Dungeon of the Endless

Developer Amplitude Studios is rather prolific with its franchises as the permadeath game Dungeon of the Endless is but one of three games in the course of a year’s time. Luckily, the scope between this gorgeous, confined strategy mix and that of its Endless Space progenitor are fully different. As an experiment in genres, this Early Access game already has in it intelligent design that combines many facets in one seamless package. This pixelated tale has a form of strategy for any fan to munch on.

Encased in the Endless franchise lore, players start their journey after a ship crashes into the crust of the planet Auriga. A small team of survivors will need to guard the ship’s power core while maneuvering through random rooms filled with monsters. Power is needed to light the cold, dark rooms that fend off the void around them, but it’s also necessary for just about anything else. Energy is life.

Rounds are viewed from above with a simple yet vibrant pixel art style. There’s a ton of blackness to create an atmosphere of confinement, but colors also pop out to clearly represent characters or lighted areas. It’s like a rainbow that serves as a guiding rod. Anything else is defined by the “less is more” term. Music and sound effects are kept to a minimum, only resonating through hallways when there’s a threat present. That way, Dungeon of the Endless manages to capture a vibe that’s both eerily barren and fiercely colorful.

Leveling mechanisms, equipment and building nodes in rooms.

In this dualism, the small team of survivors will need to work hard to reach a series of levels leading to freedom on the surface. Each crashed ship starts with two randomized heroes that can either use melee or ranged attacks, depending on their build. Further individual traits are unique each playthrough as well and these include skills like repairing things or exploiting the environment.

Advancing in any way in the story is done through the opening of doors. Rooms start off unlit with a random branching of several paths. Behind each door there’s a new surprise. Sometimes that surprise means additional resources, but at other times it’s a den of nasty critters. In any case, doors count as the mechanism of turns. With each opened room, the crew receives a set amount of resources divided in food, industry, science and the Dust matter that serves as the power element. When an area is lit, nodes inside of it can be used to build big gathering contraptions or small defense items to protect from the encroaching swarms. In that basic model alone there are turn-based strategy, real time combat and tower defense aspects, plus an additional resource management system.

Choosing research trees.

On top of that, Dungeon of the Endless also allows team members to be upgraded with a certain amount of food. Doing so can append a unit with both passive and active skills, which can be recharged through a set of turns. Scavenging areas can also reveal equipment like swords and armor. Moreover, merchants and additional party members can be found. It’s all random.

In the end, the goal is to reach the other side of the level, then bring the ship’s power core there. Doing that, however, takes up a character’s full attention, leaving them exposed for enemy threats that swarm the core. They really want that thing. This final effort usually requires a ton of planning to ensure that tower defense elements are set up and that party members are stationed in the appropriate rooms to take the oncoming flak.

Meeting new characters.

While the last hurrah in each level is spicier than the rest of the play, it is indicative of the intensity in all of Dungeon of the Endless. Its intertwined mechanisms are tweaked so closely together that any faux pas can have catastrophic failure in its wake. Dust is the currency for both powering rooms and buying equipment, so strengthening a unit means losing defenses and resources from large nodes, as rooms go unlit. Concentrating on food gathering leaves industry behind, which is necessary for more advancement and building protection. Not focusing on science eventually makes structures useless against the rapidly growing challenges of the game. Acting one second too late during active combat can not only lead to precious contraptions breaking, but it can also mean the permanent end to a character that used a ton of food to level up.

It may not look like it from its more simplified, colorful theme, but this strategy game extracts the trickier parts from all its adopted genres. Then, it fuses all of those elements into a roguelike assault that rivals any of its peers. Every aspect clicks perfectly into the other. There’s always an equal drawback to each benefit and it brutally punishes any missteps. A game like FTL: Faster Than Light might also ramp up the challenge, but that thing has a pause button. This adventure is “fight or die” with every door opened. It’s essentially opening the floodgates, then venturing into the bowels of hell.

Completing a level.

Currently, Dungeon of the Endless is still in the process of adding new features. Still, with lively action, tactical turns, management and defense building already bouncing off each other, not much else is needed. It recently even implemented a pod that can be used like a sort of capsule toy dispenser. Put in some currency and something great may come out. If anything would be welcome, perhaps it could add some features other than the differing cast of enemies. Maybe stick in a few more traps or alternate challenges, aside from the real-time combat, to keep everyone on their toes and even more alert.

For a game still in active development, Dungeon of the Endless is looking fitter than most full releases. That’s especially peculiar, since it’s technically a “yearly release” by now. Any fan of strategy, whatever the form, will love a specific part of it and get lured into the rest, due to the seamless, alternating design of this adventure. With a random playthrough each time and permanent consequences, it also has enough replay value and a tough to master dynamic. It’s impressively clever.

Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed (@Daavpuke)