The Wait For Dungeon Of The Endless Is At An End

I've had my eye on Dungeon of the Endless ever since its mysterrrrrrrrrious "what's behind the door" reveal campaign (which actually ended up being rather clever). The randomized roguelike-like dungeon defender is about preparation and exploration, with players defending a generator using all sorts of tools and emplacements while cautiously edging through doors that hide writhing horrors of increasing power. You also meet and team up with all sorts of deranged sci-fi/fantasy prisoners along the way. Basically, it's RPS Advent Calendar: The Game, only less fatal. Oh, and it's a really pretty, highly unexpected offshoot of Endless Space, a wonderful 4X strategy. I can play it right now via Steam Early Access, and so I shall.

As with all other Early Access releases since the Dawn of Existence (which, itself, was released on Early Access by an all-knowing deity conglomerate to surprisingly tepid reviews; clearly, they abandoned development midway through), Dungeon of the Endless is still a wriggly little videogame larva. For the moment, here's what you'll be getting if you decide to pony up $9.47 or $14.99 for the founder's pack:

"What can you expect from that Alpha? A lot of fun with the core game mechanics. You can also expect bugs obviously, although the game is definitely tested, but as we add new content every day, things can’t be as stable or polished as the finished product."

"What will you miss from the final game? In this Alpha version, many features are not available yet: the complete list of levels (you only get the first 3 levels out of 12) and their different environments including the final ending sequence, the complete list of monsters, the complete list of heroes including their abilities and objectives, Endless ruins and technologies and the use of science, a potential multiplayer co-op mode, online persistency and unlockables, as well as the final balancing of the game."

Amplitude is hoping to have the final game polished and ready for release sometime next year, but for now it's obviously still lacking glue between its many easily swallowed pieces. If you're OK with that, then by all means give it a go. If not, however, you're probably better off waiting.

Here, for your convenience, is the Steam Early Access link. Will you take a furtive peek behind its door?