Dungeon Twister (PS3) Review

Dungeon Twister Box art

Dungeon Twister Box art

Dungeon Twister is a turn-based strategy game available for the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network. The game is an adaptation of the two-player board game of the same name. Hydravision developed and published the title. The studio has handled game adaptations of popular licenses before having previously developed the X Factor game for Wii, Xbox360 and PS3.  Yet gamers perhaps know them as the studio that handled the Wii and PS2 versions of Alone in the Dark (2008) or their survival-horror series Obscure.

Story

Does the story to a primarily multiplayer game really matter? The gamer can create the scenario for why they and the other player are in a conflict, be it for gold, prestige or perhaps, most importantly, the last slice of ‘za. However, Dungeon Twister does feature a lengthy single player tutorial to introduce the player to the game mechanics and elements of the game. As such, it gives a story to this portion. Rather, the game sort of has a story. The story is not actually in the game itself, but the website for Dungeon Twister does feature the story behind the game.  The set-up behind the game is simple and nothing ground breaking, but it works to give some context to the game.

The story speaks of a planet with a menagerie of fantastical creatures each exponentially more magical than the other. Yet at the top of this collection sits (or floats) the Arch-Mage, who is the most powerful of all the creatures. As with these types, he lusts for power and enjoys using his power. This is in addition to him learning all types of fun spells. Oh and he is immortal, so yeah. This Arch-Mage commissioned these labyrinths that make up Dungeon Twister by using cheap labor from dwarves and gnomes (they are non-union, so cheap and efficient without having to deal with those pesky labor laws). With these labyrinths complete, he needs to do something with them, right? Therefore, what does an all-powerful mage do in this type of situation? Teleport random people in and make them battle in his labyrinths for prizes (Or prize, but it is the most important prize of all: freedom). As far as entertainment goes, it ranks above watching pro bowling tournaments, but many rungs below watching Adventure Time.

Gameplay

A typical board

A typical board

Dungeon Twister features an interesting and complicated set of gameplay mechanics, and they are the shining point of the game. To orient players to its lengthy gameplay elements, the game provides a robust and hefty number of training missions that allow the player to learn them one by one. While they learn newer elements, the game urges players to master the gameplay mechanic that came before. The missions start out very basic with a 2×2 board and the player only using one character, the goblin. This introduces the player to AP, which are what the player uses during a turn to do tasks like moving around the board, twisting squares, fight, etc. Each turn the player gets a certain amount of AP to use. Once the AP runs out, the player’s turn is over and their opponent have a chance to move.  As the player progresses through the missions, the board gets bigger adding more complexity to the main objective of moving characters to the opposite side of the board to escape the dungeon (by doing this players earn VP [victory points], each character earns a specific number of point for escaping). The key to victory is attaining a certain amount of VPs and keeping your opponent from getting any.

It sounds like a facile task, just moving characters to the other end and grabbing points, but the strategy part of the game comes from all the wrinkles thrown at the player. Characters in the game can rotate the squares on the board by standing on a specific point within the square. That square allows the character to turn the square they are currently in, or another one of corresponding color across from it, in a number of directions. By switching these squares smartly, the player can block their opponent’s movements and force them to waste AP to clear a path. In addition, to having to use AP to do anything in the game, there is the added restriction of cards that begin each turn. The player has to chose from four cards (2, 3, 4 and 5) that determine the amount of AP they have for that turn. The cards refresh after each four moves, but it adds some extra thinking when choosing which card to start with because using the highest moves first might allow the player’s opponent to breeze past them while they are waiting for the deck to refresh. Another restriction imposed via these cards is that at the beginning of each game, the player to go first has to use the lowest card automatically while their opponent can only use the next highest card, and so forth until the turn cycle completes.

Eventually as more characters are the player’s disposal, strategy and gameplay gains another layer. Some characters have special abilities, i.e. the Wall-Walker can move through a wall, the Thief can walk over traps and help other characters over, the Troll is great at combat, etc. and all these add more levels how players go about choosing to win. There are traps like fire pits that can only be traversed by jumping (which cost 1 AP and each player only has 3 jumps per game), using the Thief as a bridge or using a rope. Another way to bar movement through the labyrinth is the Portcullis, which block characters from advancing forward (the Thief can open and close them and the Warrior can break them permanently).

Wizards don't take guff

Wizards don’t take guff

The game throws combat into the mix as well, where characters can fight against each other. Each character has a basic attack and defense stat, but these can be bolstered with cards before combat starts (from +0 to +6, but each card can only be used once except for +0 and they do not refresh). The first attack if one stuns the character and they cannot move unless healed by the Cleric. On the second round if still stunned, the player can attack and kill the wounded character for 1 AP. By the end of the tutorial, the player can use items that bolster defense, attack, increase speed or character specific ones to help improve their chances of winning. Dungeon Twister’s gameplay is involved, but satisfying once the player gets the hang of it and rewarding to score a victory through mastery.

Graphics

The graphics are solid for a PSN title. The game uses stylized, cel-shaded, toonish graphics that are charming and well rendered. The game boards look good and have a decent amount of detailed added in. Character animations are decent with the victory dance they perform after exiting the labyrinth often amusing. However, the combat animations are stiff and somewhat clunky. Overall, they are adequate graphics. They will not blow anyone away, but they are also not horrific.

Sound

There is not much to say about the sound in Dungeon Twister. The score is minimalistic to the point that it is almost not there. Whatever music that is present is either too low or ambient to make an impression. The sound effects are fine, but then again often sound effects are not much to worry about in most cases. There is a lot to be desired sonically in the game, but it gives gamers the ability to throw on their own mix while playing through it.

Overall

Dungeon Twister is a fun little PSN title that manages to mix a whole lot of disparate strategy elements into a singular game and make it compelling. The gameplay is really the draw of the game and the key achievement it makes. As a single player game, there is much to be desired even if the training missions are a good way to orient the player to the mechanics of the game, but aside from wanting to practice against the computer, there is probably not much that will give the single player huge replay value. Unfortunately, at the moment, there is a virtually non-existent online community, so finding a game on the Network might take some doing. Gamers interested in the game should find a similarly like-minded friend to take the plunge on purchasing the game, so they have an easy way to get some matches going. Ultimately, for fans of the board game, the magic of being in the same room with the other player might be gone (and the satisfaction of tipping over the board in glorious anger), but for new comers it introduces them to a surprisingly deep and interesting strategy game.

Overall Ratings – Dungeon Twister (PS3)

Gameplay:

8/10

Sound:

4/10

Graphics:

6/10

Replay Value:

6/10

OVERALL SCORE:

60%

Kalvin Martinez

Kalvin Martinez

Associate Editor/Editorial Lead at Gaming Illustrated
Kalvin Martinez studied Creative Writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He writes reviews, prose and filthy limericks. Currently, he lives in Tustin, California. He is still wondering what it would be like to work at a real police department.
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