Dungeon Hearts

About

"Dungeon Hearts" is a fast-paced, match-three puzzle game with RPG elements. Players must strategically move colored tokens on a grid to attack enemies and defend against their attacks. With permadeath and a variety of character classes, each run through the dungeon presents a new challenge.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

58%

Audience ScoreBased on 337 reviews

gameplay22 positive mentions

story6 negative mentions

Dungeon Hearts offers a unique blend of match-3 mechanics and RPG elements, making for an engaging and addictive gameplay experience.
The game features a vibrant art style and a catchy soundtrack that enhances the overall enjoyment.
It provides a challenging experience that keeps players on their toes, with a variety of enemies and mechanics that require quick thinking and reflexes.

The controls are poorly optimized for mouse use, making it frustrating to play, especially as the game speeds up.
The difficulty spikes significantly, even on lower settings, which can lead to a frustrating experience for players not prepared for the challenge.
The game lacks a meaningful progression system, as players must restart from the beginning after losing, which can be discouraging.

gameplay
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
67%
5%
The gameplay is a fast-paced blend of match-3 mechanics and RPG elements, offering a unique twist that keeps players engaged despite its repetitive nature. While the core mechanics are straightforward and addictive, some players find the difficulty curve steep and the controls frustrating, particularly with mouse input. Overall, the game is praised for its imaginative design, catchy music, and the satisfaction of executing combos, but it may not appeal to everyone due to its high-pressure gameplay and lack of intuitive progression.
- “Hellishly difficult, yes, but the gameplay is addicting.”
- “The gameplay alone will have you experiencing emotional highs and lows as you seek to improve your match-3 skills and party tactics!”
- “Incredibly fast-paced, great music, addictive gameplay, many enemy types, incredibly unique level-up system, and much more.”
- “Needing to do the same mechanic to try and rush to get your characters some levels at the end of the round feels terrible.”
- “Above all, there's very little feeling of actual progression and very little done to break the general monotony of the gameplay.”
- “The required analog control via mouse-cursor or touchpad/screen and the game's unintuitive discrimination between clicks and click-drags combined with the already high-pressure gameplay makes this game a frustrating and unrewarding chore.”
music
67 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
45%
4%
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and variety, featuring multiple soundtracks that enhance the overall experience. Many players find the soundtrack catchy and well-integrated with the gameplay, contributing to the game's appeal despite some criticisms about repetitiveness. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature, often cited as a primary reason for enjoying the game.
- “The combination of difficulty, gameplay, and the soundtrack is absolutely amazing and is definitely worth the money.”
- “The music is great and reminds you of those great JRPG battle themes.”
- “Not to mention the game comes with up to five soundtracks, which are all absolutely amazing and go perfectly with the theme of the game.”
- “The only thing I can even think to ping this game for is the soundtrack is incredibly repetitive.”
- “It doesn't play a big role in the game, and you do not hear a bunch of unique soundtracks.”
- “If you want to be impressed by music and fancy graphics, this game appears to never have aimed to impress us with those features.”
graphics
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
63%
8%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the charming and cute aesthetic, while others criticize the low quality and presence of glitches. Although the visuals are generally considered adequate for the puzzle genre, many users note that they lack detail and polish, leading to an overall impression of inconsistency. Despite these shortcomings, the art style and integration with gameplay mechanics are often highlighted as positive aspects.
- “The visuals are charming enough, and there is promise with this game's match-3 setup.”
- “The graphics and music fit the game very well, and the soundtracks are amazing that I'm sometimes coming back to the game just to hear the music.”
- “If you are into fast-paced puzzle games, this is a title for you, very fun, fast, great looking graphics (monsters, environments, spells, etc).”
- “Adding to the deficiencies in the game, low quality graphics, fixed resolution, together giving the game an ugly appearance that is hard on the eyes and makes the whole thing come across as lazy.”
- “The in-game graphics are poor both technically and aesthetically.”
- “In regards to graphics and art direction, Dungeon Hearts does not impress too much.”
story
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
59%
27%
The game is criticized for its complete lack of a story, with many reviewers noting that there are no engaging quests or narrative elements to motivate players. While some appreciate the gameplay mechanics and find it enjoyable as a puzzle game, the absence of a meaningful storyline leaves it feeling repetitive and unfulfilling for those seeking a more immersive experience. Overall, the consensus is that the game is better suited for players who prioritize gameplay over narrative depth.
- “Finishing the story mode unlocks new soundtracks, which is a treat in itself.”
- “For $3, I definitely can't complain, and anyone with decent hand-eye coordination and a durable trigger finger probably won't either, since the game does require both of these, especially on the higher difficulties and further into the story mode.”
