Devious Dungeon

About

Devious Dungeon is a pixelated action-platformer game with RPG elements. You play as a hero exploring randomly generated dungeons, battling monsters, and collecting loot. The game features permadeath, ensuring that each run is challenging and unpredictable. With its retro graphics and engaging gameplay, Devious Dungeon offers a satisfying experience for fans of the genre.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 272 reviews

gameplay20 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

Devious Dungeon offers a fun and addictive gameplay experience with simple mechanics that are easy to grasp, making it a great entry point for new players in the 2D platforming genre.
The graphics and presentation are charming, evoking nostalgia for classic pixel art games, and the random level generation keeps the gameplay fresh.
The game is affordable, especially when on sale, providing good value for a casual gaming experience with RPG elements like leveling up and upgrading gear.

The game suffers from repetitive gameplay and a lack of depth, with combat mechanics that feel flat and upgrades that do not significantly change the experience.
Controls can be awkward, especially on PC, with non-standard key bindings and occasional input lag, which can hinder the platforming experience.
The game is very short, with many players completing it in just a few hours, leading to concerns about replayability and overall content.

gameplay
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
53%
6%
The gameplay of Devious Dungeon is characterized by its simplicity and straightforward mechanics, making it accessible for casual players seeking a relaxing experience. While the platforming elements and RPG features provide some enjoyment, many reviewers noted the repetitive nature and lack of depth in combat and level design, leading to a generally flat gameplay experience. Overall, it offers a decent amount of playtime for its price, but may not satisfy those looking for more engaging or challenging gameplay.
- “Devious Dungeon's platforming mechanics are good and require slightly more than the basest level of skill and planning, making it just the thing for players needing a break from getting their butts kicked by more substantial titles in the same vein, such as Rogue Legacy and Dead Cells.”
- “A fun action-packed, retro-like game that will allow you to enjoy eight+ hours of gameplay.”
- “Nice art, great gameplay, interesting weapons, armors, upgrades, and neat music, all for the price of half a euro.”
- “Repetitive and boring gameplay, totally not recommended.”
- “A cute little romp of a game that is a fair challenge but not because it's hard; it's due to frustrating enemy mechanics and the controls being a bit janky.”
- “Essentially no penalty for death, dull gameplay loop makes playing it quickly feel far too repetitive, and there's a lack of diverse content.”
story
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
72%
11%
The story is minimal and revolves around a straightforward quest to slay a dragon, with side quests that often feel repetitive and unnecessary as players progress. Many reviewers noted that while the quest system initially provides good rewards, it becomes frustrating due to outdated enemy targets and a lack of narrative depth. Overall, the game is seen as a simple, grind-heavy experience that prioritizes gameplay over story development.
- “Story is just a basic quest to slay bosses, but it feels enough.”
- “It's a pretty good game to kill time; the story isn't developed and it's really grindy, but overall if you're just looking for a cheap platformer to slay some fantasy monsters, then it's good.”
- “There are some side quests along the way, but the more your character grows, the more unnecessary and annoying they get, because they're usually about killing a specific kind of enemy, and sometimes, you need to return to a previous stage just to do that.”
- “Would have appreciated a slightly more background story, as well.”
- “Story is non-existent, but who cares, really?”
graphics
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
79%
9%
The graphics are characterized by charming 2D pixel art that evokes nostalgia, though some players note issues with choppy framerates and a lack of variety. While the visuals are generally considered decent and fitting for the game's style, they may become repetitive over time. Overall, the graphics are appreciated for their unique aesthetic, but they do not stand out significantly in terms of modern gaming standards.
- “Not gonna lie, the cute pixel graphics were the main reason that made me buy this; also the fact it was on sale.”
- “2D pixel graphics, with a unique style, love it!”
- “The graphics are nothing to brag about, but I find them charming.”
- “Overall 10/10 would not recommend unless you want to play a slower and more difficult flash game from 2010 online along with slightly less graphical fidelity.”
- “For some reason, the framerate is very choppy, even though it seemingly has very low-key graphics.”
