Steam Game Review: Bit Dungeon II
With the latest explosion of independent game developers, the gaming industry has also seen a rise in retro-style graphics. Not only have "retro" games become a rather popular choice among gamers and developers alike, but the rogue-like genre has also seen a surge in popularity. That said, it's these factors that make "Bit Dungeon II" by Kinto Games an absolute no-brainer for entertainment when it comes to blending the retro feel with the "hardcore" feature of rogue-like games.
First and foremost, if you are familiar with the NES days of old, the overall feel of the game, right from the get-go, is "Legend of Zelda." It follows the same formula with the player moving across the landscape with shifting blocks that resemble the different areas of the world map. In each of these areas, just like LoZ, there are enemies that constantly respawn upon re-entering them. Much like its predecessor, Bit Dungeon II also follows the "lacking storyline" approach as it gives no real indication as to what the player's purpose is, but that's what really makes this game so great. It draws upon this nostalgic feel, this idea that the player's imagination needs to kick in and fill in the holes, which in turn makes the experience simple but immersive.
Now on to the real meat and potatoes of BD2. As the name implies "Bit Dungeon II" is a dungeon crawler. The setup, much like most of the other features, is in the likeness of "Legend of Zelda." The player needs to explore the various dungeons that dot the large world map, and in turn, seal them There are plenty of tricks and turns that will completely throw our nameless protagonist off course. Ultimately though, the player will have to solve puzzles and navigate through a maze of rooms in order to find the black "boss" key. Once found, it's time to take on the boss of that particular dungeon and conquer it, moving the player one step closer to sweet victory of beating the game.
Now, this all sounds fun and somewhat like a rip-off of LoZ in the fullest, but its about to get so much better. Not only does the player have to seal each and every dungeon to beat the game, but they only get one shot to do so. Well... two, perhaps. Essentially the player gets two lives, one given at the start of the game, and one extra life to try and retrieve the bonus life given to them. If at any point the player loses both lives (dies twice), our hero is forced to restart completely over, losing all gear that was found along the way as well as any bonus stats that might have been accrued.
On that note, the true depth of BD2 comes from the RPG elements that are incorporated. Ultimately, the player is on the biggest grind of grinds just to find bigger, better, badder gear. There is a plethora of options to choose from and this gives the player the ultimate freedom to create any type of champion that their imagination can muster. From the typical critical-striking assassin to the fire-spell slinging, shield-packing, axe-wielding nightmare of a heavily armed pyro-knight... the possibilities are limitless. Each item that is "dropped" gives stats to the player and each stat governs a particular trait. Again... there is no tutorial on this, so let the imagination run wild!
This is the part where the cons come out, but honestly... aside from the slight and rare bug, here and there, BD2 absolutely delivers. Its replay value is through the roof, and although it can get somewhat frustrating at times, the very "risk/reward" model that BD2 offers is exceptionally gratifying. When it comes to dungeon crawlers/RPG/Rogue-like games, Bit Dungeon II definitely takes the cake and is guaranteed to leave you satisfied.
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