Instant Dungeon!
- April 25, 2014
- with the love studios
- 10h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Instant Dungeon!" is a game that offers quick and arcade-style dungeon exploration, generating a new dungeon each time you play. With nine unique game modes, players can choose their preferred style, from action-packed adventures to rescue missions, each with its own set of challenges and power-ups. The game is inspired by classic maze games, providing a fun and engaging experience for both casual and experienced players.
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- Instant Dungeon offers a charming and addictive gameplay experience reminiscent of classic arcade games like Pac-Man, with a variety of game modes and procedurally generated dungeons.
- The game is simple to pick up and play, making it a great time killer for short gaming sessions, while still providing enough challenge and variety to keep players engaged.
- At its low price point, Instant Dungeon delivers excellent value with its fun mechanics, character selection, and the satisfaction of unlocking achievements.
- Many players feel that the game lacks depth and can become repetitive, especially after reaching higher levels where the gameplay doesn't significantly change.
- The absence of checkpoints can be frustrating, as players must replay earlier levels after dying, which can detract from the overall enjoyment.
- Some reviews mention that the game is misleadingly labeled as a roguelike, as it resembles a simple arcade game more than a complex dungeon crawler.
- gameplay36 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 83 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its variety, featuring multiple modes and a progressive difficulty that enhances the challenge as players advance through levels and face bosses. While the mechanics are simple and accessible, the game’s arcade style may struggle against more polished competitors in the genre. Overall, players find the combination of power-ups, procedural generation, and nostalgic graphics engaging and fun, with a strong emphasis on unlocking achievements and new modes.
“The gameplay is varied thanks to the different game modes, the difficulty increases as you go through the levels and manage to survive the bosses, and the achievements are very fun to unlock.”
“Gameplay revolves around collecting power-ups, avoiding/killing monsters, finding a floor's key, and then finding the exit, with bosses every five levels in the main game mode.”
“This simple formula, combined with the mechanic of each progressive floor getting darker and thus more challenging to navigate, provides a surprising amount of fun, and the atmosphere is, at times, unquestionably tense.”
“Ultimately what kills this game is that in opening up the gameplay, it starts bleeding out of its arcade genre and immediately becomes outcompeted by proper games of the genre it imitates.”
“The gameplay is pac-manesque and the graphics are straight out of Dig Dug.”
“Simple graphics and simple gameplay.”
- music22 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as enjoyable but not exceptional, with some players appreciating its happy tone and procedural generation that offers a unique soundtrack with each playthrough. While some reviews mention the music as dull or unremarkable, others highlight it as a positive aspect that enhances the overall fun and addictive nature of the game. Overall, the music contributes to the game's theme and experience, even if it doesn't stand out as a highlight.
“Even the music in this game is procedurally generated, so you have new beats to listen to each time you boot it up.”
“This game is fun and addictive, with a cheap price and good music to boot.”
“Procedurally layered music, a different soundtrack every time you play!”
“The design of the game itself is really fit into the theme that it tries to follow and the music, well, it's not amazing, but it is not something that’ll make the game bad in any way.”
“Every enemy behaves the same way so there's essentially only one enemy (not counting the 'bosses'), the controls are clunky, the music is dull and I can't really think of anything good to say about it.”
“Some days ago I contacted him about a problem where I could not hear any music in the game.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics are characterized as retro and simplistic, evoking nostalgia with a style reminiscent of classic games like Dig Dug and Pac-Man. While charming, some players find the visuals repetitive and lacking in variety, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite the graphics not being groundbreaking, they contribute to the game's enjoyable aesthetic and fun gameplay.
“The graphics tug on the nostalgia strings.”
“The graphics are charming enough, but after a few rounds, you wish all of the walls didn’t look so similar.”
“The gameplay is pac-manesque and the graphics are straight out of Dig Dug.”
“The graphics are charming enough but after a few rounds you wish all of the walls didn’t look so similar.”
“Simple graphics and simple gameplay.”
- story10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game lacks a traditional story, focusing instead on gameplay and atmosphere, making it suitable for players who enjoy exploration and scoring without narrative concerns. While there is a story mode, it is minimal, and players can engage in various quests that introduce unique themes, such as ork racism, adding some variety to the experience. Overall, the game is more about the gameplay mechanics than a compelling narrative.
“A $2 game with no story, but a great atmosphere.”
“Want to go spelunking and see how far you can get and what score you can achieve with no real need to worry about story and real progression? Then give this a boot up!”
“There are various modes other than the story mode to keep it somewhat fresh.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
Many users highlight that inexpensive and simple games often offer significant replayability due to their challenging and varied gameplay. Overall, these games are praised for their ability to provide enjoyable experiences that encourage repeated play.
“This has great replay value.”
“Good replay value too.”
“Why is it that the most enjoyable games these days are inexpensive and relatively simple, yet challenging and varied enough for massive replayability?”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is notably tense, enhanced by the mechanic of progressively darker floors that increase the challenge and engagement. Despite lacking a narrative, players find the atmosphere to be a significant highlight, contributing to the overall enjoyment of the experience.
“This simple formula, combined with the mechanic of each progressive floor getting darker and thus more challenging to navigate, provides a surprising amount of fun, and the atmosphere is, at times, unquestionably tense.”
“A $2 game with no story, but a great atmosphere.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players note that grinding becomes more manageable after reaching level 40, which unlocks a mode designed to facilitate this process. However, boss battles tend to lose their appeal after the initial encounter, becoming repetitive and tedious over time.
“The boss battles get tedious... they're interesting the first time around, but once you've done them once, they're boring.”
“If you can get far enough in normal mode (level 40, I think), then you unlock a mode that definitely helps with that particular type of grinding.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized for significant stuttering, framerate drops, and infinite loading times, leading to a frustrating experience that detracts from overall enjoyment. Users feel that these issues make the game less appealing compared to other options available at a similar price point.
“Compared to something I got on sale for forty bucks, I was disappointed to experience stuttering, framerate drops, infinite loading times, and a mediocre fun level. I ultimately discovered I could be playing 'Instant Dungeon' instead.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits significant stability issues, with multiple users reporting persistent freezing at the loading screen, preventing successful gameplay.
“Tried 3 times to get this to load and it always freezes at a loading screen.”
“Tried 3 times to get this to load and it always freezes at a loading screen.”
