Legend Of Dungeon: Booming In Name But Whimpering In Execution

It’s refreshing to spend some time away from Breathof Fire: Dragon Quarter. Not that the game itself is bad. It’s just a touch laborious, a sentiment I’m not always inclined to spend my free time involved with.

Enter Legend of Dungeon, a game booming in name but whimpering in execution.

  

Much of Legend of Dungeon is spent aimlessly exploring its endless, drab corridors, fighting internet memes and monsters you’ve seen in other games. You play as a randomly generated pixelated being who must conquer a dungeon 26 floors deep. Armed with a sword, you navigate the game’s world with up to three other friends.

And that’s it. Interspersed between when you start playing the game, and when you decide you’ve had enough are numerous weapons, potions and hats, all of which appear to provide you with some sort of benefit, though none of this is apparent or clear.

I assume what makes Legend of Dungeon worthwhile—the developers’ light-hearted approach to crafting a roguelike—is lost on me because at its core, the game is far too simple. You enter a room, engage any enemies by repeatedly mashing the attack button, then claim whatever prizes are littered on the floor following their demise.

Sure, other dungeon crawlers can be explained in the exact same manner. But Legend of Dungeon lacks the tactical qualities of better games in this subgenre. There are no combos; there is no flash to gameplay; and there isn’t any variety to how you attack enemies. You essentially press the same button continuously, watch as your being flails its arm, watch the enemy bump against you and take damage, and then die. It’s a boring game that tries hard to pretend that its randomness and kookiness can excuse poor game design.  

The music is great, at least. The chiptunes are catchy, and the game’s 2D pixel graphics are pleasant. It’s just too bad the game wasn’t a 2 minute song with a catchy music video to accompany it.

Final thoughts

Legend of Dungeon is an inside joke which I don’t care enough to be a part of. Superficially, much of what makes the joke funny is lost on me. The time and effort put into making sure that I fight the occasional plant or zombie from Plants vs. Zombies can’t hide the stench of mundane gameplay.

What I’m left with is a jumble of nonsense that appears to be little more than human language overlaid by a cryptic semantic password; the game is a husk, clothed in game-like qualities but lacking the enjoyable gameplay which should accompany hip graphics and phat tunes. A great dungeon crawler brims with smart and difficult gameplay. If this game is any indication, a legend of a dungeon crawler brims with internet memes and glosses over everything else.