Dungeon Core
- March 2, 2023
- Talismanic Entertainment
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Dungeon Core" is a roguelite game where you explore sewers and an abandoned facility as a clean-up crew member, fighting mutated creatures. The goal is to find and destroy the nuclear core. You can upgrade nine different permanent bonuses, keeping some tech even after failure for future runs' upgrades and shop enhancements. Every new run features unique randomly generated environments.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features enjoyable twin-stick shooter mechanics with responsive controls and satisfying gameplay.
- The pixel art and enemy designs are well-crafted, contributing to a visually appealing experience.
- The meta-progression system allows players to unlock permanent upgrades, enhancing the sense of progression throughout runs.
- The game suffers from a lack of content, with limited weapons, items, and enemy variety, making it feel repetitive.
- There are significant bugs, particularly with controller support, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The overall design feels derivative of other games like Enter the Gungeon, lacking unique elements that would set it apart.
- gameplay24 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Dungeon Core is characterized as a solid and enjoyable experience, drawing inspiration from titles like Enter the Gungeon and The Binding of Isaac, with smooth mechanics and appealing pixel art. While players appreciate the addictive nature and variety of enemies and bosses, some express a desire for more innovation, item variety, and risk-reward elements within the gameplay. Overall, it offers a decent roguelite experience, though it may feel familiar to genre veterans.
“It reminds me of The Binding of Isaac (which is one of my favorite games), but this is a different game, a bit harder at the start and has a lot of different mechanics being a roguelite type.”
“Fans of 'Enter the Gungeon' will find a familiar experience in Dungeon Core, with a few gameplay twists.”
“Enjoyable gameplay, fair difficulty.”
“Dungeon Core is an action-roguelite twin-stick shooter heavily inspired by Enter the Gungeon, but with permanent upgrades and nowhere near the variety of items/guns, resulting in a lack of gameplay tightness.”
“Decent rogue-lite with a solid foundation when it comes to gameplay and visual clarity. That being said, it takes good ideas from other games and adds nothing unique to the formula, which is fine unless you're like me and looking for more innovation in the genre.”
“Additionally, the game could use more 'risk vs reward' elements; right now I can only think of one mechanic that kind of does it.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are praised for their polished and intuitive design, featuring a nice art style that enhances gameplay without overwhelming players with excessive particle effects. Reviewers appreciate the smooth visuals and clear hitboxes, which contribute to an enjoyable gaming experience. Overall, the visuals complement the game's theme and controls effectively.
“Art style is nice, gameplay is smooth.”
“But it plays well, has juicy audio and decent visuals.”
“In general, the visuals in the game are very intuitive; it's not too populated with particle effects, which makes it easy to spot the hitboxes.”
“+ polished visuals and telegraphed enemy attacks.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive and somewhat tedious, as it primarily revolves around collecting money for permanent upgrades rather than engaging with the shop. While the game can be completed relatively quickly, the lack of content and the need to grind for stats in the final section contribute to a sense of boredom.
“For me, it was just collecting money and not buying things in the shop so I could do permanent upgrades first, which makes the game boring and unnecessarily grindy.”
“It does not have a ton of content, but the difficulty of the last section will keep you grinding for stats.”
“Basically, I have finished this game after 5 hours; it's pretty fast for a roguelike with very grindy permanent upgrades.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is considered less sharp and cohesive compared to its predecessors, but it still manages to deliver a decent comedic experience.
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight that while the game features impressive music and character design, there is little mention of character development, suggesting it may not be a strong focus in the overall experience.
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised as awesome, contributing significantly to its appeal, alongside impressive character design.
“Awesome music and cool character design make this a winner.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game is generally viewed positively, as it effectively promotes the roguelike/roguelite genre, suggesting that players find value in the experience without feeling overly pressured by in-game purchases.
