A curious lack of Bruce Willis.
One of our favorite times of the year is the Xbox Live Indie Summer Uprising and this year, like the others, doesn’t disappoint. Our favorite game from the first part of this year’s Uprising is Diehard Dungeon, a surprising little dungeon crawler that is tons of fun. How far will you be able to delve into the dungeon before it claims your soul, like so many others before you? The answer will only cost you a dollar.
Diehard Dungeon starts out by reminding me of the beginning of Dark Souls; you’re attacked and dumped in a dungeon cell then left for dead. Only, for some reason the key to your cell is inside the cell with you. From there you’ll have to fight your way out of the prison with nothing but a small sword and a little bit of health.
Only, Diehard Dungeon might actually be harder since losing all of your life means you’ll have to start the whole game over. That might sound a little harsh at first, but you’ll quickly realize that survival is the nature of the game. You’ll have to hack and slash your way through a series of rooms that are randomly generated each time, so you can’t even rely on your memory to carry you through.
Baldy is about to die harder.
Early in your adventure you’ll meet up with a magical chest that will happily follow you around, eating all of the treasure you pick up on the way. Since you don’t level up yourself, your chest will and this is important because periodically you’ll be able to send the chest down into trap doors to play a mini-game to gain new abilities for your character.
Any other chest you encounter in your travels will offer you between zero and three chances at finding a random perk, like increased health or resistance to dropping your weapon when attacked. Since your character doesn’t progress traditionally these perks will be integral to getting further into the dungeon. That is the name of the game, even though you’ll start over each time you die, the dungeon will be different and you’ll be getting just a bit further each time.
With a vengeance.
As far as XBLIG games go, Diehard Dungeon is one of the best yet. For one dollar, you’ll get one of the more addictive experiences on the Xbox 360. Long live the Uprising.
Developed By: Tricktale
Price: 80 MS Points
