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, 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 Pázhitnov, which has been reformulated to exhaustion and its quality has not yet dropped one iota. Tetris 99 O Tetris Effect are demonstrations that it is enough with adapt the great glories of the past to our times to regain success.
Perhaps that is why SquareDev has taken another of the most common currents of today to shape your Tetris vision. Or maybe you wanted to offer your perspective on roguelikes by benefiting from the block game. Either way, Blocky Dungeon it became a magnet to 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 ended up facing many stages without problems. The surprise diminishes with the passage of time.
On Blocky Dungeon, we ourselves create the playing field. Through our tiny knight, we will have to make the pieces of Tetris fall and position themselves according to our preferences. They do not progressively descend, as would happen in the original title, but rather they do not advance until we decide.
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.
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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 the one 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 side (puzzle or roguelike) is clearly the best option to place the blocks. If we decide to play as if we had only the Tetris, we condemn the knight to the clutches of a stone golem. However, if we only think about avoiding as many traps, we will hit the ceiling.
In this balance moves Blocky DungeonAlthough it is a one-man project, it is not without 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 unlimited mode, 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 types of enemies, 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? At Itch.io, the platform that shelters a huge amount of talent.
Here you have the link to get it and you can pay the price you consider fair to enjoy it. It is expected that in the future the work will reach 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 every corner 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.
