Diehard Dungeon (PC) Review

Rogue-likes are popular again and more games in the genre are entering the market than ever before. A lot of good ones are coming out but many are sadly subpar experiences, and they all pale in comparison to the titan on the playground, The Binding of Isaac. Diehard Dungeon has analysed what made this into such a successful and memorable experience and has taken those components and mixed in inspiration from The Legend of Zelda to make it shines as brightly as possible.

Well-made randomised dungeons are the order of the day, along with a finely tuned and strong combat system made up by two weapons - the sword, and cannon that shoots bombs. Of course, besides these two weapons, a lot of power-ups can be found throughout dungeons, yet these are the main weapons and what most upgrades will improve upon.

The dungeon design and puzzles are truly the strong suit of Diehard Dungeon. Some rooms demand crystals to be hit, often located in a sea of traps where one misstep might lead to death, while other dungeons offer cracks in the wall to discover and subsequently bomb open. There is even a Pac-Man-like hidden bonus stage that offers up all-important power-ups.

An important thing when making a title such as this, though, is the fact that the difficulty is what people are going to enjoy, mostly - fair and challenging difficulty, that is. This is one aspect where Diehard Dungeon falls flat. Even though the dungeons and enemies are very well designed, the same cannot be said about the player-character mechanics. The great offender in the class? The Companion Chest. Initially nothing but a walking box, most likely a reference to the dragon egg in the old-school genre classic Dragon Crystal, and, of course, the companion cube from Portal. By collecting treasure, however, the chest evolves, and when it reaches the third stage and onwards, it starts to attack enemies.

"Great, something to even out the difficulty," many might be tempted to say, except that it doesn't really do anything of the sort. It makes it possible for the player to do nothing but run around, dodging enemy fire, which is not that hard, while the companion chest annihilates all enemies on the screen. It is rude towards lovers of the genre to offer them such an unfair advantage when they expect a game where all odds are against them. It shows distrust in the ability to handle the action on their own, letting it play itself for them. It is poorly balanced and, sadly, it ruins the otherwise epic boss battles.

Besides this little balancing issue, there is not too much else to complain about in Diehard Dungeon. The dungeons are randomised to a pleasing degree, and there are many hidden bonuses to find to gain an advantage in the dungeon. There even are creative mini-games to pass time once the original adventure starts to grow stale.

What is important to keep in mind when pulling off a trick like this, though, is to be original enough to justify playing the game even if the player already own the title it's based on. Sometimes, Diehard Dungeon makes it hard to justify existing in the same world as The Binding of Isaac, however, those thoughts are few and far between. The main issue that makes the thought appear, though, is the fact that it has worse replayability than most other rogue-likes. While many modern examples have unlockable characters and other fun stuff waiting, after a run through, this only has a meter that measures the player's skill and creates the dungeon depending on how well they do. For people who truly do enjoy games of this ilk, it will not be a problem, but for those who want to feel progression while working through, this might feel just as much of an insult as the companion chest.

All in all, Diehard Dungeon is one of the better products of its type to enter the scene. However, small annoyances like the player-character gaining a certain unfair advantage, even after the first boss, that is at the same level as some of the most powerful power-ups from other games in the genre, is a real buzz-kill, and more visible progression beyond the dungeon itself is a must in the genre today. A great title that lacks the finishing polish, yet at US$4.99 / £3.99, it is a steal, revealing secrets hours into the adventure.