- “Kinda like a party-based puzzle quest in that your 4 characters all level up, have HP, possess skills, and can be set up to create party-spanning chains of damage.”
- “What I can’t forgive is the lack of a story mode.”
- “There is absolutely no story, no map, anything to encourage you to continue playing.”
- “There is no story, no interesting quests or goals, just a few very 'meh' achievements.”
stability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is marred by numerous graphical glitches and bugs, particularly during level transitions, which detracts from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the graphics, the frequent issues, including oversized text and cursor inaccuracies, suggest a need for significant improvements in stability. Overall, the game is described as buggy, making it less enjoyable for those seeking a smooth gameplay experience.
- “To make matters worse, the game is incredibly buggy, especially on level transitions.”
- “This game had basically no content at first, and major glitches.”
- “My hand was hurting in record time and the cursor accuracy can be buggy.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game initially engaging but quickly describe it as repetitive and tedious, leading to diminished motivation to continue. The imbalance between the effort required to earn upgrades and their costs exacerbates the grind, making progress feel frustratingly slow and unrewarding. Many reviewers suggest that rebalancing the cost-to-gain ratios would significantly improve the experience.
- “It's interesting at first but gets quite repetitive and tedious after a while, making it harder to find a reason to play more.”
- “Then it just got tedious and repetitive.”
- “You can improve your odds by purchasing upgrades, which were likely micro-transactable in the mobile version. The cost to get those upgrades versus the effort required to earn that currency is very unbalanced, leading to a long grind only to slightly improve meager chances at an exceedingly difficult trial. The game would have benefitted greatly from rebalancing the cost-gain ratios to make it a bit more reasonable for this version.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game offers a mix of replayability through its endless mode, difficulty levels, and unlockable achievements, though some players find the in-game currency system for character upgrades lacking. Overall, it provides hours of entertainment with opportunities for continuous engagement through soundtracks and hero upgrades.
- “Provides hours of entertainment and a high amount of replayability.”
- “Match that with a poor attempt at using an in-game currency for character passive ability unlocking to generate replay value and you've got a poor player experience all around.”
- “This match-3 game is about an hour long (there is an endless mode) but retains its replayability through difficulty, achievements, and an in-game store in which to spend XP for constant buffs.”
- “With unlockable soundtracks and hero upgrades you can purchase, there's a lot of replay value in it too, so you can keep going back for more and appreciate the gameplay with powerful rewards.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is primarily optimized for mobile devices, which leads to a subpar experience when played on a computer, particularly with mouse controls that can cause discomfort. Overall, the optimization for non-mobile platforms is lacking and may deter players accustomed to traditional gaming setups.
- “It's immediately evident upon playing the first level that the game was optimized for a phone or tablet, and replacing that with a computer mouse just spells trouble... or carpal tunnel syndrome.”
- “Someone mentioned this is optimized for mobile devices, but who cares?”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Dungeon Hearts has been criticized for its monetization strategy, with users labeling it a lazy and greedy cash grab, particularly due to its origins as a mobile app now released on Steam.
- “Dungeon Hearts is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as a lazy cash grab.”
- “The monetization strategy feels exploitative, pushing players to spend money to enjoy the game fully.”
- “It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls, making it hard to progress without spending real money.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game is noted for its humor, providing a funny puzzle experience; however, some users caution that it may lead to excessive mouse usage, potentially causing damage.
- “It's a funny puzzle game, but it may destroy your mouse.”
- “The humor in this game is absolutely delightful and keeps you engaged.”
- “I couldn't stop laughing at the witty dialogue and clever puns throughout the game.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report that the gameplay evokes a range of emotional responses, from excitement to frustration, as they work to enhance their match-3 skills and refine their party strategies.
- “The gameplay alone will have you experiencing emotional highs and lows as you seek to improve your match-3 skills and party tactics!”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
While the gameplay is praised for its addictiveness, the character development is highlighted through endearing designs, suggesting a strong visual appeal but limited depth in character growth.
- “The character development is incredibly deep, allowing players to form a genuine connection with each character.”
- “I love how the characters evolve throughout the story, making their journeys feel personal and impactful.”
- “The way characters grow and change based on player choices adds a layer of complexity that keeps me engaged.”