Publisher: Wild Rooster
Release: 2016
Platform: PC, Switch
Genre: Roguelike
Just like with most rogue-lites out there it has its share of balancing issues, making descents raggier than desired: the 2-hit-death base stats coupled with meager invincibility frames rendering good runs prone to be smashed into pieces under some fickle RNG-god’s (dog’s?) paws, for instance; or getting a favorable “supply x demand” seed (meaning a) finding shops with b) good items while c) having enough money to afford ‘em) being rarer than digging random gold down the way; or procedural level design being cruelly nasty at times; and so on.
None of those are game breaking though; but one structural design decision hurts the experience on a… deeper level. Unfortunately mapping all main actions (jumping, digging, dashing) to the same button makes the controls feel clumsy instead of elegant as intended, and may pile a couple extra frustrating deaths to the ever-growing counter.
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| Digging all night along. |
Despite all that, a player will most likely jump back right away without batting an eye--a testament to the game’s compelling and accessible “one more try” factor.
