Nice! I’m a long-time fan of Shattered Pixel Dungeon! Even @[email protected] is a Lemmy user and he often posts updates over on [email protected].
The game is very easy to get into, with fairly simple (for a traditional Roguelike) mechanics. However don’t let the simplicity fool you! The game is incredibly deep with layers and layers of rich strategy and very high run-to-run variety.
Some highlights:
- 6 unique character classes, each with 2 subclasses
- a unique talent tree for each class, with a high degree of synergy between talents and items found in the dungeon
- a simple, intuitive upgrade system where scrolls of upgrade can be applied to weapons, armour, rings, wands, or throwing weapons
- a fun and interactive item identification system, including deduction-based mechanics (an item that can identify something if you correctly guess what it is) as well as environmental clues that help you narrow down an item’s identity without knowing exactly what it is
- an ultra-deep crafting system called alchemy which allows you to re-purpose the many consumables you find (seeds, scrolls, and potions) into a much larger variety of runestones, exotic scrolls, (exotic) potions, elixirs, brews, and even consumable spells. The alchemy system alone is so powerful that a skilled player can win many of the game’s toughest fights using alchemy alone
- a very interesting (but not excessively large) dungeon with many special features, traps, puzzle rooms, floor varieties, quests, and boss battles, divided up into multiple chapters with a storyline you uncover over multiple play-throughs
- an extremely well-made UI that was originally designed for mobile but is equally at home on a PC. The game has a very intuitive help system for getting information about everything you might want to know about: character classes, talents, items, enemies, dungeon features, debuffs, alchemy recipes, and many more. This information is available through context-sensitive pop up windows as well as a comprehensive journal system which automatically fills out as you identify things over multiple runs
- an excellent achievement system in the form of badges which are fun to unlock and help you to learn more about some of the strategic ways to play the game
- a challenge system that unlocks after your first victory which allows you to enable up to 9 different challenge settings in any combination you choose. Expert players who find the default (0-challenge) setting too easy can continue to find interesting difficulty all the way up to the full 9 challenges, which deeply test your knowledge of the game
- a very nice high score table which allows you to view all the components that go into your score calculation as well as see a summary of the equipment and talent choices you made for that character
- a random seed system that allows people to share seeds and try their hand at the same dungeon as others. A daily seed feature allows you to compete against the community for high score with the same seed for everyone!