up with the bland score-chasers like Bejewelled and Temple-Run which get the adrenaline and endorphines flowing using blingy sounds, and bright graphics. What you want is something you can quickly dive into, but gives you a little bit more cerebral gameplay.
– Real player with 15.0 hrs in game
The Deep Paths: Labyrinth Of Andokost
I come to Steam everyday with the hope that a decent dungeon crawl will be waiting for me… today I see “The Deep Paths” and knew it was going to be a good evening of exploration and battle, I was not wrong.
Fan of Grimrock, Ruzar and of course Dungeon Master will find some entertainment here, it’s well done, it has all the elements we know and love, and the price is right.
** Update: I finished the game and here are some thoughts… There are no multiple mobs, meaning you never encounter more than one face-to-face, keeping that in mind, I have 4 well geared party members, one rat should be no match, nor one mole, it seems unbalanced in that respect. Floor holes are harmless, you can’t step in to one and fall, you can fall if a trap door opens under you. No food, no water, no skills, no death unless your whole party is disabled. Secret buttons are everywhere as bricks, never saw a ring or chain with a ring that was activated. In comparison to other dungeon crawls the final boss somewhat weak, I found the game as a whole was neither too tough or too easy. The save positions are wonky, if you get too many the autosave can lockup the game and even go in a save ‘loop’, try to keep the number of saves to four or less.
– Real player with 43.0 hrs in game
Not DM, Not EOB, Not LOG.
Pros:
Looks Nice. The environment is dungeon like, while the walls are fairly nondescript and repetative they still crafted well enough to keep the atmosphere intact. The same can be said for the tiles, chains, torches and other asthetic adornments. The monsters are smooth, well articulated and rounded with an ounce of cuteness that gives a warm feel to the game, even when being gouged to death.
Simple. I don’t mean that in terms of depth but in ease of use, as in a few clicks and you are away. The character generation is neither bogged down in comnplex choices nor overly cumbersome. While I do enjoy character creation that is complex and deep, I don’t feel it is necessary to the enjoyment of a game every time. Games like Wizardry 8 for example, while in this genre, would terrify someone not familiar with such games, whereas this one would not. Sometimes all that is needed to build a bond between you and your party are names that mean something or are fun. I went with ‘Bob, Robert, Bobby Sue and Bobette.’
– Real player with 23.4 hrs in game