Dungeonmans (2014)

I don't play a ton of roguelikes - or roguelites, for that matter - but Dungeomans really grabbed me.

It's easy to learn. It's funny. It's fun. More importantly it has tons of charm crammed into every nook and cranny - nearly everything, from item names to skill descriptions and NPC dialogue, is a joy to read. I read damn near everything I could in the game.

Many of the classes feel very unique, like a monk class that fights barehanded but can use weapons as telepathic missiles. I ended up trying each class multiple times which is something I've never actually done in a game before, roguelike or not.

There's still plenty not to like. There's a significant amount of repetition in both level and enemy design. This causes long runs to feel pretty boring, and it also prevents you from visually gauging the danger of a monster.

I mention the cutesy names as a pro, but there were more than a few times it ended up confusing actual gameplay. For example, "Stremf" is the strength equivalent which impacts melee damage. Yet when I use polearms, the combat logs say I'm also dealing ranged damage - so do I need "Skills", which impacts ranged damage? And some of my skills (not to be confused with the attribute name) deal starlight damage, so does that mean I also need Foom...?

Then again, Dungeonmans isn't exactly a game that demands min-maxing, and with the Academy system you're guaranteed to always make progress even when you experiment (and fail). Dungeonmans is a good game with interesting ideas and charming writing. It's an easy game to recommend.