Summary: Dungon of Dragon Knight has great balance between combat & varied puzzles combined with excellent gameplay, level design & atmosphere makes it one of the best modern dungeon crawlers out there despite being in Early Access

A full detailed preview video of the game can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zr4oI3Lg-4

Plot:
The plot to Dungeon of Dragon Knight, while basic and designed to simply create a setting and an objective for the player, is one of the more interesting ones for a dungeon crawler. Though with that said, there isn’t much from the perspective of lore throughout the game. I would have liked to have found letters, scrolls or something to that description that gives a bit of insight into the history of the dungeon and the Dragon Knight himself to give the game a bit of mystery to it and background behind the knight.

As for the ending of the game, it is pretty good finishing on what is the biggest cliff-hanger I have seen from a game in a very long time. A bloody good cliff hanger too. So good in fact, I wish the game didn’t actually end where it does and leaves you wanting more.

Gameplay:
As a whole, the gameplay to Dungeon of Dragon Knight is excellently designed and brilliantly balanced. The combat isn’t too difficult while the puzzles are varied and well-designed meaning that those who want to play for the puzzles won’t be bogged down by difficult combat and those who are playing for the combat won’t be slowed down too much by the puzzles. And that is all the while being simple enough that pretty much anyone can play the game.Whether you are a newcomer or veteran, a puzzle enthusiast or a master of combat. Dungeon of Dragon Knight caters to everyone.

The only real issues are that there aren’t any difficulty options for the game resulting in it being a bit too easy for those looking for a challenge (Difficulty options planned for full release) and that spell scrolls could really do with the spell names attached them and the shop needs a bit of tweaking. But other than that, the gameplay to Dungeon of Dragon Knight is absolutely brilliant.

Atmosphere:
The atmosphere to Dungeon of Dragon Knight is fantastic. From the very well done lighting to the eerie sounds from the ambience, the atmosphere has a dark, almost horror vibe going throughout the entire game and one that really comes alive when you enter the floors with bones and skulls in the walls.

Between the subtle but effective ambience and the general darkness that lowers your field of view, along with the sound of monsters nearby, results in you never know exactly when a monster is going to be in front of you until either you are on top of them or they are on top of you. Generally, about 3 grid squares apart from one another. And that is made even better with the likes of the bloody skeletons whose red eyes you can see glowing in the darkness ahead. It is absolutely brilliant.

Between the ambience, the darkness, the monsters and the traps, never throughout the whole game do you ever feel safe with the exception of when you are at the shop. You get the sense that death awaits around every corner of the dungeon and it is a feeling that doesn’t relent from the beginning to the end.

Conclusion:
Despite being in Early Access, Dungeon of Dragon Knight is one of the best modern dungeon crawlers out there. From its accessibility, fluent and well-designed combat and puzzles to it’s incredible and fluent level design to the dark and oppressive atmosphere. Dungeon of Dragon Knight shows nothing but brilliance throughout.

It does have a few issues such as the lack of combat difficulty options, imbalanced shop pricing and spells scrolls not having the spell’s name. And yes, it does have some expected Early Access technical issues like occasional frame rate drops and bugs like thrown items sometimes disappearing, damage doesn’t always calculate properly and while despite being in the pause menu, the game doesn’t actually pause.

After that, the only other issue I would have is that every single achievement in the game is set as secret. I don’t mind games having secret achievements, but to have the entire list secret is a little bit too much. Replaying a game hunting for achievements blind is not the most fun activity I can think of.

Overall however what issues the game does have are minor and don’t affect the overall enjoyment and playability.
So. whether you are a seasoned dungeon crawling veteran, a genius puzzle solver a combat master or someone who has never played a single dungeon crawler in their life, Dungeon of Dragon Knight, is a game that anyone with interest should absolutely check out. And at an Early Access discounted price of €13.29, there is no better time to get your hands on this hidden gem.