Devious Dungeon 2 Review: A New Legacy

When it comes to sequels in video games, they largely fit into two categories – those that build upon the original thanks to fresh eyes on the development end or an upgrade of technology, and those that feel like nothing more than a simple cash in that could’ve been released as DLC. I really, really, and I mean REALLY enjoyed Devious Dungeon when it was released, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, was actually looking forward to a sequel that wasn’t a horror or AAA release. Where does it fall on this spectrum? It’s somewhere in between the two, but that’s not a bad thing.

Overall, Devious Dungeon 2 builds upon the original experience and improves almost all of the minor gripes I had with the original, despite its high score here at GBG. The changes are so drastic, it’s almost as if the team at Wobblyware took my feedback to heart and fixed these issues for me and me alone. The only negative that remains the same is the lacking narrative, which didn’t really downgrade the experience, but could’ve pushed the scales into the perfect range. This go-around tasks you with seeking out the all-powerful Summoner in order to loot his stockpile of oh so precious treasure.

One of the biggest changes I didn’t ask for comes in the form of 3 class-based characters to choose from out of the gate, each with their own unique perks and skill sets. Making his triumphant return is the warrior, who takes 20% less damage, along with the mage who has a ranged attacks and hovering ability, as well as the rogue who can double jump and die quickly. While I sampled each of the classes, I stuck with the warrior as my main, primarily because of my familiarity with the character, but also thanks to the lacking qualities of the new classes. Not only do the new avatars take substantially more damage than the bulky brawler, but they are missing a bit of polish. The rogue doesn’t come standard with any sort of ranged abilities, and essentially uses the same weaponry as the hardier fighter without any real pros outside of the double jump. The mage fares slightly better, as its ranged attacks change the tone from a Castlevania-ish style platforming beat ‘em up into something more along the lines of Gunstar Heroes, albeit with less thrilling shooting mechanics. However, the mage can only shoot in two directions (left or right) and struggles when it comes to switching directions in the event that you find yourself flanked, with enemies coming from both directions.

The gameplay remains largely unchanged. You will work your way through procedurally generated levels with checkpoints after three, culminating with a boss battle every fifteen. Each level will require you to evade traps and dispatch the mix of returning and all-new foes while seeking out loot and the key to unlock the door to the next area. Platforming seems to be more of a thing this time, and the randomly generated placement of the platforms poses a bit of an issue. While I rarely found myself completely boxed in mid-level, there were a number of runs where I noticed that that jumps required of me were downright out of the question when using the warrior class, as if the game forgot which character I selected and only allowed me to move forward by the skin of my teeth.

By far, one of my biggest complaints with the original was the inability to change your weaponry once you’ve purchased an upgrade, which has since been addressed. Not only can you change the equipped weapon from the vendor stand, but a number of the later options also come equipped with DPS or elemental effects, adding an additional layer to the combat that was sorely lacking in the first iteration. Welcome changes to the progression system make upgrading your arsenal, armor, and character a much speedier affair thanks to the Quest and Bounty systems. Killing X number of items or creature types now nets you bulky lump sums of treasure on a regular basis through the Quest system, and the latter introduces randomly placed mini-bosses within the levels that offer chunks of coin (they explode in a way that brings to mind Sonic getting hit while sitting on a nice stockpile of rings) and XP bumps that can make character levels fly by just as quick as the blue blur.

Normally, I would say that these small changes wouldn’t warrant a sequel, and could’ve been an expansion. While the new content itself doesn’t feel like a new iteration, the welcome changes in addition to the low cost of admission make this an exception to the rule. If you enjoyed the original, you’ll surely find the quality of life improvements worth the additional purchase. If this is your first run into the Devious Dungeon franchise, Devious Dungeon 2 is a great jumping off point since there isn’t anything that isn’t thematic you’d be missing from the original experience.

9 out of 10

Pros

  • Progression is Less Grindy Than the Original
  • Tons of New Content
  • New Class-Based Characters
  • An Upgraded User-Friendly Arsenal of Weaponry

Cons

  • The Mage’s Shooting Ability Is Wonky
  • Some Poorly Designed Platforming Dependent on Class

Devious Dungeon 2 was developed by Woblyware and published by Ratalaika Games. It is available on NS, PS4, PS Vita, and X1. The game was provided to us for review on X1. If you’d like to see more of Devious Dungeon 2, check out the publisher’s site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

Check out OpenCritic for a better idea of how our review stacks against others.

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