Deathtrap Dungeon: The Interactive Video Adventure

92%
Game Brain Score Based on 148 reviews
  • story
  • replayability
  • atmosphere
Deathtrap Dungeon: The Interactive Video Adventure Game Cover
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Deathtrap Dungeon: The Interactive Video Adventure is a choose-your-own-path game based on the classic fantasy gamebook. Navigate through treacherous traps, monsters, and moral dilemmas in a high-stakes quest for glory and survival. This immersive experience, featuring live-action video and branching narrative, offers numerous paths, endings, and replayability.

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Reviews

92%
Audience ScoreBased on 148 reviews
story14 positive mentions
grinding3 negative mentions
  • Eddie Marsan's narration is exceptional, bringing the story to life and enhancing the overall experience.
  • The game captures the essence of classic 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books, providing an engaging and nostalgic experience.
  • The save system allows for easy backtracking, making it less punishing and encouraging exploration of different paths.
  • The game can feel overly punishing, with many choices leading to instant death and requiring frequent replays.
  • There is a lack of replayability once the game is completed, as the paths and outcomes become predictable.
  • Some players may find the combat repetitive, with reused animations and a lack of control over dice rolls.
  • story43 mentions

    The story is primarily delivered through the engaging narration of Eddie Marsan, who brings a classic adventure to life with his charismatic storytelling. While the overarching plot may feel dated and simplistic, the game excels in its vignette-style narratives that offer interesting choices and challenges, reminiscent of choose-your-own-adventure books. Despite some criticisms regarding the plot's depth and certain problematic tropes, the overall experience is enjoyable, especially for fans of interactive storytelling and classic fantasy.

    • “Eddie Marsan is a great narrator, and really brings the story to life visually with his words.”
    • “The core appeal of the narrative is not the larger plot, but rather the vignette-style 'short stories' that are told as you proceed through the labyrinth.”
    • “This game keeps pretty true to the book it's based on and goes as far as to include the original book illustrations to help emphasize the story, lore, and world.”
    • “The actual plot and art were all done by other people well over 30 years ago.”
    • “The story framing the adventure is a bit dated and overly simplistic, relying on fantasy tropes that have long since passed from our collective zeitgeist, but remains largely enjoyable—despite a few problematic tropes rooted in colonialist and orientalist themes.”
    • “But the actual context and plot isn't as good as many of the other similar games that have had PC versions made of them.”
  • replayability10 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players enjoy the variety of choices and the D&D-like adventure that encourages multiple playthroughs, others find it lacking due to short length, poor sound design, and minimal randomization. A few reviews highlight good replay value, but many agree that it ultimately offers limited incentive to replay after the initial experience.

    • “It played like a D&D adventure and you aren't guaranteed to win, which is fun because of the replayability of the game.”
    • “Many hours of fun and high replayability—replay it to see all of the different choices.”
    • “This has good replay value in it.”
    • “Low to no replay value, sound design that is quite poor in places with the background noise blaring over the speaker.”
    • “Not much in the way of replayability, but as I mentioned earlier, for less than a tenner you get a couple of nights of entertainment.”
    • “However, it is very short and there's no randomization or replay value once you complete it.”
  • atmosphere8 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with the narrator, Eddie Marsan, delivering a compelling performance that enhances the overall experience. Players recommend enjoying the game in a dark room at night to fully appreciate its immersive qualities, while the nostalgic artwork evokes a sense of childhood reminiscence. Overall, the combination of strong narration and thoughtful design creates a captivating and atmospheric environment.

    • “He sets the atmosphere brilliantly and his performance really adds an extra dimension to the game.”
    • “Wonderfully atmospheric - would highly recommend playing alone, in a dark room at night for the full experience.”
    • “Eddie Marsan does a fantastic job as the narrator and helps bring the right atmosphere to the game.”
    • “But to be completely transparent, I tend to avoid board games or live action role-playing (D&D style) out of an unwillingness to use my time with my friends in this way, preferring a social atmosphere in which I can entertain those around me who have no interest in dragons and such; those of us who may have a spouse with a total lack of interest in fantasy, for example.”
    • “The background used for the narrator was comfortable to endure, and lacked only perhaps a crackling of the fire for further atmosphere.”
    • “But the real atmosphere and depth, particularly for an FMV (full motion video) game, is distinctly provided by Eddie Marsan, an actor of great prestige; notable for his 'London Film Critics Circle Award' and 'National Society of Film Critics Award'.”
  • gameplay8 mentions

    The gameplay is highly enjoyable and flows smoothly, characterized by its simplicity and engaging mechanics. Players appreciate the nostalgic elements and the effective integration of voice acting, particularly by Eddie Marsan, which enhances the overall experience. While the game features a collect-and-fail mechanic reminiscent of titles like "Deathtrap Dungeon" and "Hand of Fate," it maintains a compelling and immersive quality.

