Dungeons of Chaos is an Android RPG game that channels oldschool RPGs from the good old days of gaming. There are no fancy 3D graphics or hand-holding here, instead this is a game that features dice roll, unique item combinations, difficult dungeons as well as tough monsters to take down. Dungeons of Chaos is a turn-based RPG game that features Retro 2D style topdown views, procedural dungeons and areas that are randomly generated and give players a chance to travel off the beaten path, there’s a lot to see and do here. With no in-app purchases, no ads and no add-on content, Dungeons of Chaos is a labor of love for a one-man band development team to rekindle the fun and attraction of the classic RPG.
Like other Android games, players will need to venture over to the Play Store in order to download Dungeons of Chaos. While the game isn’t free, and doesn’t offer a trial version, the developer doesn’t believe in in-app purchases or ads, so once you pay for Dungeons of Chaos it’s yours for good.
The game doesn’t even ask players for any special permissions, and is one of the few games out there that can be played 100% offline whenever you want to, and in classic RPG fashion there are three game slots for you to use. Further stretching the value included in Dungeons of Chaos.
Players will need to create a party before they can hit the road, and while they can choose to use a pre-determined party, it’s a lot more fun to roll your own.
You can re-roll as many times as you want until you’r happy, but only certain rolls will allow to choose a Fighter or Mage, for instance, and you will get to choose from different traits as well, which will determine combat effectiveness as well as their ability to get better loot or haggle for prices.
When players start a new game, they are given the options to watch the opening cinematic. Considering that the graphics here aren’t the best – by design, of course – and that the story is everything, users should definitely give this a watch.
Once players have either watched through this or skipped ahead, they will be thrust into the game and given the chance to explore their first environment, a nice and dingy cave.
This is obviously not the most exciting start to a game – but when have RPG games ever started off all that well? – but it gives players the opportunity to get used to the movement of the game. There are three ways to move around, by using the arrows, by using the arrows along with the “DGN RUN” button to speed things up as well as just tapping on a square to send the player’s party there. Moreover, this is a good way of learning how to speak to NPCs, as there’s quite a lot of them around here. NPCs will give players the opportunity to purchase new weapons and gear as well as find jobs and quests to embark on.
Of course, once players embark on a quest, they’ll have to explore the immediate area – or sometimes go further afield – which often ends up with players and their party finding their way into combat.
Combat in Dungeons of Chaos can appear a little tricky if you’re not used to this style of old RPG, but there are auto modes as well as some help from the game, too.
Each of your party members will be able to do something different – provided you took the advice to create a party that had different classes in it – and the game does a great job of giving players a little heads-up as to what they’re capable of.
Combat at the beginning of the game is not all that exciting, but as with every other RPG game, once Dungeons of Chaos lets players settle in to the flow of things and get further into their adventure, things heat up and become a lot more challenging. So too, are the environments later on in the adventure.
The same goes for your inventory, which predictably starts off fairly sparse. Players are able to find all kinds of loot and treasure, and thanks to the dice roll mechanics at the heart of things, there are over 5,000,000 combinations of items, weapons and armor for players to collect and use.
After a while, players will end up with a fairly substantial collection of weapons and items, and the inventory screen is fairly straightforward and easy to use.
Some of the systems and mechanics in Dungeons of Chaos could be considered a little difficult, but not only has the developer created a detailed and comprehensive website that’s like a game guide here, but the game itself has a comprehensive help guide accessible from the main menu.
I don’t want to ruin anything for players, because this is a game that’s all about the story, and if this is the sort of game that you’d be interested in, then you should definitely give it a try. What I will say however, is that the storyline gets a lot more interesting and there’s a lot more to see and do the further players get into the game.
Dungeons of Chaos is perhaps a game that will only appeal to RPG fans looking for a truly classic experience, but that’s not a bad thing. Square-Enix continue to charge huge amounts for their Final Fantasy games on Android, and Dungeons of Chaos quite neatly channels the oldschool fun that other games like Ultima and classic RPGs used to offer us. The graphics here are undeniably retro and less than stellar, but that’s not the point. Many a game has launched with dazzling graphics and huge amounts of mechanics, but users just see past them. There’s loads of different areas, different enemies and different choices where your party and their combat actions are concerned. With oodles of loot and over 5,000,000 different combinations of item, armor and weapons Dungeons of Chaos will satisfy those loot lovers out there. Movement seems a little sluggish, but it wouldn’t be a classic RPG game if it didn’t have this style of movement, and for a lot of players it might end up being a breath of fresh air compared to more complicated games.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – Available for devices running Android 4.3 and above, Dungeons of Chaos runs well on the majority of devices and there are no issues to speak of.
- Theme (4/5) – These graphics aren’t the best, but they’re of a certain style and with that in mind, Dungeons of Chaos fulfills the sort of look and feel players would expect of a game like this.
- Features (4/5) – There are all sorts of different mechanics as well as lots of different environments to explore in Dungeons of Chaos, and with a one-off price and no in-app purchases to contend with, this is a game that offers a lot of value as well as lots of replayability.
- Overall (4/5) – While not for everyone, Dungeons of Chaos is the sort of game that will appeal to players of old school gamers as well as those just looking for a different type of RPG for something new and fresh to play.
Pros
- Classic RPG gameplay mixed in with classic RPG looks will appeal to older gamers as well as retro gamers.
- Oodles of different items and loot to collect and mix to create a unique party to vanish evil with.
- Great atmospheric music helps paint a picture of a classic RPG game environment.
- Different environments as well as classic combat will appeal to players looking for a lengthy and challenging environment.
Cons
- Graphics won’t appeal to everyone and might put some players off, but this could more their problem than the games problem.
- Interactive tutorial at the beginning of the game will make it easier for players to get started.
Dungeons of Chaos is the sort of Android game that will forever have its cult followers, but that’s not a bad thing, and classic RPG games like these often do command their own following, and the developer is more than happy to communicate and nurture said community. With classic gameplay, lots of NPCs and quests, this is the sort of game that retro fans will love, and it’s clearly been a labor of love for the developer, which helps to add some extra charm to the overall package.