There is a small lull in homework this week so that naturally means that I am going to ramble about a video game that I have played. Though I have been playing a lot of Balatro (on the toilet), I figured I would give everyone an update on my favorite dungeon claw-ing, deckbuilding, roguelike!

This week is the Early Access Version of Dungeon Clawler!

Dungeon Clawler is everything I said above from Stray Fawn Studio and Playworks. The game has been released into Steam Early Access and is available for $10.

I want to give a huge shoutout and thank you to Stray Fawn for the key

The real storyline in this game is that you play, initially, as Sir Bunalot, and how this man goes SUPER into debt and now has to fight through dungeons to make enough money to pay back a loan shark. The cutscene at the beginning is the only indication of a coherent story, and I think it is good enough for what is going on.

There are a lot of different playable decks in this early build of the game.

Core mechanics are pretty simple to understand: Sir Bunalot roams dungeons, taking fights, trashing or upgrading “cards,” getting new passive abilities, collecting coins, and buying items that complement the deck.

In each deck, swords deal damage, shields gain blocks, and there is some combination of unique items to each deck; for Sir Bunalot, it is a sword that deals more damage when picked up alone.

There is a wide range of different items to buy and combine for a viable strategy. Some items increase strength (increase base damage), items that convert strength into the block and vice versa, items that fill the tank with poison, water, or lava, and items that take advantage of those effects.

The items are all very intuitive, though strength stacking felt like the best route to go every time.

Each fight consists of one or three goofy-looking enemies with some health points, and you have to play a claw game to pick up items and dispatch them.

Dungeon Clawler’s claw machine mini-game utilizes a near-perfect physics system that really makes it feel like I am operating a real claw machine game. Moving the claw makes it swing heavily, and you need to hang out for a second while the claw centers itself. then you can drop it down with the tap of the spacebar and watch as it collects a bunch of stuff, raises it back up, and travels to the end to deposit the goods. The items you retrieve are used in the order that they drop in, and they do a fun little roll animation of where you would grab your prizes.

The fun comes from the claw machine, and the seemingly endless combination of items makes every fight a blast that never feels tiring.

Dungeon Clawler’s overworld is kinda rough. You are just an icon moving to where you want to go on the map. You are allowed to pick any door with specified rewards. It only changes when you encounter an event like upgrading, trashing, special events, fights, and bosses.

The game has that hand-drawn look to it. The enemies are really goofy-looking with ever-goofier names. I honestly like the look of the game.

I am pretty sure there is exactly one song that goes on, and it is the battle theme, and it is an absolute banger.

So far, so good for Dungeon Clawler. I played just a little over four hours, and I found myself wanting to play even more. It is so easy to pick up and play that my wife even wanted to play a run. For a game to be so fun and so accessible to others, I cannot wait to see what will happen down the road for the game.

7/10 so far.