- “The reason I say this game is the best is that it is actually interesting but it lacks in every single department except maybe textures/graphics wise; it's cool, but it lacks in variety of enemies and procedural generation.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The music in the game is generally described as decent and cute, but it suffers from a lack of variety, with only a few short tracks that become repetitive over time. While the soundtrack is serviceable and complements the gameplay, players express a desire for more diverse tunes to enhance the overall experience. Overall, the music is considered a minor aspect of the game, with some enjoyment but also notable limitations.
- “Nice art, great gameplay, interesting weapons/armors/upgrades and neat music, all for the price of half a euro.”
- “Truly a fun game, with smooth controls, great action and some nice music.”
- “Graphics/music/ost/sfx belong here and sound good.”
- “Serviceable soundtrack but there's not many songs and each track is quite short; you can hear when it starts looping.”
- “The music is okay, but once you've listened to the same tune for an hour, it's really time for a break.”
- “The music is cute, and the controls are mostly okay, except for this occasional quirk where it makes my character run to the left for no reason.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The monetization model of the game is praised for the absence of microtransactions, which is seen as a significant positive compared to other mobile gaming experiences. However, some users feel that the overall experience still resembles mobile gaming, albeit without the typical monetization pitfalls.
- “Thankfully, there are no microtransactions.”
- “Ratalaika are kind of the 'Gameloft' variant but for console gaming instead of mobile. It's not as problematic as Gameloft, and it doesn't have microtransactions, which is a plus. However, it still feels like mobile gaming without the microtransactions or online requirement.”
- “Thankfully, there are no microtransactions.”
- “Ratalaika are kind of the 'Gameloft' variant but for console gaming instead of mobile. It's not as cancerous as that bunch of incompetents at Gameloft, and it doesn't have microtransactions, so that's a plus. However, it still feels like mobile gaming minus the microtransactions and online requirement issues.”
- “Ratalaika are kind of the 'Gameloft' variant but for console gaming instead of mobile. It's not as cancerous as that bunch of incompetents at Gameloft, and it doesn't have microtransactions, so that's a plus. However, it still feels like mobile gaming minus the microtransactions and online requirement issues.”
- “Ratalaika are kind of the 'Gameloft' variant but for console gaming instead of mobile. It's not as cancerous as that bunch of incompetents at Gameloft, and it doesn't have microtransactions, so that's a plus. However, it still feels like mobile gaming minus the microtransactions and online requirement issues.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be quite pronounced, particularly due to linear upgrades for armor and accessories, leading to repetitive gameplay. While the game serves as a decent time-killer with its fantasy monster battles, the lack of story development and the need for repetitive grinding for coins can detract from the overall experience, though random dungeon generation helps mitigate some of the monotony.
- “Then there is armor and accessories, which are basically just linear upgrades, so it quickly feels like grinding.”
- “It's a pretty good game to kill time, the story isn't developed and it's really grindy, but overall if you're just looking for a cheap platformer to slay some fantasy monsters then yeah, it's good.”
- “Admittedly at the later stages it can feel grindy and repetitive if you have to do them over and over again for coins, but the random generation of dungeons alleviates this.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has been criticized for its choppy framerate, which users attribute to either the Unity engine or poor optimization efforts. This performance issue significantly impacts the overall experience, leading to reluctance in recommending the game.
- “The only thing that prevents me from recommending this is the choppy framerate, which I'm guessing is due to the Unity engine that was used for this game, or a lack of optimization effort.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is impacted by frustrating enemy mechanics, with players feeling that certain foes, like the executioner and the large club-wielding enemy, create a sense of unfairness due to their challenging hitboxes. This can lead to feelings of annoyance rather than engagement, detracting from the overall emotional experience.
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game has limited replayability, as players can complete all bosses and achieve 100% in just a few hours, leaving little incentive to revisit beyond maxing out weapons and equipment.
- “My only major complaint would be that there isn't a ton of replay value for this... you could defeat all the bosses and get 100% achievements in a few hours, and then there's really not much else to do besides spending a few more hours maxing out your weapons and equipment.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The PC port of the mobile roguelite platformer is criticized for its instability, with users reporting numerous bugs that hinder gameplay.
- “The PC port is incredibly buggy, making it frustrating to play.”
- “This feels like a mobile roguelite that was poorly adapted for PC.”
- “The game suffers from numerous stability issues that hinder the overall experience.”