[Review] Devious Dungeon 2 – Nintendo Switch

Devious Dungeon 2
Nintendo Switch

Developed By : Woblyware
Published By : Ratalaika Games
Category : Arcade, Action, Platformer
Release Date : May 17, 2019

When a dark castle promises to have great adventures and endless treasures behind it’s walls…well naturally you gotta jump the walls and get in on the action! But be weary, within the castle lies The Summoner, and he’s not really a fan of guests arriving without an invitation. If you want to get to his treasure though, you’ll have to tempt fate with one of three adventurers in Devious Dungeon 2 on the Nintendo Switch.

The three adventurers available to choose from are ones that should seem very familiar for an RPG-like setting. There’s the Barbarian, the Mage, and the Rogue. The Barbarian is the strongest one, but also the slowest while traversing the levels. Mage allows you to attack from a distance and move a bit faster, while the Rogue is a balance of the two, being fairly quick and decently strong. Each class will have access to it’s own respective type of weapons throughout the game, and once you choose a character they will be locked in to that specific file.

At first when you load in, you’ll find yourself standing in the middle of a small town. People will be around, making food, playing an instrument, but there are only two important things you’ll need to be concerned with in this area. The first is Olaf’s Shop, which is where you’ll gain access to all your weapons, armor, potions and trinkets. The first two are self explanatory, while the latter two are both ways to give buffs to one of your three stats : Damage (how strong you are), Vitality (your health) and Critical (a percentage chance at dealing extra damage on a hit).

The other important item in the town is the portal, and it’s important to the game as a whole because it’s how you’ll gain access to inside the castle walls. Initially, you’ll see a map where you’ll need to choose which location you wish to travel to. There are six areas you’ll need to go through, and each contain five hubs of levels that need to be completed to progress. Four of these hubs are made up of four levels each, while the fifth hub contains a chunky boss fight for you to deal with.

While in the levels themselves, your task is simple. There is a portal which will transport you to the next world, and a key which opens said portal. You must find both. Naturally, this won’t be such a simple task, as these levels are littered with enemies to fight and platforming feats to accomplish. Depending on your character, you may have a different approach to the combat and the climbing. The Rogue is able to perform a double jump, while the Mage can hover (think along the lines of Princess Peach). Whoever you choose, you’ll have to get used to their attack range and speed, as both will be key to getting the best of your foes.

There’s a good variety of enemy types, and they as well as the levels are randomly generate. They are even somewhat reflective of the characters you get to choose from. Some move slow and carry weapons with more range, while others move quick and can only attack what’s immediately next to them. You’ll also encounter animal enemies such as boars and wolves. Occasionally you’ll come across a mini-boss within the levels, and you’ll instantly know these ones as they’ll have a small health bar over the tops of their heads.

Like I said before, each hub contains four levels you’ll need to get through. The good news is, only three of these are going to be tough. The fourth and final of the levels is just a small bridge connecting you to the next hub, and you’ll see two very important friends. One is Olaf! He has a travelling wagon filled with all of his goods where you can purchase upgrades if you have enough gold. You’ll also see a friendly priest who can bring you back to full health before you continue on your journey.

Other than your enemies, you can also destroy all of the things you see in the level, whether they be chests, crates, weapon holders, candelabras…literally just about anything. And in doing so you’ll drop items to collect. For the most part they’ll drop gold, which is very crucial since this is the only currency that Olaf accepts in his shop. Occasionally you’ll come across secret areas that contain small treasure chests which will net you a lot more money than the coins that are dropped everywhere else. Lastly, there is a mission system throughout the game too, with things such as “Kill X boars” and stuff like that. These will also get you money by completing them.

At the top of the screen you’ll always notice three things. A health meter, represented by a heart with a number, how much money you currently have in your possession, and a level progress bar. Every enemy that you kill nets you some experience, and each time the bar is filled you’ll get to decide on a level-up perk. You can either increase your damage and make your attacks stronger, increase your health, or increase your percentage of getting a critical hit. Again, this is every time you level, and these are choices that remain permanently.

I knew that I was going to like this game when I started playing it, I just didn’t realize how much I was going to like it right away. The day I initially fired up Devious Dungeon 2 I figured it would be for a quick dip into the game just to get an initial feel for it. Hours later, I still didn’t want to turn it off. The game takes a really simple formula and makes it incredibly fun and, as I think I just described, extremely difficult to put down. When you factor in the very low price tag on this, it’s an absolute must play that you won’t want to pass up.