Within the universe of ENDLESS Dungeon, the player leads a trio of characters in their exploration of a deserted or abandoned space station. At launch, the game will make available an initial cast of eight playable characters, each endowed with unique weapons, skills, and talents. When played individually, the player will be in direct charge of just one character while passing on commands to the others. In addition, the game supports cooperative multiplayer, allowing up to three players to collaborate and coordinate their actions together.

The game was designed and produced to be multiplayer from the start; that said, I recommend playing with other players for a more fun experience, but there is also the possibility of playing solo.



First impressions

Initially, ENDLESS Dungeon puts us in control of two heroes adrift on a space station while we search for a way out. In the process, we come across a few waves of enemies, be they robots or weird insects, who will try not only to eliminate us but also to break our Crystal Robot. The Crystal Robot, which looks like a mechanical spider, must be protected at all costs, as it's what allows you to open certain doors and advance through specific sections of the map. That's where the tower defense part comes in; after all, you have to explore the map and collect resources and supplies to keep you alive and allow you to progress while enemy waves advance against you and your spider robot. It is therefore necessary to use turrets and position the heroes well in order to achieve the objective.

The first dungeon I completed, which is part of the tutorial, led me to believe that the game would be slow or easy, as I spent more time walking around the map than actually fighting. What's more, I realized that there was a very strong aim assist that made direct confrontation much easier. But, of course, it was my mistake. On the second run, I had a really hard time and began to really understand the game's purpose, which is focused on tower defense. In the end, there's no point in upgrading your doll if you don't fortify and secure positions that will be essential, whether for capturing resources or protecting your Crystal Robot.



As you can see in the top right-hand corner of the image above, we have three types of resources that can be used within the dungeon. They are: food, industry, and science. The first allows you to upgrade your character; the second allows you to build towers or generators and buy weapons from the merchant; and the third allows you  to research new industries and towers to help you on the run. You obtain these resources by opening new rooms in the dungeon and progressing through the map, which, at first, seems quite simple, but the more areas you unlock, the more places you have to protect and the greater the chances of enemy spawn areas. In the midst of this conflict, you have to manage your resources, fortify areas, and position the heroes well so that you can progress through the dungeon. This caused me a constant feeling of tension - in a good way - while exploring the map because you never know what you'll find in the next unlocked area: it could be a resource generator, but it could also be a new enemy spawn.

Overall, the first few hours of the game were a little confusing, given that the game features a game design that I'd never come across before. I was still getting the feel of it...



Roguelike with unique mechanics

One interesting thing, given that this is a roguelike, is the way the developers have designed the progression system. It's possible to upgrade your character within the run, too, which makes advancing in the dungeon a little easier, not depending solely on your skills but also on how you spend your resources, whether it's upgrading towers or your doll. But of course, failing repeatedly is standard in roguelite games, so don't expect to level up your character until you manage to finish the dungeon in one run; on the contrary, you're expected to get pummeled as you progress through the map in your first few plays.

As you progress through the dungeon, you can find some crystal fragments that allow you, when you get back to the lobby, to upgrade both your crystal robot and your characters and weapons. So, farming and grinding are part of the process so that you can make your life easier every time you go down into the dungeon again. Added to this, the upgrades within the run make me feel that, as well as making the game more dynamic and leaving the player always wanting to progress, they also ease the difficulty of the game as you play.



Narrative and art

Finally, I'd like to talk about the artistic side of the game: the story and the audiovisual art. The former is clearly not the focus of the developers. ENDLESS Dungeon only gives you the context of what's going on and why you're killing a bunch of weird bugs on a deserted ship, and nothing much more than that. As you play and progress, you'll get notes that tell you a bit about the lore and the history of the characters, but I think most players will miss them.

As for the second part, I'd like to divide it into two parts: graphics and visuals and sound. Starting with the visuals, I really like what the game has to offer: the map design is very pleasant, and the artwork and textures are also very nice, in a cartoon style; given that it's about hordes of enemies, you'd expect the screen to be a bit polluted in confrontations with large numbers, but that's not the case; I had a very smooth experience with this. The weapon effects are also very cool and beautiful.

Finally, as for the sound, the soundtrack didn't really grab me, and I preferred to turn it down a notch; I felt it didn't add much, although it wasn't bad or annoying. The sound effects, on the other hand, add a lot to the combat and help create a tense atmosphere of conflict. Overall, I felt that the game's audio went smoothly through the year.



For this review, ENDLESS Dungeon was played on the Windows platform (PC) via Steam in Closed Beta. We would also like to thank SEGA for making the game available and allowing this content to be created!