I really enjoyed playing this game on iOS so I figured I'd give it a try on PC since it's only $5.

It's a very simple, streamlined dungeon crawler. It has super retro graphics, music and style - but a very modern foundation. On the PC it's not going to scratch any deep desire for gameplay, but it is still a fun and simple game to kill some time if you're not looking to do anything serious.

You have three abilities, attack, defend and use an item. Everything else is basic timing (dodging attacks, avoiding their defenses, finding weak spots), collecting loot (you can only wear one piece of equipment), potions (you can carry one) and gold, buying gear and unlocking new passive abilities. There are three classes with a different passive tree that bring different strengths/weaknesses. It sounds absurdly basic and it is, but it's a nice dose of old-school fun.

Some of the boss fights are actually suprisingly challenging despite the basic abilities and you will die - at least whilst figuring out their moves and timing. Death is not permanent and in the PC game has no real serious setbacks except for your time and frustration; you can revive and restart the dungeon but will lose your hard earned loots that you have on you. In the iOS game you had to pay microtransactions to revive and death was a costly endeavour which really upped the frustration.

It is ultimately a game that's designed for the casual mobile platform - meant to provide a small dose of entertainment whilst you're bored or travelling, not hours of deep gameplay. I would still recommend it, but people should be aware of that before buying.

Personally, I like it. It's simple, it's fun, it's addictive and although I think that it is a game well suited to the mobile market, paying $5 for the full game with zero microtransactions is worth it.

This is a mobile game. It appears that it used to contain microtransactions for extra lives / equipment. But now that those are gone for PC, they didn't rebalance it in any meaningful way. I would never have purchased this (even for a dollar on humble) had I realized that. You have to grind everything.

You tap to attack, tap to defend, or hold tap to do a charge up move. It's a memory thing more or less about when you can sneak in your hits based on how you saw them attack before. If you win, you go down one level and fight another ememy. Pick up an item here and there, get currency. If you die you lose your stuff. Again, the game looks like it was designed around forcing you to lose your stuff every once and awhile and having to get it back through micros. Which you can't do here. So grind grind grind.

Presentation is kind of cool if you're into retro. That element is well done, but shallow. Only a few songs and stages that start to get repetitive.

If you are looking for something deep, with a steep learning curve, lots of customization and stuff like that, look elsewhere.

On the other hand, if you are looking for something easy to pick up and play, that's cheap to buy, well done and a good time waster (in the best sense possible!) you could very well give this game a try!

Pros:
+ Easy to pick up and play;
+ You can play with WASD, arrows or mouse. Even with all of them at once
(this game could be easily played with a controller as well, but it's not necessary);
+ Nice pixelated graphics;
+ The text is funny without trying too hard;
+ There are some secrets for you to find out;
+ Although the game is easy, you can get a bit carried away and have some silly, stupid deaths (and like a good rogue like game, dying means losing your stuff!). In other words, it can be challenging.

Could be better:
> Option to Mute the whole game (you can disable the music, but the SFX keeps playing);
> Indicator of how many levels each dungeon has. If the idea is to make it a 'surprise', then let it be visible after the dungeon is beaten;
> A Warning telling me that I WILL lose all my stuff if I opt to leave the dungeon. For this kind of game is understandable if you lose everything if you die. But not necessarily if I want to leave it.

Edit:
On my original review I'd stated that having a Windowed Mode would be nice. Now it does have! Thanks, devs!

All in all, it's a good $4 game. It delivers what it promises. Nothing more, nothing less.

As some other reviewers have mentioned, it is a mobile game designed to get the user to pay through micro transactions. They haven't added anything to compensate that fact in the PC port, so the result is an extremely simple game that gets quite frustrating because you lose most of your stuff every time you die.

The difference between having a specifc item or not is huge. Once you lose a specific item, you need to re-visit dungeons you've already completed just to harvest enough money to get a similarly powerful item.

Leveling up and buying new items is all based on coins, and they are not that abundant.

The fights are like a mix o memory and quick reaction challenge.

Cool retro style and music.

