Amplitude company worked on Dungeon of the Endless, a game that combines RPG and tower defense, with Endless Legend. Despite being a considerably smaller effort, its quality is indistinguishable from the superb strategies with which it shares the universe.
A prison ship is attacked and destroyed while going through the Auriga system. One of the cells, which is actually an escape capsule, manages to launch just before the calamity. The two captives within crash land on a neighboring planet, in the heart of a fascinating structure built by the Endless, an ancient species. These are not the only survivors, it turns out. To get to the surface, the heroes must go through twelve monster-infested levels, recruit additional survivors, and take the only accessible energy source from a wrecked pod to the exit.
Exploring future dungeons, learning technologies and building modules in accessible locations, creating resources needed for hero growth, or protecting the squad against waves of enemies are all part of the action. The action occurs in real time, but we may pause it at any time to assess the situation and issue commands to the players; food, research, and industry points are earned once every round, after unlocking a previously closed door. The architecture and content of the rooms on the first level are produced at random, thus by touching the doorknob, we can encounter opponents, locate special sockets for installing modules, or find some materials. Meet a hero who will join our firm for a charge instead. We can power each chamber, however this needs Dust discovered when exploring the underworld, as well as a link to another powered room or a module obtained from a wrecked spacecraft.
Modules cannot function in rooms that lack energy, and monsters may come at any time, therefore we must carefully manage the available Dust resources. Because the room from which we begin almost always has multiple exits, we must frequently decide whether it is better to defend against attacks from multiple directions, assigning heroes to guard individual corridors, or to secure one or two of them entirely, shifting our people to protect against larger groups coming from one side. It is typically calm to explore a new level. We strive to play as many rounds as possible in the hopes that the modules created will prepare us for what comes next – without food, we cannot heal or promote heroes, science points are required to develop modules, and industry is utilized to manufacture new equipment. With shops on practically every floor, we can always spend the surplus in each category. When the number of darkness rooms is so great that the only alternative is to use the power and dash to the exit, we may be confident that the monsters who come in each unpowered chamber will not be able to consume our heroes. This desperate maneuver is not always effective, and forsaking valuables discovered in previously undiscovered rooms may pay us dearly afterwards.
Smaller modules that provide firepower, boost heroes, or weaken adversaries will also be employed to combat monsters. Apart from the most basic laser gun, each of them must be developed and, if feasible, enhanced utilizing artifacts found somewhere in the maze of hallways. Defensive fortifications are seldom capable of totally stopping opponents; instead, they are typically used to soften or slow down the adversary, allowing the protagonists enough time to repel another onslaught or gain a superior position. Enemies are classified into three types: those that want to devour us and those who want to destroy every module they come across. There are also energy-hungry monsters that rush to the source of power. Because of this disparity, each freshly unlocked area presents a somewhat different difficulty, forcing you to create modules that can deal with each sort of threat. You must also deploy heroes to protect the towers from foes intent on destroying them.
At first, controlling the fight’s tempo is simple. When a dozen or more enemies emerge on the screen, the pause option comes in handy, allowing you to move the protagonists to different areas or repair the most critically hurt. The health of the heroes is critical losing one hero is a major issue; if two or three die, we can either give up or let the monsters finish off the survivors. Each game begins with two inmates chosen or pulled from a pool. Four characters are accessible at the start, with more unlocked as you go to the surface. Heroes differ in terms of fighting skills, speed, unique talents, and the equipment they may utilize. All of this dictates their function in the squad, which may be enlarged with two more individuals met someplace underground. To make the monotonous gameplay more appealing, the authors created personal tales – if someone on the team knows the past of another person or persons, we will learn about their history between stages. Finding those with a common tale among the sixteen basic and two additional characters takes a long time. The game looks fantastic visually – the pixel art models and backgrounds are rich in detail, and there are tidbits supplied by the authors concealed within the room equipment on practically every level. The graphics on the loading screens keep the same level as in Endless Legend, reminding us that both games take place in the same universe. The whole thing is supported by an excellent music that wonderfully captures the frequently tense feeling that comes with unlocking each door and waiting for a swarm of new monsters to materialize in the dungeon.
Dungeon of the Endless adds a new twist to the realm recognized from Amplitude studio’s turn-based strategy. At the same time, it’s a competent and appealing game. If we do manage to leave the underworld, the authors have prepared extra modes that vary the gaming principles somewhat and offer hours of enjoyment.