During a turn, each unit is able to launch an attack using an equipped weapon or deploy one of the party’s abilities. Each unit has a separate Physical and Magical Defense number, which must be whittled down before attacks deplete the unit’s HP. Each player or enemy unit is represented by a picture with a meter which must fill to trigger a turn. The game features the Active Turn Battle system with minimalist tweaks, as there are no elemental weaknesses, item management, or magic points to worry about. The weapons equipped determine the play style for each character, as well as inform the type, range, and number of enemies affected. In this sense, each character is fully customizable as none are predisposed to particular skills or abilities. Each piece of equipment has a cost of Proficiency Points, serving as a weight limit of sorts for each character.
Each unit can equip two weapons, two pieces of armor, and an accessory. Even party management is distilled, with party members having statistics for Defense and Evasion, with attack power determined by the strength of the weapon or item equipped. Paths may be blocked by these battle events, but ascending and descending relocates the positioning of each floor’s numbers. There are no true random battles in Dungeon Encounters, as players are able to avoid encounters at will. While many abilities are limited to a specific number of uses, most floors have locations which restore these to full capacity. Other useful skills, including the ability to travel up or down a floor without reaching the designated exit, must be discovered in-game and then toggled on to use. This mechanic prioritizes map completion, as it is imperative to have enough AP to ensure players are able to utilize the healing, scouting, or buff abilities as needed. As the game does not feature traditional items or healing spells, players can unlock healing abilities to use in battle, but only if there are enough AP within the party to active them. Additional AP are awarded when reaching particular coverage milestones. The game looks like a New York Times crossword puzzleĪs the party amasses useful abilities through exploration, ability points are used to toggle them on or off. There is certainly something intrinsically rewarding about completing each level more importantly, completing each map yields additional ability points. Each floor encountered maintains the incredibly dialed-down design, tracking completion of each map as players cycle back and forth through each floor in an attempt to fill in every square. Meanwhile, black numbers represent enemy encounters, with players whisked away to battle. Coming across white sequences will trigger an event or ability, produce treasure, or heal the party. Every interaction is represented by a number or letter, each colored black or white. On this floor, players can visit shops to purchase weapons, armor, and abilities, and heal before descending into the horrors waiting below.Įach floor is a series of empty square-based grids that fill in as the player crosses. Once assembled, the party is left to explore “Floor 00”, essentially a town sitting at the mouth of the dungeon. There are no job classes, cutscenes, or characterization of the party members, save for a few lines of text providing some background. Players are dropped into the game and told to select four characters. Starting a new game reveals a short block of text, which serves as the bulk of the main storyline: a monstrous labyrinth has appeared, and your league of heroes has assembled to discover the secrets of this deep dungeon. This is the first indication of what to expect, and from there the game does not become any more generous. Upon loading, gamers may notice the distinct lack of opening movie, background music, or much of anything other than a simple title screen. The game is lean and mean from the very beginning - including the title. It tasks players with venturing through 2D grid-based levels, overcoming obstacles and battles as they try to reach the bottom floor. It was released worldwide on PC (via Steam), PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch on October 14, 2021.ĭungeon Encounters is a single-player strategic dungeon-exploration RPG. The game is directed by Final Fantasy IX director and creator of the series’ Active Time Battle system Hiroyuki Ito and produced by Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age producer Hiroaki Kato, with character designs from Ryoma Ito and a soundtrack overseen by Nobuo Uematsu.
While some may balk at the deconstructed graphical approach, those who dig deep into this dungeon will be rewarded with a game that is simple, yet incredibly complex.ĭuring its Tokyo Game Show showcase just a few weeks ago, Square Enix announced Dungeon Encounters.
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