Devious Dungeon Review

There is an old saying, better safe than sorry.

To be careful, safe and not over extended or rush into something that might not be good. This applies to Devious Dungeon but in a way that leads to a solid execution of a simple core idea, that in turns makes for a great gaming experience.

You see, Devious Dungeon is a roguelike RPG platformer in which you control a hero on a quest to rid the catacombs beneath the Kingdom of evil. You will start off weak and powerless but soon by defeating enemies to level up and spending coins you collect on your adventure to purchase new gear, you will become a mighty warrior. This core loop of making your way forward, grinding for progression and then returning with the needed gear and stats makes the foundation of Devious Dungeon.

With each upgrade you can increase your chance of moving forward through the levels to earn greater rewards. It is a repetitive gameplay loop that only gets better with ages as you continue to see yourself making more progress towards your goal. Sure, it is a shame that you need to repeat areas but what RPG is complete without some form of grinding?

Thankfully Devious Dungeon makes sure that it’s over sixty levels and never trouble thanks to them being randomly generated. This ensures that the grind to earn more experience and coins is less annoying then you would expect. Enemies placements are different, missions to earn extra rewards change and the way you will play adapts to each layout.

The enemies are varied and feature unique attack patterns that need to be learned in order to best overcome them. From skeleton archers that shoot arrows at you to goblins with cannons who fire in groups of three. The interesting designs that you will continuously keep encountering as you progress through the game are seen in the boss fights as well. Each boss encounter is fun, engaging and challenging enough to keep you on your toes but never make you feel bad at the game. You will suffer defeat many times but each one is a learning experience that never puts you back more than a few moments, allowing you to jump right back into the rematch.

What helps Devious Dungeon maintain an engaging gameplay loop are the controls which allow for a quick pick up regardless of skill level. The accessible layout of the few required button presses keeps the action flowing and ensure the player always feels in control. Some of the menus are not so friendly though and will start to become annoying after long play sessions due to their slow transitions, but they are a small complaint in what is otherwise a fairly solid and enjoyable experience.

At the end of the day, Devious Dungeon is a title that delivers a robust and engaging roguelike RPG experience on the Nintendo Switch. Sure, there are plenty of other titles like this on the platform but Devious Dungeon doesn’t overload itself with unneeded systems. You get a title that is quick to jump into and gets right down to action, giving players a chance to just focus on the slaying of enemies and development of their hero without the need to worry about hours of wasted time.