Dungeon Crawler Archives - Tech-Gaming

Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection review

Robert Allen — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 18:26:20 +0000

Designed to harness the abilities of the Nintendo DS, Etrian Odyssey, and its two sequels make their way to a single-screen system. There’s compromise, but not enough to blemish this trio of outstanding dungeon crawlers. When the Nintendo DS debuted in 2004, it seemed a bit gimmicky. Years of gaming on a single screen made ...

The post Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Labyrinth of Zangetsu review

Robert Allen — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 12:47:27 +0000

Apart from a gorgeous art style intended to look like an ink wash painting come to life, Labyrinth of Zangetsu is unequivocally conventional. Genre fans should be pleased. “Innovation” is a pervasive descriptor in gaming, with software habitually attempting to exploit the capabilities of the latest hardware. But with the release of Labyrinth of Zangetsu, ...

The post Labyrinth of Zangetsu review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society review

Robert Allen — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 21:19:31 +0000

Toying with your expectations like a Mimic. Although dungeon crawls are habitually gratifying, they are often gloomy experiences that don’t customarily tamper with convention. As a spiritual successor to 2018’s Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk, Nippon Ichi Software’s Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society merrily snubs those traditions. Instead of seizing control of a ...

The post Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Isekai Succubus ~My Genderbent Saga in Another World~ review

Robert Allen — Sat, 15 Jan 2022 00:59:24 +0000

A lot of players might look over Isekai Succubus ~My Genderbent Saga in Another World~ given its erotic roots. But that might be a mistake if you’re a fan of dungeon crawls. After being hastily teleported to another world by a cryptic witch, you awaken to find yourself in the body of a female. There’ll ...

The post Isekai Succubus ~My Genderbent Saga in Another World~ review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Mary Skelter 2 (PC) review

Robert Allen — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 17:59:41 +0000

While it’s great to see Idea Factory/Compile Heart’s grisly dungeon crawler makes its way onto PC monitors, the lack of graphical options and the removal of fan-service tarnishes the experience. Media industries have a tendency of watering down transgressive works. Take Children’s and Household Tales, the 1812 collection of folktales assembled by the Grimms Brothers. Far ...

The post Mary Skelter 2 (PC) review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi review

Robert Allen — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 19:22:14 +0000

Venture into the Labyrinth of Yomi and you’ll find a remarkably relevant context alongside traditional dungeon crawl mechanics. The developer’s latest is undoubtedly one of the best efforts. From Wizardry, Etrain Odyssey, Demon Gaze, to Mary Skelter, the dungeon crawl has been an enduring sub-genre. Rooted in the thrill of exploration and the tensions associated ...

The post Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Mary Skelter Finale review

Robert Allen — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 17:42:10 +0000

Between a substantial recap of events in the preceding games, canonical and spin-off visual novels, and a main game that can extend for weeks, Mary Skelter concludes in a big, bloody bang. Sadly, folklore tends to grow sanitized over time. When the Brothers Grimm adapted popular fairy tales from spoken to written form, they were ...

The post Mary Skelter Finale review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Kowloon Highschool Chronicle review

Robert Allen — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 00:59:35 +0000

Kowloon Highschool Chronicle is a throwback to a time when games were unabashedly experimental, blending genres and mechanics in the pursuit of an experience that feels truly unique. Before the dominance of streaming, there was still a bit of mystery in gaming. Often, obscure titles were summarized in first- and second-hand oral anecdotes that seemed ...

The post Kowloon Highschool Chronicle review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Moero Crystal H review

Robert Allen — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 23:30:58 +0000

Is It Wrong to Try to Recruit Monster Girls in a Dungeon? The answer is a resounding, “No!” if you appreciate a few lascivious laughs in your labyrinths. Although the majority of Compile Heart’s franchises are obvious candidates for stateside localization, the Genkai Tokki series hasn’t been as fortunate. When the inaugural entry, a card-battler ...

The post Moero Crystal H review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

void tRrLM(); //Void Terrarium review

Robert Allen — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 15:39:27 +0000

Look past the cryptic moniker, and you’ll discover several familiar mechanics merged together in void tRrLM(); //Void Terrarium. You’ll work doggedly to save what might me the world’s last human, which feels crucial and at times, taxing. Once a developer who helped with the production of Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness, Masayuki Furuya emerged as ...

