Originally released in 2010, Desktop Dungeons is a top-down puzzler about whacking beasties in the correct order, exploring the map to heal, and retreating to enjoy your hard-earned taxidermy skills. Desktop Dungeons: Rewind is a recently announced remaster of the tile-based roguelike - freshly coated with 3D graphics and a rewind feature - and it’s now fully launching on April 18th.
That new rewind feature means players can replay the micro-dungeons from an earlier point, rather than start the whole thing again. So, an unexpected, previously annoying death now equals an opportunity to experiment with new strategies, upgrades, and routes. Apart from the 3D redesign, Desktop Dungeons has been left more-or-less intact. All of the DLC is included, there’ll still be rotating daily challenges, and the loveable soundtrack is back too - composed by Super Meat Boy’s Danny Baranowsky and Banjo-Kazooie’s Grant Kirkhope.
I’ve heard Desktop Dungeon is quite good, and I do like bite-sized grab-and-go games. But I’m mainly here for the light settlement-building aspects. You’ll need to spend your newfound riches on something, and that something is an infant Kingdom. A fancier settlement will attract more fledgling adventurers, who you can subsequently use to enter the deadly dungeons, all for the sake of more profit.
There’s currently a “Daily Demo” available on Steam, offering new procedurally-generated maps each day, along with daily leaderboards, daily challenges, and anything else that can be refreshed on a 24-hour basis. It’s free, if you’d like a bite.
That demo has about 14 refreshes left, before Desktop Dungeons: Rewind launches on Steam and the Humble Store on April 18th.
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