Heroes of the Monkey Tavern Demo

First-person dungeon crawlers may not be as popular as they once were, but then again we have the technology to develop huge open worlds now, which means that there’s no need to limit ourselves to dark and repetitive dungeons. On the other hand, the atmosphere is not the same, since there’s nothing like struggling to find the next health potion after countless encounters with the undead.

Heroes of the Monkey Tavern is a first-person dungeon crawler that allows you to experience the good old times again, but with a few modern additions. In essence, the goal is the same, but the graphics and the overall gameplay experience are slightly adjusted to fit our modern world. Other than that, the game is all about exploring dark dungeons, collecting treasure and fighting evil creatures.

The story starts with a band of heroes partying in a tavern for quite some time, up until they run out of gold to keep the party going. Thankfully, a weird stranger approaches them and reveals the fact that there’s a dungeon nearby that’s supposedly full of treasure and magical items. Thus, you and your friends decide to inspect the place and see whether you can gather enough gold to maintain your new lifestyle.

There are multiple classes to choose from in the beginning of the game, each one of which is best suited for a particular approach. Warriors are better at head-on encounters, wizards can make use of spells to keep enemies at bay, while slightly more agile classes can deal better with traps and locked doors. In the end, it’s all about how you like to play, and you are also free to customize your character’s attribute points.

The grid-based movement system feels a lot smoother than you may remember it from old-school CRPGs, and it’s also a lot easier to use. Granted, there’s still a problem with the level design, because many of the corridors and rooms you stumble upon look the same, making it difficult to navigate. On the other hand, that’s one of the attractions of the genre, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise for the fans.

In the end, Heroes of the Monkey Tavern manages to rise to the occasion and deliver a tough, but fair and entertaining experience. It may be simpler than Might & Magic or similar CRPGs, but then again this allows more people to enjoy the game without quitting in frustration after two minutes of gameplay.