An Action First-Person RPG Dungeon Crawling Roguelike (catchy isn't it?)
Blimey!
It would appear action Roguelikes are like buses. You wait for ages
for one to show up, then a whole shit load of them turn up at once.
At least I think that's how the saying goes. Whatever, the bottom
line is we have recently been blessed with a plethora of games
featuring randomly generated levels, rpg elements, and permadeath.
For those of us teetering on the edge of hardcore RPG nerd-ism, these
action based real-time Roguelikes are a much more palatable option
than the beardy uber-heavy RPG antics of a true roguelike. Here we
have all the finest elements of the genre; randomly generated levels,
levelling up, hacking, slashing and looting, and the hair pulling
torment of only having one life in which to complete your quest. Die
once and it's game over fuck face! No saves, checkpoints or cutesy
characters offering tips, just you against the computer's random
levels and monsters.
Delver
takes these elements and combines them with the voxelrific™
visual style of that game.. er, what's it called again? Minecraft,
something like that. You may have heard of it. Anyway, Delver puts
you in a lovely blocky world in a first person perspective, and tasks
you with obtaining a secret magical gubbins located deep in the
bowels of the land, held by some foul demon with a face like an
elephant's arse, who will introduce you to a world of hurt when you
request he hand it over. Once you have the prized item it's a return
to the surface for you, battling past a smorgasbord of scumbags you
have already killed. Ah, Roguelikes, so predictable, yet some damn
addictive. They are like crack flavoured Pringles (note – I claim
all rights for this idea, if they appear I will sue you Pringles!).
You
start off at the cave entrance, generously equipped with a dagger,
some food, some useless armour and a nifty wand that fires electric
bolts. Not bad, this adventurer clearly comes prepared, Este Paratus
(yes, I just used Latin in a game review, I apologise). You then
navigate your way through the randomly generated levels on a mission
to locate the ladder that will take you to the floor beneath. You
will have to face many foes on your way there, from the standard bats
and slimes, to staff or sword wielding guys, skeletons, and weird
eye-balls that shoot fireballs at you. Vanquished enemies often drop
loot such as food (hmm, cheese and ale!), armour and weapons.
Accessing your inventory is simple, and you can drop and arrange your
items as you see fit. A hot-bar allows you to allocate items you will
need to access quickly in the heat of battle (e.g. Health potions),
making life even easier.
The
levels absolutely ooze atmosphere, with the voxel world containing
lots of rich detail and some great dynamic lighting effects that
really bring the place to life. Wall mounted torches flicker and
crackle, lighting up the corridors, and streams omit a glow that
fills caverns with a warm blue aura. Sound is also top notch, with
some crisp and classy sound effects coupled with a haunting
soundtrack that is perfectly suited to the world you are immersed in.
Both the music and backgrounds change every couple of levels (sewers,
caves, librarys etc) which really gives you a sense of exploring a
living world, and it adds variety, keeping it fresh and exciting. One
minute you will be battling soldiers in a dungeon, the next fending
off zombies in a sewer. The monsters also get harder as you progress
ever downwards, but with some decent resource management skills you
will be well equipped to deal with whatever the depths can throw at
you. You occasionally come across strange square symbols on the floor
that, upon being stepped on, transport you to a random location or
hurt you. They can be avoided if spotted, or you can render them
inactive if you work out how. A mini-map is also displayed in the
corner, helping you to track your movements, and it can be switched
to full screen at the tap of a button. After all, what kind of
adventurer leaves home without a map?
It's
incredibly absorbing to play and, like all good roguelikes, will keep
you completely and utterly hooked until the moment you emerge,
blinking, into the sunlight that greets you upon return to the
surface, amulet clasped in your sweaty palm. Delver is not the
hardest the genre has to offer, but it does offer a decent enough
challenge, and is so much fun to play that every minute spent
exploring its rich, colourful world is worth it.
The
game is currently only in alpha stage with the creator, Chad
Cuddigan, promising further updates soon. The game that is currently
available for your PC (or Android platform) is still extremely
polished and playable, and can be completed. So I highly recommend
you head over to Chad's site and cough up the $5 entrance fee to the
wonderful world of Delver. I am eagerly awaiting a new version as,
like my patented crack flavoured Pringles, one just isn't enough.
The
Good
- Wonderful voxel world with fantastic lighting and detail
- Addictive and immersive gameplay
- Randomly generated levels
- Offers a reasonable challenge without being too brutal
The
Bad
- Alpha state means game isn't finished yet (but more to come!)
Developer
: Chad Cuddigan
Availability
: Out Now (alpha) on PC and Android
Price
: $5
Be sure to vote for Delver on Steam's Greenlight
