Would anybody be confused for a moment if they were asked what the Endless franchise was? Amplitude Studios have delivered memorable titles such as Dungeon of the Endless and the Endless Space games, but they never stood out to me as something that was part of a greater universe. Then again, it might just be because I haven’t done any deeper dives to any of these games. Time to remedy that with Endless Dungeon, a roguelike game that serves as latest entry to the series. It becomes clear quickly that you don’t need to have played the previous titles to get a grasp of the world here, but is the end result still a game that anyone can jump into and enjoy?
Endless Dungeon sees you playing as one of several strangers from across several alien races and factions, all having crashed into an abandoned space station, simply known as “The Station.” Their goal now is to simply find a way to escape, which involves taking a walking Crystal Bot down to the Core to rig up a way out. The only problem is that the remains of the station are now crawling with an appropriately endless amount of enemies, be they mutant flesh monsters, corrupted security robots or ghost-like creeps. And all of them are ready to either pounce on you or the Crystal Bot, and if it goes…well, it won’t be a pretty sight.
The main gameplay in Endless Dungeon is basically your classic meat-and-potatoes, action-oriented, twin-stick dungeon crawler, but with a little more spice. Specially, much like Dungeon of the Endless, the game makes great use of tower defense elements as well. With every new room you uncover, there’s a chance that it contains a spawn point for one of four types of monsters, some being inevitable. The more you advance in each zone, the closer you get to triggering a Wave of monsters, all of who start heading towards your Crystal Bot to tear it into scraps. And you will have to risk finding spawn points in order to explore, as the goal in each new zone is to find the exit, where you can summon the Crystal Bot to head towards it…and summoning endless waves of enemies until the bot has unlocked the door, unless it or you are destroyed, whichever comes first.
Luckily, you can build various turrets at several points along the way to provide a defense against the various hordes, and in order to build them, you’ll have to open as many doors as possible. Seriously, opening doors you come across generates resources, including Industry for building turrets and Resource Generators that increase resources gained, Science that’s used for researching new turrets or upgrading old ones, or Food that gets you medkits and upgrades for each playable hero. So the risk/reward factor is nicely in play here, encouraging you to go through as many nooks and crannies as possible while making sure that you try not to get overwhelmed, and try and verify you have enough for defenses.
It may sound like a daunting task, and per the genre, you will die again and again, but the game never feels unfair, putting up just the right level of challenge. Plus, there’s the fact the twin-stick shooting is simple, fun, and perfectly suited for blasting away massive amount of enemies in superb arcade-style action, especially with a full squad of three. The numerous modifications you can make to weapons and elemental guns to find help as well, as do the unique Active and Ultimate skills that each hero has. There are also a lot of fun obstacles to tackle, such as dark rooms with no power, odd obelisks that can provide buffs or put you at a disadvantage, blackouts, doors with certain locks, and of course, massive bosses to try and take down. But it’s all a blast that provides a great challenge, be it probing around for secrets or fending off enemies with firepower and fire turrets as you guide your little Crystal Bot towards a new port.
As mentioned before, though, you will be dying quite a bit, respawning in the Station’s Saloon after each death. And while the journey down to the Core provides a thrilling, action-packed journey, the Saloon might somehow end up being the best part of Endless Dungeon. This is where you get to meet and talk with all of the surviving inhabitants, including the eight playable hero characters (unlocked by making your way to new areas), and while the main story involves everyone wanting to eventually escape, the real stories involve our main heroes and their personal goals. Some of them are out for revenge. Others want to research the creatures aboard the station. And others…just want to find a hidden recipe for a legendary drink.
Each character’s personal story advances by achieving certain goals, such as defeating certain enemies, finishing levels with full health, upgrading several turrets, and more. It provides well-written insights into each character, also allowing them to be equipped with more upgrades, purchased with a special currency tucked away in certain chests in the Station’s bowels. You can also find notes from the Station’s previous workers, mementos that can unlock cinematics and more, all of which give a great look into the Station’s history. Plus, you can also find a ton of scrap that can be used for additional upgrades and advantages, including upgrades to the Saloon itself.
But where the Saloon truly succeeds in Endless Dungeon is in providing this terrific sense of camaraderie, highlighting how even with all the terrors of the station, these misfits are in it together, and genuine respect each other, even feeling like a family. You return after a run, and the two characters can compliment each other on a job (mostly) well done. You can chat with other NPCs and see how they’re doing. You can even use your scrap to purchase new drums for the Saloon’s band. Why? Even I’m not sure, but I loved this motley crew so much that I made it one of my first priorities. That’s how well the Saloon is crafted. Much like with Hades, it’s a hub areas that feels evolving, with something that feels new every time you come back.
It helps that each of the characters has a great and unique personality as well, being mostly light-hearted and playing up a perfect level of levity, like the kill-happy little moth-like archivist Cartie or the badass rock star Zed. It’s even better that the art style is nice and colorful as well, the result being that it almost seems like these could be characters from a Saturday morning cartoon. Appropriately accompanying the saloon are Western guitars that make for a terrific score as well, especially when mixed in with the more synth-based sci-fi teams. Overall, things look and sound fantastic, which is what this crew deserves.
So does Endless Dungeon have any flaws? Honestly…no, not much of note. Granted, there’s the standard problem with any roguelike game where the god of chance isn’t on your side and kind of screws you with the level layout and items within, such as providing a lack of any weaponry with certain elemental effects fitting the weaknesses of the area’s enemies, or upgrade shards for the Crystal Bot being located way too far away from the exit to be worth it. Again, though, that’s kind of a problem with the genre as a whole, so it arguably doesn’t affect things too much.
The only other issue is that the game does have a heavy focus on multiplayer, which clearly shows with certain areas, like having to protect any Resource Generators under attack. Needless to say, just simply telling a friend to go defend it is smoother than assigning an AI hero to stay in one area. Still, be it solo or with friends, Endless Dungeon is a terrific piece of work overall, and shows just how strong the Endless world can be while still winding up as a terrific game on its own.
Closing Comments:
Endless Dungeon will have players coming for the unique blend of rip-roaring action and tower defense, but what should keep them around is the impressive and lovable cast of characters, along with their various stories to become invested in. But whether you want gunplay, strategy, exploration or story, this is a game can provide it all in one simple-yet-deep package, making for a terrific experience that’s not to be missed out on. Now to get back to helping the bartenders find that drink recipe among the piles of bug corpses…
Endless Dungeon
Published by Sega, Amplitude Studios' Endless Dungeon is a roguelike twin-stick shooter built around a tower defense mechanic. Featuring a range of playable characters who each come with their own nuances, the game’s missions are taken on by squads of three, with players having to clear procedurally-generated levels while defending a special bot. Endless Dungeon can be played solo or in co-op.
