Dungeon Crawlers Gets Retina Update, Goes On Sale
Dungeon Crawlers, from Ayopa Games, is a popular turn-based strategy game with RPG elements that originally came out at the beginning of this year. The game was recently updated to include Retina graphics for the new iPad, plus a high resolution GUI, detailed textures, and dynamic lighting.
There’s also a new store with character upgrades, armor, and weapons, plus a whole new chapter with additional levels and enemies to defeat.
While I’ve experienced most of the strategy games in the App Store, especially those with RPG elements, somehow I missed Dungeon Crawlers, which has turned out to be an addictive game that I spent several hours playing this afternoon.
The goal in the game is to explore dungeons, collect loot, and defeat monsters, which, in my opinion, makes for a great game. The game takes place in various dungeons, which you explore with a tap to move forward (tapping is also how you open chests and bookshelves with secret items).
In combat mode, you have three fighters to control – a healer, a mage, and a warrior. Combat is all turn based, so you position each of your characters, and then tap to attack an enemy character. There are several different level based attacks, which get more powerful in order to contend with increasingly difficult enemies.
Defeating enemies earns you experience and gold. Experience is used for the leveling system, which is uncomplicated – a level up simply means increased stats and a new spell or ability, and gold is used for purchasing items and potions from the store.
Every level has a boss fight, each of which is well-balanced and fun. Combat in general is entertaining, though some fights with several enemies can get rather long. I’d like to see a fast forward button to move through enemy attacks more quickly. Fights are not hard, but will require a bit of strategy because you’re limited to where you can move and how far you can attack.
There are plenty of enemies to defeat in each level, and there’s also a pretty humorous storyline, involving goblin kings, stolen princesses, and fat banshees. In all, there are 12 different levels, plus plenty of achievements to earn, so there’s quite a bit of gameplay available.
What I liked: Though some of the battles with monsters get tedious when there are too many enemies to fight, boss battles were well done and a lot of fun. I also enjoyed the funny plot, and the newly enhanced graphics look great.
What I didn’t like: The camera and the movement controls are frustrating. The camera rotates in 360 degrees and tilts with two finger gestures, but it’s still difficult to target enemies at times. I also experienced several crashes, which I assume will be fixed in an upcoming update.
To buy or not to buy: Dungeon Crawlers is currently on sale for just $0.99, which is a great deal. I’d definitely recommend picking it up while it’s on sale.
- App Name: Dungeon Crawlers
- Version Reviewed: 1.1
- Category: Games
- Developer: Ayopa Games
- Price: $0.99 ($3.99 regularly)
- Score:
