Paper Dungeons Reviews

Don't usually write reviews, but I think people have been too quick to judge this game so I'll make an exception. What you'll get with Paper Dungeons is a solid puzzle RPG in the vein of Desktop Dungeons but with some interesting ideas and concepts added to give the game more depth. The dice system gives a feeling of progression as you move through the levels and each of the characters feels like a distinct gaming experience. The biggest draw for this game, in my opinion, is Rogue mode. With persistent character levelling and the newly added equipment you start to feel like a powerhouse as you hit the lower levels. Overall, a fun little game for when a bit of boardgame action takes your fancy

Five classes, ten blessings, Three ways to play and 47 adventure dungeons in before I remembered there was a story in the game. Adventure, Puzzle and Rogue dungeon offer you three different challenges in three different ways to take each one on, be it brain over dice rolls in puzzle or strategical planning in rogue. Boss levels in adventure dungeons change up the nature of your path completely with new enemies and a new soundtrack. Even create your own dungeons in editor and upload them to challenge other players. For an early access game theres so much to do and hopefully more on the way. 9/10.

The game looks to be potentially good. But it has too many bugs and shortcomings.

A surprisingly fun little gem. It brings back the same feeling I had playing the Hero Quest boardgame as a kid. I just love the dice mechanic. Every attack is full of anticipation. Maybe you can beat that dungeon boss 4 levels higher than you. Maybe that puny goblin will get lucky and destroy you. There's still plenty of tactics, it's not purely luck, especially in puzzle mode which has no dice and no luck whatsoever. With so many levels and a level editor, I can see myself playing this game for quite a while. Can't wait to see how it develops even further.

The game's not really all that interesting. It a "rinse-and-repeat" type of game that never seems to get anywhere. If one does get past the stage they're in, the player loses everything and has to start with nothing in the next dungeon, which is invariably more difficult. At least let the character build up some in preparation for the next dungeon!

I really wanted to like this game, but there are simply too many quality of life issues to overlook for a game with such a limited scope of gameplay. I always try to be sympathetic to indie devs, and I could overlook quite a few of these QoL issues if there was a genuine sense of progression as one moved from one level to the next. But the gameplay is such that you are for all intents and purposes playing the same level over and over. The cosmetics change, but that's about it. Without the gratification of becoming more powerful or gaining loot that really matters, it just feels like a Skinner box of futility. A shame. The concept has potential, but falls short in execution. And it's not worth anything close to the regular asking price.

The game is entirely based on grinding for new dice sets. The only RPG element seems to be from classes and the fact that you can level up. No story no over all plot other than kill the monsters. Over all i guess the game is okay if you just want to spend a few mins every now and then but it isn't that great if you ask yourself why you are playing the game. It is just "oops i died. well time to try it again and see if the dice like me this time." Your "charecter" doesnt even keep their levels between dungeons. Each dungeon is a new charecter that you start at the level of whatever they decide to start you at.

Fun game in the same vein as Desktop Dungeon, but with 1/10th the frustration. At no point does it feel like a game is unwinnable with a decent strategy. The dice throw an interesting spin into the mix, with adventurers allowed to carry two sets into each dungeon. One will invariably be a general damage set, while the other will tend to be anti undead. Of the various types of enemies, the undead are by far the most crippling, with a severe -% damage stat that stacks for each one. More enemy variety, or more parity on which enemy is the toughest would be nice. The game still has some room to grow. The abilities are not randomized and you will have full access to them a few hours in, with an untold number of hours to go. I suspect the modes may get stale before I finish it. Of the 3 classes I have unlocked, they play slightly differently, but not enough to change the actual strategy. Find the weakest mob available, kill it, repeat. I can understand the disappointment from those that had the game for a long time with slow development. The current state is completely playable and enjoyable. It easily parses into an hour of enjoyment, with quick progress through the earlier levels. If you like the strategic rougelike with generally winnable situations, the game is worth a try.

I am a huge fan of Roguelikes, dice and card games and RPGs, so I thought this sounded like the perfect game. I was extrememly disappointed and I feel like I wasted $15. First of all, do not think this is at all a roguelike. There are only a few simple items to be found in the game, all of which are restoratives or just give Attack +10% or Defence +10%. Then +20%, etc. It gets VERY boring after only a few levels. There is not enough content here for the randomness to mean anything. Just where dumb simple items are and monster placement. If anything this is a mediocre puzzle game, that's it. All of the dice sets are relatively balanced and basically the same. You are just choosing from a few effects you want on your dice and how dangerous you want them to be (HUGE loss of damage if you roll wrong but huge boost if you roll right, versus just mild miss chance but no great reward.) Don't waste your money unless you want a simple mindless diversion for a couple of minutes at a time.

I don't really want to be derisive about this game, it isn't horrible or anything, however I found it to be super repetitive. Personally I was hoping for a DND like adventure and this wasn't anything of the sort. The Idea of unlocking different sets of die isn't nearly as nice as different weapons & items to modify stats. There are stat modifiers in the game but they are very bland. You can find or purchase +1 modifiers, and a few other mechanics but it's a shallow pool. The different classes of characters have to be unlocked from playing and they don't really give you a diverse experienceof play. Each class does have their own set of abilities, but it was shocking to me how little difference it made to the game. I guess in that lane of reasoning it doesn't have the depth of a traditional DND type game, which is what the name "paper dungeon" conjures to mind. To me it seems that a game like this is supposed to appeal to your imagination in lieu of awesome graphics or gameplay, this didn't do that for me. YMMV but I wouldn't recomend it.