The Living Dungeon
- November 2, 2015
- RadiationBurn
While The Living Dungeon can be a great puzzle solving experience for those willing to invest the time to master the game’s mechanics it falls short in it’s story telling and multiplayer aspects. With little glitches here and there, so-so voice acting, unintuitive controls and a camera that fights the player to see the deadly obstacles they're up against the game just doesn’t seem completely finished overall.
Get on Steam"The Living Dungeon" is a strategy board game brought to life in a digital format. Players must navigate through ever-changing dungeons filled with traps, monsters, and other challenges. The game supports both single-player and multiplayer modes, allowing for various playstyles and replayability. Each decision made can significantly impact the outcome, providing a thrilling and engaging experience.
PC
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Linux
Xbox
Reviews
- The Living Dungeon offers a unique blend of board game mechanics and puzzle-solving, providing a satisfying challenge for players who enjoy strategic gameplay.
- The game features a local multiplayer mode that allows up to 9 players, making it a great option for social gaming sessions with friends.
- Despite its rough edges, the game has a charming aesthetic and a dedicated development team that actively engages with the community for improvements.
- The game suffers from a lack of polish, with issues such as poor voice acting, a clunky interface, and a frustrating camera system that resets frequently.
- Many players have reported bugs and crashes, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to a frustrating experience, especially during critical moments.
- The reliance on randomness can lead to unfair situations, where players may feel they lose due to bad luck rather than skill, making it less enjoyable for some.
- gameplay34 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a blend of tabletop mechanics and strategic elements, offering a unique experience reminiscent of board games, with engaging dice-rolling and character abilities. However, it suffers from balance issues, a lack of polish, and a somewhat clunky interface, which can detract from the overall enjoyment. Despite these flaws, the game provides a solid adventure with a lengthy single-player mode and multiplayer options, appealing to fans of the genre.
“The gameplay plays out like a tabletop board game, delivering the overall feeling of playing a board game, with everything from the animations to the visual style and mechanics feeling fitting.”
“Unique gameplay - it's kind of like playing a board game, with the strategy of chess, but with a lot more variation in moves.”
“This game has a long story mode with up to 30 hours of mind-baffling gameplay, and there are lots of levels of gameplay to keep you busy for quite a while.”
“Conclusion: while there is an enjoyable concept in seeing the dice being rolled and moving a miniature around, it is best kept as an aesthetic and art direction choice, rather than have it bleed over into gameplay in my humble opinion.”
“The living dungeon has an interesting premise, in both lore and mechanics, but right now it lacks polish and balance.”
“Although the tutorial game mechanics are not friendly.”
- story27 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as thin and largely skippable, serving primarily as a framework for puzzle-based gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. While it features a light story wrapper and a variety of characters across a lengthy single-player mode, the writing and voice acting lack polish, contributing to an overall amateurish feel. Despite these shortcomings, players appreciate the nostalgic tabletop experience and the challenge presented by the gameplay, especially in multiplayer settings.
“The game has a light story wrapper to guide you through the various levels, and a good, solid tutorial to teach you how to play.”
“In story mode, you take control of various characters that have found themselves in the dungeon for one reason or another, and to pass each level you are given objectives like reaching an exit or killing hostile opponents.”
“There is a single player story mode with at least 30+ hours of gameplay, and multiplayer with up to 9 players.”
“The game's writing and story is thin and completely skippable, so you are missing absolutely nothing by skipping it.”
“Story mode missions are more like puzzles rather than actually playing against the dungeon, and while it's more for teaching you how to play, there is no real replay value here once you complete it.”
“The story itself seems relatively straightforward, but the overall execution feels amateurish, with clunky cut scenes and subpar voice recording quality.”
- graphics11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as solid and visually appealing, particularly in the context of its board game aesthetic. However, many users criticize the interface and certain graphical elements as clunky and amateurish, detracting from the overall experience. While there is potential in the art direction, improvements in graphical quality and interface design are needed to enhance gameplay.
“The graphics are solid as well.”
“I found it to be enticing enough and once you start playing the game, the artwork all flows.”
“Sure, the graphics are generally nice enough, but on the whole the gameplay still feels a tad 'clunky'.”
“Interface graphics look bad: nasty-looking hollow cubes spin round nasty-looking icons to represent the dice; a 2D egg timer looks odd and out of place; the camera resets every time you get a turn, so moving it to get a good view seems almost pointless; the camera moves on its own as you move near various things with the mouse, which can be annoying and disconcerting.”
“If the graphics and interface were better, it wouldn't be such a chore watching the computer take its move (after all, this is a board game rather than a play-it-as-fast-as-you-like roguelike), but it is.”
“I'm willing to forgive a lot in terms of graphics and physical presentation, but everything about the delivery is amateurish.”
- music2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The music in the game is largely forgettable, with players recalling more about the persistent sound effects, particularly the repetitive "tik tok" that enhances the tension during gameplay. Overall, while the sound design contributes to the atmosphere, the musical score fails to leave a lasting impression.
“The sound design, particularly the sound effects running in the background, adds to the tension of the gameplay itself.”
“The music creates an immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
“The combination of sound effects and music contributes significantly to the game's emotional impact.”
“The music is forgettable; I can't remember a single tone. All that remains when I turn off the game is the constant 'tik tok tik tok'...”
“The sound design is more prominent than the music. The background sound effects, like 'tik tok tik tok', are almost always running and add to the tension of the gameplay.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, with users frequently experiencing bugs and crashes.
“The game is incredibly buggy and crashes frequently.”
“I experienced constant crashes that made it unplayable.”
“The stability issues are frustrating, with frequent bugs disrupting gameplay.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's story mode primarily serves as a tutorial, with missions resembling puzzles rather than engaging gameplay, leading to a lack of real replay value once completed.
“The story mode consists of missions that feel more like puzzles than actual gameplay against the dungeon. While it's designed to teach you how to play, there is no real replay value once you've completed it.”
“After finishing the game, I found that there was little incentive to replay it. The lack of varied content makes it feel repetitive.”
“Once you've experienced the main storyline, there's not much left to draw you back in. The replayability is severely lacking.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, particularly due to frequent unfair deaths and the repetitive nature of restarting levels, leading some to decide against continuing to play.
“The overall unfair deaths and tedious, time-consuming nature of restarting a level combine to make it a game I'm glad I tried, but I won't be playing further.”
“Grinding feels like a never-ending chore rather than an enjoyable part of the game.”
“The repetitive nature of grinding makes it hard to stay engaged; it feels more like a job than a game.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its immersive tavern setting, featuring a cozy wooden table and a warm fire glow, which enhances the overall gaming experience.
“I liked the atmosphere of the 'tavern' backdrop for the game, as it felt good to play on a wooden table with the warm glow of a fire in the background.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is praised for its unique art direction and design, complemented by strong writing that enhances the overall experience.
“The art direction and character design are cool and unique, and the writing is exceptional.”
“The character development is incredibly deep, allowing players to form a genuine connection with each character.”
“I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, making their journeys feel authentic and engaging.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users highlight the emotional aspect of the game as deeply impactful, with one reviewer expressing eagerness to experience its heart-wrenching moments, particularly in the context of intense multiplayer interactions and chaotic dungeon exploration.
“I can't wait to try out this heart-wrenching multiplayer and go face to face in this dungeon-dwelling chaos.”