    • “I cannot quite stress enough how immensely enjoyable the minute-to-minute gameplay is here, despite its relative simplicity.”
    • “His vocal performance as well as his body language was stirring and masterfully executed and is worth the price of admission alone, not even considering the engaging writing and smooth gameplay.”
    • “An excellent nostalgia trip - Eddie Marsan does a fantastic performance and the mechanics are transferred into computer form easily.”
    • “It's a third-person combat game without any decision-making mechanics, reminiscent of Deathtrap Dungeon from Square Enix.”
    • “The gameplay relies heavily on a collect certain items or fail mechanic, which can be frustrating.”
    • “Gameplay has a lot in common with Hand of Fate, but it uses dice instead of cards.”
  • graphics7 mentions

    The graphics of the game are praised for their high production values and the inclusion of iconic original black-and-white artwork, which evokes a nostalgic atmosphere reminiscent of the 80s. While the detailed artwork and intense narration enhance the experience, some users noted occasional graphical errors and overlapping menus during the early access stage, with hopes for improvements in the final release. Overall, the combination of original art and compelling visuals contributes to a fun and engaging gameplay experience.

    • “The iconic original black and white artworks are also featured.”
    • “Production values are also great, along with the pleasant surprise of the occasional original artwork from the book.”
    • “Great, intense narration and detailed artwork make this a fun, compelling game to play.”
    • “At times there are close-ups of the artwork from the original book for some scenes, which sometimes zooms in on a specific part of the image for effect, such as an artifact that is present.”
    • “My time with the game thus far has been a few hours, and I have learned that it has retained original artwork that contains a nostalgic atmosphere, reminding me of my childhood in the 80s.”
    • “(This review was written while in the 'early access' stage. Graphical errors did occur occasionally, and menus overlapped from time to time. I expect these to be smoothed out upon final release, and sincerely hope that the model of this type of FMV is popular enough to justify the production of further elaborate and even more ornate productions to come!)”
  • humor5 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by a charming and engaging narrator whose witty dialogue keeps players entertained, though opinions vary on its effectiveness compared to other games. While some find the humor delightful and enhancing to the experience, others feel it falls flat or is not consistently funny. The whimsical illustrations also contribute to the overall comedic tone, adding character to the gameplay.

    • “The narrator is charming, funny, and engaging to the point of it being hard to stop playing even if you fail to get some artifact.”
    • “While fantastical, the illustrations have a humor about them that adds a great deal of character to your imaginings during the play-through.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The optimization of the game is praised for its smooth gameplay mechanics, which effectively translate the engaging writing and performances into a seamless experience. Eddie Marsan's vocal and physical portrayal enhances the atmosphere, making the game feel immersive and nostalgic. Overall, the combination of performance and gameplay contributes to a well-optimized experience.

    • “His vocal performance as well as his body language was stirring and masterfully executed and is worth the price of admission alone, not even considering the engaging writing and smooth gameplay.”
    • “With the performance of Eddie Marsan, you're fully reliving this unforgiving story.”
    • “An excellent nostalgia trip - Eddie Marsan does a fantastic performance and the mechanics are transferred into computer form easily.”
  • music4 mentions

    The music in the game is praised for its nostalgic and soothing qualities, enhancing the overall atmosphere with well-placed sound effects that elevate battles and moods. However, players have noted the lack of music volume control, which can lead to issues where the music drowns out narration during transitions.

    • “The music, the crackling fire, and Eddie Marsan’s soothing voice feels like those summer days spent reading when I was a kid.”
    • “The inclusion of well-placed sound effects and occasional music helps hype up battles or emphasize a certain mood.”
    • “No music volume control (occasionally there's been a small bug with the music volume drowning out the narration when jumping out of a fight scene).”
    • “No music volume control (occasionally there's been a small bug with the music volume drowning out the narration when jumping out of a fight scene).”
  • grinding3 mentions

    Players appreciate the streamlined combat experience, which helps avoid the slow and tedious nature of traditional grinding. However, some find the lack of clear progression indicators makes the gameplay feel tedious at times.

    • “It made it quite tedious to play; often there's nothing even close to an indication on how you might be able to progress logically.”
    • “It just becomes a little bit tedious.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be heartwarming and wholesome, striking a perfect balance between sincerity and campiness.

    • “Oh my god, it's so wholesome, just on the right side of camp!”
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