Depths of Dread Demo

Dungeon crawlers are pretty simple games as a whole, given the fact that most of your time is spent exploring indigo hallways and killing the same monsters over and over again. However, the thrill of finding a rare item is worth the trouble, not to mention the fact that the difficulty level increases over time and it becomes quite challenging to survive after a while.

Depths of Dread is a pretty classic example of a roguelike, because it barely tries to innovate anything, especially in the gameplay department. In short, the only thing you have to do is survive the random encounters, search for loot and try to solve a few bounty missions every now and again. However, there are a few interesting gimmicks to play with as well.

One of them is the fact that you can form a party by hiring more members when you have enough gold on you. Not only that, but it’s also possible to name the said character and choose the class yourself, and you get them in your party forever. Having company in the dungeon is much more important than a slightly better sword, especially if your main character is a relatively weak mage.

As such, you can position the party members in such a way as to protect the weaker characters and have the tanks in front to soak the damage. However, tanks are not very good damage dealers, which is why you need more characters no matter what class you choose in the beginning. You’ll always be outnumbered in battle.

Speaking of which, the combat is turn-based, which means that every unit gets to make one move when its turn comes. Whether you want to attack, perform a special ability or cast a spell, you really need to think about every move. On the other hand, it’s not as complicated as a D&D system, so everyone should figure it out after a few minutes of tinkering.

In the end, Depths of Dread is not a bad game, but it fails to present the players with anything new or engaging. Hence, it’s the same thing we’ve seen so many times in all the other roguelikes, which makes it difficult to recommend to anyone. However, you can still vote for the game on Steam Greenlight.