The post void tRrLM(); //Void Terrarium review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls review

Robert Allen — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 05:22:19 +0000

Tougher than Fire Dragon Hide A popular premise is that games are becoming easier. Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls might demonstrate why this argument is so common. Sir-Tech’s famed Wizardry series used to come with thick manuals which explained many of the more complex components of its dungeon crawls. Revisit the inaugural entry, 1981’s Wizardry: ...

The post Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Mary Skelter 2 review

Robert Allen — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 14:15:13 +0000

Industry has a way of watering down transgressive works. Take Children’s and Household Tales, the 1812 collection of folktales assembled by the Grimms Brothers. Far removed from the modern versions we might associate from studios like Disney, many of these stories depicted shocking acts of sexuality and atrocious violence. From the predatory actions of the ...

The post Mary Skelter 2 review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Torchlight II (Switch) review

Robert Allen — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 16:26:02 +0000

The 1997 release of Diablo remains one of the definitive interpretations of the dungeon crawl. Trading traditional turn-based combat for real-time action, exploration was elevated by the incorporation of procedurally-generated environments. The game’s loot algorithm was another innovative addition, enticing players into perilous spaces with the lure of exotic weaponry. Not only was Diablo’s formula ...

The post Torchlight II (Switch) review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Moero Chronicle Hyper review

Robert Allen — Fri, 03 May 2019 21:20:49 +0000

2014’s Monster Monpiece garnered attention when publisher Idea Factory International was obligated to omit eighteen card images for the stateside and European releases. While some rancorously objected to the edits, this was a necessary evil, as console software licensing has a tradition of prudency. As such, it wasn’t surprising when the next game in the Genkai Totsuki series, Moero Chronicle, wasn’t ...

The post Moero Chronicle Hyper review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Vaporum review

Robert Allen — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 20:12:38 +0000

Across its three-decade long history, the three-dimensional dungeon crawler has been surprisingly resistant to change. Take a look back at 1989’s Dungeon Master or 1991’s Eye of the Beholder, and you’ll find a framework that shares quite a bit with modern titles like Legend of Grimrock or Stranger of Sword City. Sure, visual quality might ...

The post Vaporum review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Zanki Zero: Last Beginning review

Robert Allen — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 19:38:05 +0000

Pedigree is often accompanied with elevated expectations. That’s likely the case with the PlayStation 4 and PC release of Zanki Zero: Last Beginning. Uniting several members of Danganronpa’s development team with Lancarse, the team who assisted Atlus with the creation of the first two Etrian Odyssey titles, Zanki is built on an undeniably prestigious ancestry. ...

The post Zanki Zero: Last Beginning review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Serment – Contract with a Devil review

Robert Allen — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 01:30:53 +0000

Why the Hell is Everyone so Nice Here? Great, I’ve died and gone to hell. But waking up in the demon world isn’t all that bad. Instead of the charring flames and unspeakable torture that I was expecting, things are astonishingly picturesque and everyone is quite friendly. Lucifer, who I call affectionately call Lucy, might ...

The post Serment – Contract with a Devil review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Etrian Odyssey Nexus review

Robert Allen — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 00:05:34 +0000

Always a Tough Act to Follow Technology is often used to automate simple tasks. It’s engineered to remove tedium, so users can focus on more interesting elements. But 2007’s Etrian Odyssey cleverly challenged this assumption. Whereas most role-playing games of the era employed auto-mapping to ease navigation, the DS title returned to the genre’s table-top ...

The post Etrian Odyssey Nexus review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk review

Robert Allen — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 01:00:53 +0000

With a rich history that spans almost four decades, dungeon-based role-playing games (or DRPGs) have been especially prevalent across the last few years. Standout titles like Stranger of Sword City, The Lost Child, Ray Gigant, Mary Skelter: Nightmares, as well as franchises like Demon Gaze and Etrian Odyssey have pushed the genre to the forefront, ...

The post Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.

Mary Skelter: Nightmares (PC) review

Robert Allen — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 17:48:59 +0000

Following the success of 2010’s Hyperdimension Neptunia, developer Compile Heart’s output drifted toward the formulaic. Beyond a structure split between visual novel-based storytelling and turn-based combat, the Toshima-ku based studio integrated a copious amount of fan-service into their games. As such, subsequent entries in the Neptunia series, as well as titles like Mugen Souls, Monster ...

The post Mary Skelter: Nightmares (PC) review appeared first on Tech-Gaming.