+ Pixel graphics
+ Gameplay that has you paying attention to your enemies' attack patterns (just don't expect another Dark Souls here)
+ Three different classes with different upgrades
+ Good amount of content

+/- It isn't hard to see that this game was made with mobile phones in mind; it's fun in small doses

- Enemies attack faster the further you get, which is good, but this transition happens too quickly
- Earning a lot of gold takes ages, especially if you keep dying over and over again

[Rating: 74/100]

This game is pretty shallow. Combat is a simple timing game. Hit the block button when you are being attacked. Attack when your opponent isn't blocking (and you attack isn't cooling down).
That's it.

Don't get me wrong, there can be fun in this. Doing well in this game is a skill. But it doesnt feel to me to be a very rewarding one. For the depth you find in this game, it feels a lot more like a mobile app.

I got it in a bundle. If the description above didn't turn you off and you can get it for cheap, go for it. You will find yourself wanting to keep clicking. But it isn't a good game. It's simply a way to waste time with some decent music and fantasy pixel art.

Though I can't really recommend this - I will tell you that for some people this will be fun. So take my comments with a grain of salt and consider your own tastes.

Fun timing-based hack/slash game without the running around.

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When I first saw Deep Dungeons of Doom (DDD), it made me think this dungeon-delving rogue-lite would have quality loot and level-ups to compensate for repeated treks into harrowing danger, but it's more like diving deep into horse manure. It's not hard, if it's your job you'll get some compensation for it, but it's definitely not that rewarding.


Unsurprisingly, DDD is a game centered around dungeon-crawling, and like in any rogue-lite, you'll die intermittently. Since there isn't XP or a typical level-up system, your primary interest lies in the small amounts of gold obtained by killing monsters, as you use money to buy permanent upgrades. It's worth pointing out that you have two slots available: one for either a weapon or a defensive tool, and the other for an item you can use anytime. However, when you die, you lose both items, so they aren't something you can rely upon as much as the upgrades.

Regarding the dungeon crawling itself, it's rather straightforward. There aren't branching pathways or dead-ends to check into, as progression goes up or down, one floor at a time. Each floor can have either a monster, shrine, NPC, chest, or if you reach the bottom, a boss. NPCs are primarily early-game tutorials, though some will offer to heal you as well. Chests are one way you'll get items, which you can pick up multiple times to compare effects. Praying to one of the four types of shrines will alter your stats for this attempt at the dungeon, with each type always doing the same thing. Fighting most monsters is pretty simple, as they'll have one or two attacks with cues on which they're performing and can be counter-attacked after you block their moves. Bosses are a bit more gimmicky, as they'll have longer invulnerability periods that usually need to be broken through with a well-timed attack. For instance, knocking back a missile to breach the mech's defenses.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2599147628
In DDD, both your character and the enemy are stationary, and everything is a matter of timing: blocking attacks, launching your own, countering an enemy's special move, etc. This makes for a limited control scheme, as there's only a few buttons you use in combat. However, with timing being so important, the best approach usually involves being cautious, especially when dealing with a new enemy. If your attack lands at the wrong time, you'll wind up being unable to block theirs. In other games, this could be addressed with hit and run tactics, but in DDD you have to stand still and wait instead. An ARPG centered around patience; how fun.


During your dungeon-clearing escapades, a short cutscene plays out explaining the reason you've come to that dungeon, what you hope to achieve from beating it, and the consequences after you've done so. This simple system slowly expands the environment and somewhat develops the characters as they try to stunt the spread of evil. For instance, the witch encountering relatives of hers who want to expand the dominion of the devil, in contrast to her wanting to vanquish him. Something that diminishes this development is that each of the main characters is referred to by their class instead of being called by name. They're the protags, name them!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2599148837
DDD makes use of pixel-graphics, and I'd say they're in the average range. The backgrounds are usually dark and grim looking, which suits the environments of mineshafts, overgrown forests, and demon-infested monasteries well. However, very few of the monsters stand out, as most of them are stereotypical baddies like trolls, werewolves, zombies, etc. Fighting the same foe multiple times within the same dungeon didn't help that impression either. Most of the effort seems to have been reserved for the bosses, as they had a more distinct design - the possessed monk looks pretty metal, honestly.


