Suzukuri Dungeon: Karin in the Mountain
- August 20, 2024
- Karin Project
Get on Steam"Suzukuri Dungeon: Karin in the Mountain" is a simulation game where players build and manage a dungeon filled with cute but fearsome demons. The goal is to expand the labyrinth, recruit allies, and strengthen their skills to protect the hoard from intruders. Players can also construct amenities to attract and extract money from people and monsters. The game is sponsored by the legendary demon queen Karin, who is about to be unleashed once more after a thousand-year nap.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a unique blend of dungeon management and visual novel elements, providing engaging gameplay and a rich narrative.
- High production value with quality voice acting and beautifully illustrated characters enhances the overall experience.
- Multiple playthroughs are encouraged due to the variety of routes and endings, making it highly replayable.
- The Steam version is misleading as it requires an external patch to access the full game content, including the visual novel aspects.
- Gameplay can be grindy and repetitive, requiring multiple runs to unlock all content, which may frustrate some players.
- The dungeon rating system and turn limits can feel punishing and detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- story32 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The story in "Suzukuri Dungeon" is generally considered serviceable, with a mix of light-hearted slice-of-life elements and strategic gameplay, but it is not the main draw of the game. Players must download a patch to access any meaningful narrative content, as the unpatched version lacks dialogue and story progression. While the game features multiple routes and character interactions, it is primarily recommended for fans of visual novels and dungeon management rather than for its storytelling alone.
“Overall, I recommend Suzukuri Dungeon to anyone who likes visual novels or is an aspiring visual novel player, as while this game is a little slow at times, it tells an engaging story and makes you work for a proper ending with its mechanics.”
“This game expertly blends strategic dungeon management with immersive visual novel storytelling, creating an experience that’s both captivating and deeply rewarding.”
“The adult scenes are thoughtfully woven into the story, adding depth without overshadowing the game’s strategic core.”
“The story is serviceable, and I definitely do not recommend playing this game for its story.”
“Unless you get the patch, there's zero dialogue and story for the game.”
“That means without getting the patch, you get no dialogue between characters, no scenes, no story at all.”
- gameplay24 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the title combines dungeon management and tower defense mechanics, offering a mix of strategic depth and engaging storytelling. However, players note that the gameplay loop can become repetitive and requires significant grinding to unlock all scenarios, which may deter some. Despite these drawbacks, the game is praised for its rich mechanics and entertaining blend of visual novel elements with strategic gameplay.
“The game combines detailed dungeon-building mechanics with an engaging narrative that unfolds as you progress, offering a mix of strategic depth and lighthearted romance.”
“The dungeon management mechanics shine with rich strategic depth, making every decision feel meaningful.”
“It's a must-have addition to your collection, offering hours of engaging gameplay and storytelling that will keep you coming back for more.”
“This mechanic punishes you for trying to go to an area that is lower than your rank, and some compulsory events are lower than your rank, decreasing your dungeon rating which you then have to grind up again.”
“[*][b] The gameplay loop is highly repetitive and automated [/b]: you match each character with one creature of choice and put them in the dungeon battle room.”
“Ultimately, this led me to give up on getting the last few endings because I couldn't progress far enough mechanically, but not far enough in terms of events.”
- replayability10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability due to its extensive playtime, multiple routes, and rich story content, including distinct romantic subplots that lead to various endings. Features like New Game+, daily events, and engaging character interactions further enhance replay value, making it a worthwhile investment despite its higher-than-average price for visual novels. Players can expect a long-lasting experience filled with diverse narratives and ample opportunities for exploration.
“Extensive playtime with multiple routes, rich story content, and high replayability.”
“High replay value with New Game+, daily events, and engaging character interactions.”
“Multiple routes and endings ensure ample replayability, with never a dull moment as you refine your dungeon and uncover new outcomes.”
“The price of the game, 20 dollars, is higher than what anime visual novels usually cost, but considering the extensive amount of content that the title has and the replayability it offers, this price is very well justified.”
“Long game life with replayability.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be both enjoyable and tedious, as it requires significant time investment to perfect dungeons and explore all routes. While the initial loops can feel slow and repetitive, the gameplay becomes more engaging as players progress, though the lack of quality-of-life features can make the experience feel unnecessarily laborious. Overall, the game is seen as above average but deliberately grind-heavy, with a mix of entertaining strategy and management elements.
“I do want to warn though that there is a lot of grinding involved in perfecting your dungeon.”
“Lack of quality of life features: having to manually skip scenes you've likely witnessed at least 3-5 times is tedious.”
“The game is also grindy, in that it clearly expects you to fail multiple times; I was on my 7th loop when I saw the true ending, playing fairly casually.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game features vibrant anime-style visuals and high-quality, hand-drawn character designs that enhance the immersive experience. However, despite its charming artwork, the graphics settings feel outdated, reminiscent of a visual novel from 2004. Overall, the stunning visuals and detailed illustrations make it a noteworthy title for fans of the genre.
“In addition to its charming and well-written character cast and high-quality illustration artwork, this game is well worth checking out.”
“The stunning graphics, top-tier voice acting, and intricately hand-drawn character designs create a truly immersive experience, both visually and audibly.”
“Vibrant anime-style visuals with high-quality, hand-drawn character designs and beautifully detailed scenes.”
“This game released in 2024 with graphics settings of a VN from 2004.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its smooth performance and lack of significant technical issues. Players appreciate the strategic depth offered in dungeon management, allowing for optimized room types, traps, and unit placements.
“The game runs smoothly with no significant technical issues noted.”
“Dungeon management: strategically build and manage your dungeon with optimized room types, traps, and unit placements.”
“Strategic depth: there is plenty of room for optimization in dungeon-building.”
“The optimization in dungeon management feels lacking, making it hard to create an efficient layout.”
“There are limited options for optimizing room types and traps, which hinders strategic planning.”
“The game lacks depth in optimization, leaving players frustrated with subpar dungeon designs.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its light-hearted narrative and charming daily life events, making it engaging for fans of both visual novels and dungeon management games. Players find the characters, particularly Fuu, to be lovable and the overall experience to be very funny.
“The visual novel side is actually big, very funny, and the characters are lovable (Fuu being the best).”
“The narrative is rich with fantasy elements and is light-hearted, with humorous daily life events that add charm and keep the experience engaging for fans of both visual novels and dungeon management games.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The character development is enhanced by vibrant anime-style visuals and high-quality, hand-drawn designs, which contribute to an immersive experience. The combination of stunning graphics and top-tier voice acting further enriches the portrayal of characters, making them feel more engaging and lifelike.
“The stunning graphics, top-tier voice acting, and intricately hand-drawn character designs create a truly immersive experience, both visually and audibly.”
