Purgatory Dungeoneer
- October 6, 2022
- Cannibal Interactive
Get on Steam"Purgatory Dungeoneer" is a first-person shooter game set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by mutants. Players must navigate through procedurally generated dungeons, fighting off enemies and collecting resources to survive. The game features permadeath, meaning that once a player finds themselves in purgatory, they must start over from the beginning. With its challenging gameplay and emphasis on survival, "Purgatory Dungeoneer" offers a thrilling and immersive post-apocalyptic experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a deep and engaging party-building system with a wide variety of character classes and races, allowing for interesting synergies and strategies.
- Combat is fast-paced and enjoyable, with a focus on buffs and debuffs that keeps battles dynamic and engaging.
- The soundtrack is highly praised, enhancing the overall atmosphere and enjoyment of the game.
- The user interface is cluttered and difficult to navigate, making it hard to manage party members and their abilities effectively.
- Recruiting characters can be tedious, as players must manually search for them without clear labels or notifications for new arrivals.
- The game lacks modern quality-of-life features, which can make the experience feel laborious and hinder overall enjoyment.
- music26 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with many users praising its ability to enhance the atmosphere and gameplay experience. Reviewers describe the soundtrack as "top tier," blending RPG battle themes with atmospheric horror elements, creating a unique and memorable auditory experience. Despite the game's basic graphics, the compelling music stands out as a highlight, significantly contributing to the overall enjoyment and emotional impact of the game.
“The battles are a real vibe thanks to that music, and the focus on buffs/debuffs is fun.”
“Combined with the minimalist visuals, the game's OST absolutely delivers an atmosphere that I don't think I'll soon forget.”
“Can't think of a single thing the game did correctly besides the music.”
“A forlorn chimera of RPG-styled battle music fused with atmospheric horror, a sense of melancholic nostalgia interrupted by a literal shepherd's tone, an eternal sense that something is familiar and just not quite right.”
“It's actually a little crazy how hard the soundtrack goes, for a game that presents itself so sparsely otherwise.”
- story18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story explores the diverse motivations behind becoming a fantasy adventurer, featuring character-specific "remembrance missions" that delve into their pasts. While the narrative offers a variety of character interactions and quests, the brevity of dialogue and lack of organization regarding character classes can lead to frustration. Despite its minimal budget, the game presents a surprisingly expansive experience with numerous missions and class options.
“The story involves an exploration of various reasons why someone would become a fantasy adventurer, both good and bad.”
“At certain levels, characters can go on a 'remembrance mission' where it seems you can go on encounters from their past (with pre-generated party members) to progress their stories and lift their level cap.”
“As new memory quests are completed, additional classes will appear to be available to use, new characters to discover.”
“They have little snippets of dialogue as you add them to your party, but they are too short to really do much other than give you a single adjective to describe their personality, like 'snarky' or 'bored.' They also all have 'remembrances,' individual quest lines set in their past.”
“There's no notification for when new recruits arrive, so after every mission I found myself searching through all the rooms for characters I thought weren't there before (which is hindered by the fact some of the sprites are the same as the rug their table sits on).”
“The characters who have remembrance missions available aren't labeled with their class, which quickly turns into tedium because you can have up to 5 characters hit the level cap necessary at a time, but only do remembrance missions for 1 at a time because their parties are auto-generated, rather than pulled from your roster.”
- gameplay18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by quick rounds and accessible mechanics that appeal to fans of the genre, with a rich battle system that emphasizes team building and unique class abilities. While the game effectively integrates narrative elements related to trauma, some players may find the engagement with mechanics laborious due to a lack of user-friendly features. Overall, it offers a rewarding experience for those who appreciate complex party-based RPGs, despite some design oversights.
“The battle system fully realizes this mechanical richness among party members, classes, and types, all of which combines to give a strong urge for one more round.”
“It really delivers on the team building and combat mechanics.”
“I also think the class abilities are smartly designed - even with the huge number of character classes, they still manage to feel both mechanically and narratively unique.”
“Overall, the actual mechanics of the game are well thought out and easy to understand, but engaging with them feels like an afterthought or its own form of labor, with a lot of issues that could've been solved by adding one or two menus or imitating what other games in the space have been doing for some time now.”
“There's a few reasons, most notably that it was made by Damien Crawford, known for making punishing, unique, and at times needlessly pedantic mechanics without the slightest urge to protect players from the consequences of, say, needing to give orders to 100 party members.”
“A single round of the game is very quick (5 battles), and surface mechanics are easy to understand for anyone who's played anything in the genre.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as basic and simplistic, yet they are complemented by a strong soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere. While some players find the visuals unappealing, others appreciate the minimalist design and how it ties into the game's theme, making it enjoyable for short play sessions. Overall, the simplicity of the graphics does not detract from the game's depth and variety in gameplay.
“The simplicity of the graphics, along with the awesome battle theme, elevates this game's presentation, making it a compelling little crawler to spend a free 10 minutes on.”
“The artwork in the game is wonderfully simplistic and makes it all a real joy.”
“Combined with the minimalist visuals, the game's soundtrack absolutely delivers an atmosphere that I don't think I'll soon forget.”
“Combat is a slog, graphics are uggo, and the writing is cringe.”
“The graphics are basic, but the soundtrack is solid, and I feel like simple graphics are not a blockade to a good game, when the return is hundreds upon hundreds of race-class combinations and abilities.”
“The theming of the game certainly helps to tie the visuals together.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the fast-paced and engaging combat, which minimizes the frustration of grinding by preventing players from over-leveling for encounters. However, the user interface lacks polish, making it cumbersome to manage information and leading to a tedious experience with the game's encounter system.
“However, it lacks enough polish in its UI that it actively hinders managing those numbers, and makes an initially effective formula of 5 encounters per dungeon unnecessarily tedious.”
“Some of the system info (like how defending works) is buried under a tedious amount of menus as items.”
“The combat is fast, punchy, and best of all, it's functionally impossible to waste time grinding just to learn you're too high level for the next fight.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its evocative soundtrack, which blends RPG battle music with elements of atmospheric horror, creating a sense of melancholic nostalgia. Coupled with minimalist visuals, the music effectively establishes a haunting and memorable ambiance that leaves a lasting impression on players.
“A forlorn chimera of RPG-styled battle music fused with atmospheric horror, a sense of melancholic nostalgia interrupted by a literal shepherd's tone, an eternal sense that something is familiar and just not quite right.”
“Combined with the minimalist visuals, the game's OST absolutely delivers an atmosphere that I don't think I'll soon forget.”
“The soundtrack so far bangs and sets up the atmosphere quite nicely.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization system allows for a balanced approach to party management, catering to both casual players and those interested in deeper strategy. However, the interface is somewhat cumbersome, as players must scroll through multiple equipment slots to view optimized gear, which can hinder the overall experience.
“- There are 11 equipment slots, but you can't see all the equipment at once on the equipment screen, so even hitting 'optimize' requires you to scroll down to see what equipment was optimized.”
“I don't consider myself to be a top-tier min-maxing player, and the game gave me space to work on party optimization without immediately crushing me.”
