Hey punk! Get out my dungeon!
Take up swords, sorcery, and armor, as Dungeon Punks is here to provide an enjoyable romp of arcade beat-em-up action to players all over. Anyone familiar with the genre, especially those that grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, will know what Dungeon Punks has to offer before finishing this review. To say that it’s going to be an entirely deep experience would be a lie, but I’ve played a few in the genre that were absolutely horrible. Dungeon Punks doesn’t hit that low level, nor does it reach a classic status either. It sits comfortably in the middle, and some folks might just have a blast with it.
Play alone, play with friends, and play with each other!
Dungeon Punks lets players select from a handful of various characters, each with their own special abilities. My favorite character design wise has to be the werewolf magic user. It’s different than the typical knights, dwarfs, and other stereotypes of the genre, which is probably why I picked that character as all those stereotypes are also here. Once selected, in normal brawler fashion, players will take on the role of one character and two AI assisted ones. Switching between the three characters is as simple as a button press. They seem adequate enough as it is, but I did run into frustration with the friendly fire.
MSRP: $14.99
Price I’d Pay: $10.00
Multiplayer: 1-3 local co-op
How long to beat: 5+ hours
As players fight, experience is gained, loot is collected, and when returned to the ship that’s used to travel across the linear map, can be upgraded. New moves are unlocked for special attacks, new armor and weapons obtained in levels can now be equipped and ultimately making the characters bigger bad asses then they were previously. It’s a nice gameplay loop that will keep players going on their quest. I will admit at the start, the gameplay felt a bit sluggish and slow, but as I attained new levels, I noticed the speed increase and it helped my enjoyment of the battles, which ultimately made my enjoyment of the game increase.
Doing side quests that pop up also add flavor to the battles, and progression also that isn’t normally seen in the genre. Everything else just comes across as the normal proceedings in the genre. World map, various levels, boss battles, magic attacks. Ever play Golden Axe? What about the more recent Dragons Crown? If so, it’s pretty easy to figure out what to expect and if there is something to enjoy here.
Couch co-op with your friends
Dungeon Punks has a nice animated visual style, though stiff, and a decent soundtrack. Lots can occur on screen with three characters fighting a plethora of enemies, and with magic attacks lighting the battlefield. It’s a fun title that provides single player or couch co-op brawler mechanics that, while ultimately not feeling unique or different from titles that have come before it, is competent, colorful, and easy to get into.
It’s a shame that online co-op wasn’t included, but if players ever needed an excuse to get their friends to actually come over and play something, this wouldn’t be a bad weekend recommendation. What we have is a game that takes inspiration from a classic genre years, before and while doing nothing very original with the idea, still provides a good time.
Favorite moment: The amount of chaos on screen with enemies and attacks, along with the colorful visual style.
Worst moment: The starting moments and how slow/sluggish it felt.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
