Trying out this game as a newbie to the Endless Universe, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Sure, I’ve played my fair share of roguelite games like Hades, Dead Cells, and Cult of the Lamb and enjoyed them a lot. Endless Dungeon is not just a roguelite – it’s also strategy, tower defense, and twin-stick shooter. So my first thought was “That sounds FUN. Can’t wait to try it!”
Did I regret trying it? Let’s find out!
Looking really good so far
From what I’ve seen in the closed beta trailer, I already knew this game would at least look good. Turns out it looks REALLY good.
Zed is the first character you encounter and she walks you through the Tutorial.
I love well-done 2D character designs and illustrations, and Endless Dungeon has a lot of them. The environmental and level designs are pretty well-done too. All of these aesthetic things made me all the more eager to explore the different rooms and levels and learn more about the lore behind the game as I go.
The Saloon is where you respawn after you die, and where you can unlock upgrades before heading back out.
The premise of the game seemed simple enough: You’re all stuck in an abandoned space station, and your mission is to find a way to escape. Explore the rooms, gather resources to build defensive turrets, protect the Crystal bot so you can explore more rooms.
Of course, any game that combines multiple genres and gameplay styles is anything but simple.
Going beyond the standard rougelite formula
The rougelites I’ve played didn’t really involve a lot of defensive strategizing. In Hades, for example, I’ve reached a point where I can speed through different levels at breakneck speed, sometimes without even needing to think about my next moves or strategy.
In Endless Dungeon, you have so many factors to consider as you navigate each level. As you explore, enemies come at you in waves between certain intervals. Once the alert goes off, you have a few seconds to ensure that your defenses are sufficient to protect your Crystal Bot and resource generators.
Mounting a good defense is much trickier than it sounds, as there are multiple enemy spawn points on each level, and you can only place a limited number of turrets at a time. While your characters are equipped with their own weapons and skills that can help you fend off the waves of enemies, you still have to be smart when it comes to positioning your turrets and selecting the best ones for specific situations/enemies.
There’s a variety of turrets to choose from in Endless Dungeon, including direct damage ones, debuffs, and more.
You also have to be mindful of when you choose to upgrade your turrets and weapons because upgrading while actively exploring a level also triggers enemy waves.
I’ve actually never played a twin-stick shooter (at least not in recent memory), and the learning curve for that was even steeper for me than adapting to the tower defense aspect of the game.
I like this flamethrower type weapon because I barely need to aim, lol.
I still haven’t gotten the hang of aiming and moving efficiently using twin sticks, so I’m always in constant danger of dying when I engage enemies directly. This makes me really glad they included a support healer in the starter character lineup.
Just the right amount of challenging
As someone who never really got into tower defense and twin-stick shooter games, I admit that Endless Dungeon felt far more challenging than any other roguelite I’ve played. But I like how this is a game that makes you think, but not to the point of getting overwhelmed or bored. And the great thing about rougelites is that even if you suck at first and keep dying, you just keep getting stronger and more skilled as you get back up and try again.
Did I regret trying out this game? Absolutely not! There’s a lot more to explore in the closed beta and beyond, and I’m seriously thinking about getting it once it comes out on October 19.