Shattered Pixel Dungeon

Has become an awesome game. New effects and increased bug fixes have helped immensely. Game play is much more reliable. Character classes are better now too. New items and artifacts have been implemented. You’ll die a lot though. Oh and they have not addressed why your Armor rating tanks and is near zero, when your HP is low. For some reason and the devs have only told me that there is no mechanic for this, when your HP is low, your AC is low or near zero. In other words, you could be sporting plate, male armor, tier 5 gear, that is +6, and if you’re on level three of the dungeon, you will be killed by an enemy there if you hit points are low. In case you’re not sure what that means, you could have the highest level armor in the game and a very high bonus to that armor on a level far inferior to that armor, but because your points are low, you will die lol regardless of that. So for some reason, hit points go down your AC goes down and that’s a problem because you get used to relying on the armor and the level of where you are playing on. it’s a tactics thing and theirs no explanation. How this would impact you, is there are many hazards in the game that will do damage regardless of your armor class or the type of armor you’re using but to engage in enemy that’s a second level skeleton with the highest level armor in the game and be killed by that skeleton just seems ludicrous. And there is no explanation for that apparently. Creates unfair advantage for the enemies of the game and you end up feeling like rules go out the door whenever your hip points go low. Otherwise a very fun game.

These days, it seems like almost every single game in the App Store claims to be a roguelike. In truth, there are very few real roguelikes available. There are some that offer one or two roguelike features, but precious few deliver the full package. Even fewer do it well. This is one of the best so far. Turn based gameplay, procedurally generated levels, permadeath, a good variety of enemies, items with unknown properties that must be discovered, this game contains all of the hallmarks of a full-featured roguelike wrapped in an easy to use, intuitive touch interface. And it’s also fun. Pay no attention to the people complaining that it’s too hard. It’s a roguelike, they’re supposed to be hard. Play this game, and you will die. A lot. And then you will have to restart from the beginning. A lot. And every time, you will learn something that might help you make it a bit farther next time. Or maybe not. But eventually you will get all the way to the end. And probably die. If that doesn’t appeal to you, maybe roguelikes aren’t your thing. That’s ok, there are plenty of easier games for iOS. Maybe Cookie Clicker would be a better fit. Or maybe one of the hundreds of JRPGs, twin-stick shooters, action platformers, MOBAs, Diablo clones, card battlers, tower defenses, and match 3 games out there that all claim to be roguelikes may be what you’re looking for. That’s cool, no judgement here. But if you, like me, enjoy a true roguelike game, this one might be right up your alley. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not nearly as deep or complex as NetHack. Not even close. But it scratches the same itch while having controls much better suited to a mobile device, without sacrificing the core gameplay elements that define the genre. And did I mention it’s fun? Highly recommended.

For those who are new or unacquainted with the Pixel Dungeon variety of games, go into this game expecting nothing but with patience, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn. Evan, Shattered PD’s developer, has developed his version of this game into a well-balanced, fun, complicated yet easily understandable and satisfying game to play at any time: whether you have five minutes or an hour, Pixel Dungeon is the game to play. The game, being a dungeon crawler, perhaps isn’t what most mobile games are nowadays, but the intensity and replay-ability of this game is one that isn’t found among most. The developer himself is everything a consumer could ask for. He explains every single change he makes in the game, such as why he’s changed the spawn rate of an enemy based on data or tweaked the damage of a certain weapon in the early stages of the game. Every update adds more playability, and makes the game more fun. I’ve put hundreds of hours into this game between shifts, late at night, waking up in the morning, and everything in between. It is a wonderful stress reliever, mind exerciser, and, sometimes, time stealer. I wholeheartedly recommend that even those with no experience of this kind of game try it.