I’m fairly enthusiastic about the Nintendo DS stylings and conventional roguelike charms of Shiren the Wanderer: The Thriller Dungeon Of Serpentcoil Island, however I’m having actual bother summoning up the motivation to repeatedly grind via its opening ranges to get to the fascinating stuff. Early levels quickly lose any actual sense of shock, and later ones can really feel low on actual company. I need a new roguelike run to really feel very important and verdant; heady with grand plans and plan-shattering twists. However by having randomness affect every run so considerably, Thriller Dungeon feels fickle as a substitute of emergent – lower than the sum of some extremely novel and inventive elements.
One among these elements is a speaking ferret named Koppa, bless him. He’ll be doing the chatting on your character, Shiren, who opts to remain silent in a method that could be practised stoicism however feels largely like fixed bewilderment. On the sport’s begin, the adventuring duo discover themselves deep within the titular dungeon, get thwomped, get up in a close-by village, and vow to return to the mountain to hunt some worthwhile treasure within the stomach of an enormous monster.
It’s a simple hook, however Thriller Dungeon has such pretty, heat JRPG vibes – all pleasant colors and luxurious, stirring instrumentals – that it’s a straightforward world to get sucked in by. The story progresses in vignettes after failing a couple of runs or discovering new areas in your journey up the mountain, and also you’ll meet new characters and factions, or typically unlock new paths. A traditional city may prove to have a stunning, stabby secret, and a often sleepy seashore in your beginning village may host an uninvited visitor one morning. Story scenes aren’t so frequent that you just’ll see them each run, and they also’re a welcome break after they do pop up.
Largely, although, you’ll be braving that mountain, one tile at a time. Every step or motion you’re taking counts as one flip, throughout which any monsters about may also take theirs. The aim on every stage is to find the exit to the subsequent stage, although you’ll need to discover completely to mop up loot and expertise. Shiren heals one HP for every tile, but in addition drains a starvation meter. If this depletes, you’ll lose well being, so that you’ll need to keep stocked up with onigiri (rice balls). Shiren’s HP will increase after they stage up, however you too can eat therapeutic herbs on full HP for a couple of extra factors. Your starvation meter doesn’t develop like this, however you may develop it by consuming onigiri while you’re already full.
That’s one fascinating consideration, straight off: do you save these items for while you’re determined, or attempt to buff up Shiren early? Onigiri can rot in case you attempt to hoard it, too, and Thriller Dungeon can be a sport of novel emergent reactions. When you’re hit by a fireball, any onigiri you’re holding will grill, boosting its results. How will you plan for this? Nicely, you may’t. Like principally all the pieces fascinating right here, it simply occurs typically. When you’re pondering “that could be an issue, really”, properly…
At its most elementary, fight includes buying and selling blows with enemies flip by flip by inputting assault instructions. However actually, all the pieces fascinating or notable about fight encounters right here stems out of your stock. By means of exploring and killing monsters, you’ll amass a bag of scrolls, staffs, pots, and different consumables. A shot from a paralysing employees may depart a rotund cat unable to behave for a number of turns. Or higher but, apply it to the speedily hopping frog that steals your gold if it will get too shut. Some dragonbreath grass can have Shiren breathe fireplace – although you may need to save these for physical-resistant spirits later. A bladewind scroll will clear a room in seconds, however is healthier tucked away for treasure rooms filled with enemies. There are extra esoteric results, too. Place switching. Confusion. An empathy spell that returns harm to sender. Studying find out how to counter an in depth bestiary stays a spotlight, even when there’s little you are able to do to truly put together.
Once more: these are all random pick-ups. It can save you and plan, and also you’ve often obtained not less than a couple of issues that may get you out of a bind, however there simply isn’t a lot tactical satisfaction to getting fortunate with drops, utilizing them in apparent conditions, then popping alongside in your merry method till you get caught in a bind the place you’re too depleted of fine stuff to deal with it. Emergent gameplay is nice. It’s higher than nice. It’s one in every of gaming’s best joys. But it surely must be framed by company, planning and determination making. There’s definitely a few of that right here, however I feel one of the simplest ways I can put it’s that every one this novelty can’t maintain tempo with the speed of progress. Once you’re making discoveries, it’s extremely absorbing. Once you’re placing these discoveries into impact for the fifteenth time, it looks like a rote grind. All of it means I am not excited for an additional run, I am simply crossing my fingers till the sport decides to cough up some pity treasure.
Other than monsters, dungeon flooring additionally cover traps and secrets and techniques. Place a flawed foot throughout fight, and also you may hit a tile that strips your gear, forcing you to spend two treasured turns to seize your sword and protect once more. Or, you may simply get bonked midway throughout the ground by an enormous spring. Shopkeepers and blacksmiths are uncommon commodities within the occasional village between flooring, however you’ll typically discover a store in a dungeon. I’m 99% positive the shopkeeper will assault you in case you don’t pay, however I’ve by no means been courageous sufficient to strive. There are additionally hidden partitions, water you may dispel with a sure scroll for further loot, and companions – one in every of which can allow you to ship again a single merchandise to a warehouse on your subsequent run. How this often works is I’ll ship again my second greatest sword and discover a significantly better one on the second flooring.
It doesn’t assist that I’m enjoying an early copy, after all, so I’m not getting the complete expertise of one of many extra fascinating issues Thriller Dungeon does: rescues. You may request three rescues per run. This may be on-line – see above. Or, you may rescue your self by progressing to the spot while you died. Why would you do that when it’s as time-consuming as a brand new run, and the model of you that died clearly wasn’t having a fruitful run or they’d nonetheless be alive? Sincere query. I am really hoping I missed some revelatory function that’ll let me get pleasure from my time with the ferret extra.
Extra so than different video games, my expertise with Thriller Dungeon does really feel like a case of the reviewer’s curse; the dreaded roguelike embargo. Performed one run at a time as a comfortable night ritual, and the luster goes to remain on loads longer. Nonetheless, that sense of fickleness – of getting little company how your runs prove within the face of random drops – does really feel prefer it’s baked in. Maybe that’s the sticking level for me, having to take care of untameable chaos lurking beneath such inviting presentation. Maybe I ought to let go and permit the winds of destiny to hold me. It’s simply not straightforward after they maintain knocking me proper again to the underside of a mountain, and making me belief them once more if I need to get again up.
