Everybody is aware of the classic dungeon crawling gameplay style that a multitude of games feature. It is the video game equivalent to playing through a Dungeons and Dragons campaign with a group of friends. Typically, these games all take place in the depths of catacombs to give a dark atmosphere to match the countless monsters you will face. Afterburner Studios has taken this idea and given it a new light with their game Dreamscaper.
After hearing about their 200% plus successful Kickstarter campaign and seeing some of the footage shown in their trailer, I just had to check out the free demo on Steam for myself. Easy enough to say, I was not disappointed.
Gameplay
You do, in fact, start out within a dungeon. At first, I was worried about this factor, but it is actually a smart move when you make your way through and see that it is the game’s tutorial. On top of that, they even show it being a video game within their video game as their protagonist is shown sitting down and playing it in their bedroom. Once you completed the tutorial, the in-game video game will crash and send the character to lie on their bed - which is when the real game begins.
Once they lie down there is a fantasy styled transition where the character is transferred into a fantasy world that mixes the atmosphere of dungeon crawling with the landscape of an abandoned city. Here you will come across a few different creatures, find more weapons and gear to fight with, as well as the countless portals that lead to the next section of the map.
When changing between areas of the map you will get to choose from one of the four sides to continue through. If you are on the edge of the overall map, they simply don’t have a portal to go through that direction. Much like when there are only doors on a select few walls to present the options of where you can go on the map. The cool thing about this though is that once you have been somewhere, you can literally fast travel to that block of the map at any time by opening the map and picking where you want to be. This is a time saver in the demo and will no doubt be useful in the finished game.
The mini-map is also a pretty handy tool because it shows all the adjacent areas that you can travel to and the different directions that are available for each map block. This makes path decisions easy to decipher and keep you moving at whatever pace fits you best. Not to mention it shows where the merchant sections, breakable stones that hide items, and other significant factors to the game are - including puzzles.
There are a few different enemy types that you can come across, each with their own fighting style and weaknesses. The fights get easier the better equipped you become, but don’t underestimate a room full of enemies or especially the boss fights. These proved to be challenging yet defeat-able, which is always a lot of fun to have a mix of difficulties throughout the crawling experience.
Once you do beat a level, you will be given the open to purchase weapons and gear or abilities with all the points you have earned up. This can range from stuff for aesthetic reasoning or more purposeful tools to aid you as you progress. Personally, I went with a color sword that was stronger than my current weapon and brought even more brightness to the already bright overworld.
Graphics and Sounds
I love that the music to the game isn’t dark and heavy like you would get from most games in this game style. They put effort into keeping a light, bright atmosphere and even the battle music is just a pumped-up version of delight rather than the rock tones you usually hear in battle. Mixing that with the different sounds of the actual battle taking place as you smite your foes and get attacked gave an atmosphere of positivity.
On top of lighter music, the atmosphere of the game being in a sunlit world was interesting. Sure, the town area is abandoned so you find empty lodges and shops that you can’t enter, but you can come across waterways, grassy planes, and so much more that you would just simply never see underground.
Expectations
There were only two maps in the demo and although they were randomized, I would imagine that as they bring out more maps it will have some sort of difficulty progression system. Perhaps only certain maps load when the player is between a certain level range or the enemies just simply match the player’s skill level. It is too early to tell if they are going to be using a level system to increase the difficulty or leave it purely up to the skill level of the individual, but I expect the challenges to increase as you continue.
A wide variety of weapons that can be both found and purchased. There were already multiple options shown in the demo itself, but I can see them adding so much more to the game. From aspects that could include damage resistance and bonuses to general stat increase from using certain weapons or equipping specific gear, there is still more they can add in this aspect.
Story progression seems to have some sort of seeding, but with the maps slightly randomized, I am curious to see how they end up pulling this off. It could have something to do with the certain maps loading in based on the player level that I mentioned above, but I could also see them just simply having certain key characters or moments spawned in regardless of the map to help the story move forward.
Conclusion
Dreamscaper is a beautifully placed dungeon crawling experience! They are certainly on the right path and I look forward to seeing this game reach completion. There is still so much they can do with it and I hope that they take advantage of the possibilities their bright world holds. Certainly, a game to keep your eye on.
