Bit Dungeon Plus

Nintendo Switch

Reviewed by Ricky

Publisher – Dolores Entertainment S.L.
Developer – Dolores Entertainment S.L.
Category – Role-Playing, Action, Arcade, Adventure
Release Date – Mar 08, 2018

Lately, it seems that most of the indie games I’ve been playing immediately prompt a question to form in my mind. This, is certainly also the case with Bit Dungeon Plus for Nintendo Switch. Before I beg the question which is on the tip of mine tongue, a little backstory. Bit Dungeon began its life as a flash game. It was a lovingly
crafted take on the rogue like genre known for it’s brutal difficulty and randomly generated levels. You can still find it to play for free on Kongregate. Since that time, it has
been ported over to every platform, adding new content as it went. As a flash game, it stood out as one of the best. Did that translate well when ported over to consoles?

With that, I return to the first question that popped in my head upon booting up Bit Dungeon Plus- Did you ever want to play Legend of Zelda with a techno soundtrack and without any of those pesky puzzles or overworld exploration? No? Oh…

However, I’ve since realized after many more hours with Bit Dungeon Plus, I’ve come to realize that it is much more than that. Just like Binding of Isaac drew it’s initial inspiration from the original Legend of Zelda’s dungeon structure, so too did Bit Dungeon Plus. Just like BoI implemented an almost endless play style layered on top of LoZ’s blueprint, so did Bit Dungeon Plus. So, while the basic gameplay trappings are there to lure you into a comfort level that belies the game’s difficulty, it still sets itself apart from it’s inspiration and contemporaries.

Playability

You will find deep dungeons of various lengths that culminate in a boss fight, but also rooms that over unlocked and cleared, can be explored again for loot and health potions or mana refills. Until you learn how to backtrack effectively, the game will seem nearly impossible. You will die often, but every bit of gear that you acquire will be readily available to you on your next attempt. This keeps the difficulty level from spiralling too far out of control, but be aware that successful complete can only be had by saving after every boss fight. How quickly you make it to any given boss fight will depend on the path you choose. Unfortunately, the boss fights often feel better lackluster. They start off as being pretty standard- run in and hack at the boss until it is defeated. As you make your way through the ever-changing dungeons, however, you will need to master each boss’s patterns and exploit the moments where it lets its guard down and deliver the right amount of blows before you can claim victory.

While the game lacks a bit of variety, its simple approach to alternate your paths between newly unlocked rooms where you must defeat all of the enemies and backtrack to regain precious heskth and find new paths after reaching a dead end, keeps the gameplay addicting and a little but more fresh than you would otherwise imagine.

Controls

Bit Dungeon Plus provides a simple, but responsive and intuitive control scheme. You use the face buttons to attack, hold down your shield button to block, and use X to use magic. While holding down your shield button, you will block all damage, but the shield meter will tick down with every hit, and you will move very slowly. You can’t spend the whole time blocking oncoming attacks, but it is a nice way to make your way over to a projectile flnging enemy and inflict the death blow. Worry not, though, as your shield meter will refill each time you release the button.

When making your way through the dungeon, make sure you collect any loot you come across, as it will disappear if you enter a new room. This is also true of breakable wall entry points that often house new gear.

Conclusion

Bit Dungeon Plus is a fun and addictive experience, and it will provide hours and hours of fun. Just make sure that you manually save with your save crystals after boss fights, otherwise you will have to start all over upon your death. I recommend Bit Dungeon Plus for Nintendo Switch for anyone that needs to scratch their dungeon crawling itch.