The various dungeons of DDD all get a unique song, which normally would help distinguish them from one another quite well. However, as I listened to the different tracks, I found many of them sounded same-y. I think it's in part due to the use of similar instrumentation, tempos, and note arrangements. Some of them still manage to be pretty enjoyable and suit the game well, but they're all pretty short, so they loop upon themselves quickly. There aren't many sound effects, though the combat-based ones seem adequate, especially the death cries from enemies.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2599149619
🌟 Having three characters to choose from allows players to find an approach that suits them best. The mercenary is very fast, but has low defense and low damage output per strike. The witch relies upon powerful spells, but if you run out of MP, she's a lot less useful. Finally, the crusader is pretty balanced, though he'd be the most tanky of the three.
🌟 Figuring out how to defeat bosses is kind of fun, though dying and having to redo the entire dungeon undermines that feeling.


❌ The game seems unnecessarily hard and can come off as unfair. Your health is already a small resource, and there are traps and hazards in dungeons that drain your health if you make the wrong choice. For instance, if an NPC asks if you want health or power, the wrong answer can lead to them harming you.
❌ DDD is tight-fisted about money drops, likely due to its origin as a mobile game, where you could pay for boons like that.
❌ Simplicity has its place in game design, but it's a bit too spartan in this case.


🔍 Try each character in a run or two, and based solely on which you liked playing as most, stick with them for a while. You may change your mind in the long-run, but focusing on one character who actually develops from your time playing DDD is more motivating than switching between them frequently and very rarely seeing improvement.
🔍 You will want to learn the timing necessary to take down every enemy, as being able to defeat everything without taking damage sets you up for the best possible success. Most regular enemies have simple patterns and tells, which makes this more manageable.
🔍 You can go back up floors you've already cleared, which is useful if you leave behind a healing potion that you didn't need at the time.


For me, DDD didn't make the best design choices, even though I appreciate how the game builds upon a story, with the characters having a reason to dive into the dungeons aside from just snagging loot. However, the gameplay is so minimal I wasn't surprised to hear that it was a ported mobile game because you wait, block when the enemy signifies their attack, and counter.

The removal of movement and this timing-centered gameplay basically sets DDD up to be a rhythm game, but without the emphasis and design around music. Additionally, the game requires a lot of grinding in order to make the characters strong enough to withstand the harder, longer dungeons. With so many games with similar features to this available (pixel graphics, medieval setting, dungeon crawling, etc.), there are better options, in spite of DDD's low asking price. I recommend seeking out the light instead of DDD.

Hello Friends! I decided to write this review for this game. First off, this was originally supposedly a mobile port game. From posts on the forum, i deduced this. I never played this on mobile phone though, so this review will be specifically about this version.

The game is basic in design, but complex on certain monsters. You only do 2 things in dungeon, well three if you use potions. You press right to attack monsters, and press left to defend yourself. After playing several dungeons, you open two different new characters with different classes. They have different builds and ways to play them. I have yet to play all the dungeons with the witch and mercenary. Anyways, you push up and down to go down or up in dungeons. At the end of dungeons is a boss that you need to defend against. Each monster has their special moves and weak points.

The game can be grindy near the end though. For example, im trying to get some skills unlocked for the witch class character to unlock some secrets. It takes about 5-6 runs for example in the coal mine dungeon to get enough money to buy a new skill. If you can stand to get alot of the skills, it makes the game easier for all three character classes. Also, this makes the final boss easier to defeat and to acquire all the endings to see.

Recommended because of it simple design, it makes this game quite fun for a Action RPG. Although late game, it does get grindy for to buy some of the skills.

Deep Dungeons of Doom is a mobile-based casual game with very simple mechanics, where timing is the key to success. By choosing one of the three availabe 'heroes' (the rogue/mercenary and witch aren't really good by nature) we have to defeat monsters in 2 dimensional dungeons (and towers), but instead of moving from left to right, we proceed from up to down (or the other way round) floor after floor in dungeons or towers.

There's a plot, but it's goofy and shouldn't be taken seriously. Evil has taken over the land and only one hero can set things right: us. We play as a crusader, but later on after 'freeing' the rogue and meeting a witch, we can switch and play with them as well.

