Dungeon Hearts
- March 27, 2013
- Cube Roots
"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.
Reviews
- Dungeon Hearts offers a unique blend of match-3 mechanics with RPG elements, providing an engaging and addictive gameplay experience.
- The game features charming graphics and a catchy soundtrack, enhancing the overall enjoyment.
- It is a fun and fast-paced game that can be very rewarding for players who enjoy challenging puzzle games.
- The controls are often unresponsive, making it frustrating to play, especially with a mouse instead of a touch screen.
- The difficulty spikes significantly, even on easy mode, which can lead to a steep learning curve and a sense of overwhelming chaos.
- Players often feel that the game lacks depth and becomes repetitive, with a lack of meaningful progression or story.
- gameplay84 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a fast-paced, addictive blend of match-3 mechanics and RPG elements, featuring straightforward yet deep mechanics that encourage quick thinking and strategic planning. While the unique level-up system and character abilities add depth, some players find the controls frustrating and the gameplay repetitive, especially in later levels. Overall, the combination of difficulty, engaging mechanics, and a catchy soundtrack creates an intense and enjoyable experience, despite some execution issues.
“Hellishly difficult, yes, but the gameplay is addicting.”
“The combination of difficulty, gameplay, and the soundtrack is absolutely amazing and is definitely worth the money.”
“Simple (yet deceptively deep), enjoyable and addictive core mechanics that will keep you on the edge of your seat.”
“Needing to do the same mechanic to try and rush to get your characters some levels at the end of the round feels terrible.”
“The required analog control via mouse-cursor or touchpad/screen and the game's unintuitive discrimination between clicks and click-drags (or touch/touch-drags) combined with the already high-pressure gameplay makes this game a frustrating and unrewarding chore.”
“Sad that the gameplay is soooo repetitive.”
- music76 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the catchy and diverse soundtracks that enhance the gameplay experience, particularly noting the integration of music with game mechanics and aesthetics. However, some players find the soundtrack repetitive and feel that it doesn't play a significant role in the overall enjoyment of the game. Overall, while the music is a highlight for many, it may not be enough to elevate the experience for all players.
“The theme is well-integrated with the mechanics, the artwork is cute, the music is catchy, and the mechanics are intuitive.”
“Overall, I think this game is fantastic with amazing music, and quick-thinking puzzling RPG gameplay.”
“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.”
“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.”
“The only thing I can even think to ping this game for is the soundtrack is incredibly repetitive.”
- graphics50 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as charming and cute, with a colorful aesthetic that complements its match-3 puzzle mechanics. However, there are mixed opinions regarding technical performance, with some users noting glitches and a lack of impressive visual fidelity. Overall, while the art style is appreciated, it may not stand out significantly compared to other titles in the genre.
“The graphics in this game are truly charming and the game is super easy to run.”
“If you are into fast-paced puzzle games, this is a title for you, very fun, fast, great looking graphics (monsters, environments, spells, etc).”
“Mixed with an amazing art style and great effects, great work guys! I will play a lot more in the future.”
“The in-game graphics are poor both technically and aesthetically.”
“In regards to graphics and art direction, Dungeon Hearts does not impress too much.”
“If you want to be impressed by music and fancy graphics, this game appears to never have aimed to impress us with those features.”
- story18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely absent, with players noting a lack of narrative depth and world exploration, making it feel repetitive and akin to an arcade experience. While some appreciate the gameplay mechanics and character progression, the overall consensus is that the minimal story detracts from the experience, leaving it feeling more like a series of battles than a cohesive adventure. For those seeking a rich narrative, this game may not be recommended, but it could appeal to fans of strategy and puzzle genres.
“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.”
“Best three bucks I've spent on Steam... blows Bejeweled out of the water and gives Puzzle Quest a run for its money.”
“No, I wouldn't recommend this... it's like an arcade game. If you die at the 5th stage or 20th, you restart again. There is a save button, but you can't load; it's only for exiting purposes. If you're into strategy games and not much of a story-driven game, then go for it, but I didn't like it.”
“If I overlook all the bugs and only focus on the game, I would simply say this: it's extremely repetitive as you only do one fight after another, with no 'world' or 'story' to discover, nothing.”
“Even with the lack of story or anything really in the game, if you had just the choice, I think I would be more willing to give this game a try.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game features appealing graphics but suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent glitches and cursor accuracy problems. Initial content was lacking, and some players reported discomfort during gameplay. Overall, while visually pleasant, the game's stability detracts from the experience.
“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.”
“The game offers some nice graphics, although some ugly glitches here and there.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and repetitive, with a significant imbalance between the effort required to earn in-game currency and the cost of upgrades. This leads to a long and frustrating grind for minimal improvements, suggesting that better cost-gain ratios could enhance the overall experience.
“Then it just got tedious and repetitive.”
“You can improve your odds by purchasing upgrades which were likely micro-transactable in the mobile version because the cost to get those upgrades versus the effort required to earn that currency is very unbalanced, leading to a long grindy haul 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.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The match-3 game offers significant replayability due to its challenging difficulty levels, achievement system, and an in-game store for purchasing buffs, alongside an endless mode that extends gameplay. Players can expect hours of entertainment, making it a highly replayable experience.
“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.”
“Provides hours of entertainment and a high amount of replayability.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report that the game evokes a wide range of emotional experiences, particularly through its match-3 mechanics and party tactics, leading to significant emotional highs and lows as they strive for improvement.
“The gameplay alone will have you experiencing emotional highs and lows as you seek to improve your match-3 skills and party tactics!”