How many times can you take a single idea and rephrase it without immediately appearing the sense of repetition? It is really difficult to hit the target, to hit the nail on the head to achieve a timeless work and the best example of this is Tetris.
More than 30 years contemplate the title of Alekséi Pazhitnov , which has been reformulated to exhaustion and its quality has not yet decreased one iota. Tetris 99 or Tetris Effect are demonstrations that it is enough to adapt the great glories of the past to our times to achieve success again.
Perhaps that is why SquareDev has taken another of the most common currents of today to shape its vision of Tetris . Or maybe you wanted to offer your perspective on roguelikes by benefiting from the block game. Either way, Blocky Dungeon became a magnet for my eyes as soon as I could see it. The sensations were positive and after having tried it, I could not be happier.
Here is material, gentlemen
In every good roguelike worth its salt, the dungeons we end up knowing by heart. Yes, randomness is a fundamental factor , but based on the repetition of games, we end up facing many stages without problems. The surprise diminishes with the passage of time.
At Blocky Dungeon , we ourselves create the pitch. Through our tiny knight, we will have to make the Tetris pieces fall and place according to our preferences. They do not progressively descend, as would happen in the original title, but they do not advance until we decide to do so .
This allows us to plan which is the most favorable area for us, since all the corridors that we place will have chests, potions or enemies. Taking into account where they rest or details such as leaving ourselves locked in are vital.
Before determining the position of the block, we can move the knight, but with a limited amount of movements . The floor is divided into squares and in each one of them there will be trolls, magicians, flasks to recover quantity of movements or chests to open. We may be able to gain the upper hand by luring a skeleton and a ghost to face each other to fight while we sneak away. Pure strategy that gets complicated.
More pieces, more reflection
Obviously the completed lines will disappear, but not instantly. SquareDev has implemented in a recent update the possibility that it is the knight himself who chooses when the ground disappears . A relief, since previously as soon as one was completed, everything fell into the void, protagonist included.
Of course, everything has a limit and we cannot let the dungeon rise so high that it reaches the top of the screen. Because there is the peculiarity that neither of the two aspects (puzzle or roguelike) are clearly the best option to place the blocks. If we decide to play as if we had only Tetris in front of us, we condemn the knight to the claws of a stone golem. However, if we only think about avoiding as many traps, we will hit the ceiling.
Blocky Dungeon moves in this balance, although it is a one-man project, it does not lack content. We have a way in which different objectives will be marked, such as creating a number of lines, opening several chests or ending up with different specific enemies. On the other hand, there is the classic mode without limits , in which we can play without thinking about anything other than accumulating combos by annihilating rivals and adding points to the locker.
There is also a bestiary in which to see descriptions of each of the enemy types, passing through immobile tentacles, ghosts that pass through walls or chests that pretend to be what they are not …
A promising future
The plans are ambitious for Blocky Dungeon . SquareDev does not want to leave any loose ends, and that is why it intends to implement a cooperative multiplayer mode and another PvP through the Unity engine. Where can you get Blocky Dungeon? In Itch.io, the platform that shelters a huge amount of talent.
Here you have the link to get hold of it and you can pay whatever price you consider fair to enjoy it. It is expected that in the future the work will arrive on Steam at the end of this summer, although there is still no enabled page.
Blocky Dungeon is a glaring example of the huge pool of developers that exists in all corners of the world. We do not know if the title will triumph, but it is clear that what we have in our hands is a rough diamond from which only many carats can come out.
- Pc
- Strategy
