Delver is a charming rogue-like game by Priority Interrupt, Chad Cuddigan, and Joshua Skelton. I found the major appeal to be in the core mechanics. This rogue-like would be a good one to introduce someone new to the genre with. It’s very palatable, and easy to understand through enjoyable practice.
First thing you’re confronted with is some adorable minecraft style graphics. The whole thing is in first person, so it works nicely on that level. Then as you start to explore the pre-game area, a nice campfire filled with interesting folk is available. It’s mostly just for the shop if you’d like some beginner advantages, but there’s also some story elements to explore.
This game serves up its story in an easy to absorb manner. Primarily you find notes as you go along your adventures that fill in a bigger picture laid out by the level design. I’m a fan, and won’t go into spoilers. Let’s just say it’s a good story that I enjoy exploring in this manner, and it doesn’t intrude on the core elements of gameplay.
This rogue-like does its thing primarily through items and level ups. You can focus on melee, ranged, or magical combat as desired, and you’ll get plenty of great pickups to help out on that front as you go. There’s a classic spread of wands, melee weapons, and bows to be used, but the real fun comes in with the rare items. I found an awesome sword once that dazzled anyone I hit with it, and it became the focal point I built that entire run around. By the time I used it up and it had broken, I made it further into the dungeon than I ever had before. Something similar happened with a really effective wand, I just dove into the magic build and had a blast.
This game nails the core concept of a rogue-like, and it hits those fundamentals well. You are an adventurer at the start of a dungeon. You’ll have to make inventory based choices as you go, and fight off thousands of enemies in your preferred manner of combat. Due to the nature of the graphics and combat mechanics, the game is pretty simple beyond those fundamentals and can become a bit of a chore as you advance. I typically only play one or two runs when I have a craving for it, but I find that I keep coming back. There’s something to be said for solid fundamentals, in the rogue-like genre, and this game hits that note perfectly. At 15 dollars, I’d say it’s priced fairly. The game is fun, engaging, and clearly was a labor of love with an overall high quality finish. A worthy addition to any rogue-like fans library.
Sconnie Books 