We hit by pressing the right arrow key (or D alternatively) and defend by the left (or A) accordingly. There's a cooldown period however and this is why timing is essential: if we press the button repeatedly, the cooldown will restart (mindless tapping = suicide). Defense works similarly, we can't keep blocking up for an extended period of time, it's only momentarily, so we have to time it right and press the button just before the enemy attacks (its animation will tell us which attack it will use - tougher enemies and bosses will have complex and numerous attack forms).
Each enemy has a slightly different attack pattern/animation (most of them hit roughly in every 5-6 seconds, using their regular attack twice and then a special one) which we have to learn in order to efficiently fight them.
We also have a special attack: by holding down D our character can either heal, perform a charged hit or regenerate magic - according to which one we are playing with (we can switch between them at the beginning of each dungeon).

No matter how simple it is, all 3 characters require different playstyles: the crusader is well balanced, has useful skills, deals moderate damage, can regenerate, etc., the rogue hits fast, has a chance to evade and the witch can deal insane amounts of magic damage - as long as she has magic points... each character has a specific matching skill tree and we can choose between 3 branches to add variety (we can unlock these with gold). We gain gold by killing monsters and by opening chests appearing randomly on some floors. Although unlocking skills might require grinding, if we follow and complete objectives (kill something, etc.) we can earn plenty of money as reward.

Experience works in a very strange way: they only apply to the given dungeon (so we are going to lose them after killing the final boss of that specific dungeon and our level resets, so we are going to have to earn experience again). It's strange, but our skills remain, so it's only a minor setback. We can increase attack power, agility (hit speed and cooldown duration), hit points and magic power. Naturally high attack power is the best, we can't go wrong increasing this. Hit points are also important for all characters for obvious reasons. Magic is not that important if we play the crusader or the rogue, but for the witch it's as vital as attack power. Agility, while sounds the best ("Hey I can hit very fast!") can be a curse after a certain level, since fast button smashing requires very good reflexes: if we hit the button at a wrong time, the cooldown will restart again without hitting the enemy. So be careful with very high agility.
There are shrines at certain floors that can boost some of our abilites. Interacting them will bless or curse us. The best one that can be found is called the Bloody Shrine which increases our max hit points by 2 (in that dungeon). Most of them will have tradeoffs (like additional attack power at the expense of health) though, so be careful.
We also have an inventory where we can hold 2 items at a time which can either be a consumable or a piece of equipment - like a sword, staff, helmet or a ring - that can provide us constant, passive bonuses (obviously we need the latter ones). Unused items are stored in our stash which we can access at the beginning of each dungeon.

The game offers us an extra challenge after beating the campaign where we have to reach the 666th floor of an infinite dungeon. This is both quite challenging and time-consuming (dying or quitting will immediately reset our progress and drops us back to the first floor) and may require at least 4-5 hours to complete. Here are some tips:
- the witch is definitely the most powerful character by the end of the game with her insanely powerful attacks (when played right she'll hardly/never run out of magic points), which allows us to safely - and in a relatively fast manner - kill our enemies
- we obviously need skills that increase attack and magic powers + give her a slight chance to entirely refill her magic points
- there are 2 items we definitely need: Hynx's Staff which increases our chance to completely replenish magic power by each floor (+generally increases almost all stats) and the Wand of Regeneration which heals us by draining magic points (which we'll have plenty of with a bit of luck)

The graphics almost scared me away at first as I'm not a fan of pixel graphics (I find it a cost-effective way at the expense of the visuals), even though I must admit there are some beautiful games with very nice pixel art out there. In Deep Dungeons of Doom I found these pixels to be simply too large. I'm sure it looks better on mobiles, but not really on a PC screen. On the other hand the various animations (especially the the bosses' death animations) are creative and very well made. I also liked the still images in the cutscenes.
The music is nothing special but works and fits the game.

Deep Dungeons of Doom is very good example of how to make a simple, casual yet still highly enjoyable game. It's challenging enough, but with a little learning it can be mastered, the choice of characters and the skills system affects the gamestyle and reaching the Ninth Circle will seriously test your persistence. Go ahead, it's fun, even on PC!

PROS
+ simple but enjoyable gameplay mechanics
+ different characters and skills require different playstyle
+ various equipments and consumables
+ challenging yet still not frustratingly hard
+ funny character animations

CONS
- the 2 button fighting system might scare some players away
- a bit more consistent story would have been nice
- pixels seem a bit too large on PC screen

RATING
7.5/10