A long time ago when I was only young I played a Roguelike- This Roguelike was pretty much perfect in my eyes. It had a great mix between being challenging and being accessible. The name of this Roguelike was Castle of the Winds and it has long held a place in my heart as being the best of show out there for this genre. Now I think after many years Castle of the Winds has finally been toppled in my eyes.

Dungeonmans is the best Roguelike I have played in a long time- it has an easy to learn and use gameplay which is unforgivable the further out you go. The game captures everything that I loved about Castle of the Winds- the crisp but simple art, the spellbooks for learning new spells, the absurdity of monsters you find in the deep... Then it puts everything into overdrive. With Dungeonmans one of the most innovative features is the Academy which grows based on deeds, you don't simply pour money into this academy to make it better, you fill it with the blood and sweat of a ton of dead dungeonmans. As someone who always likes persistant strength options in Roguelikes, this is good, but what makes it better is the fact that all of the unlocked perks are optional to pick up. If the game is too easy for you, just don't pick up the perk at the start. No harm done. You will still do awesomely if you are skilled enough for the task.

The music of Dungeonmans is also pretty phenominal due to being the work of the great Zircon, a remix artist who makes the game come alive. The art is pretty standard, but the simplistic nature of it actually works well with what is trying to be achived. As you go deeper into the many dungeons you will find an increasingly powerful variety of loot capable of making you feel like a king- and if you die while carrying one of your favourite swords it is even possible to find the sword in a later playthrough in a more powerful form.

There is so much to unlock in this game too- you can find hidden skills, dungeons, artifacts of power and more based on how you play and what you do. I won't spoil them, but basically the game rewards you all the way in the best possible way. Overall- this game scratches many itches for me. The itch for a good Roguelike, the itch for constructing my own "x", the itch to find a game I can happily play for countless hours-

Full disclosure though- At the end of this I feel that I should say I was a kickstarter backer. While I don't belive my experience has been coloured by that fact, it is possible that some of my praise is the work of a Rosetinted Glasses look of someone who didn't want to have wasted their money. So please do take my review with that in mind,

EDIT: Also one slight warning- The game is best played with the numpad for movement so if you have a laptop which does not have one... keep that in mind. There is mouse control but it makes the game seem a lot more "slippery". Though, it should also be said numpad controls is just another reason why this game is rocking it CoTW style.

Edit 2: It is still great even today- much love for continued support and passion for this project. IF you are looking at this game six years on and wondering "oh, is this another one of those dead roguelikes?-" No, dev is great guy- you will be happy with this purchase.

<3

Edit 3: Still amazing.

Edit 4: Editing for my yearly vote for "Labour of Love" because it deserves it.