Pixel Descent Review (VG)

An old-school inspired, roguelike dungeon crawl.

PLATFORMS: PC

Writing about and reviewing video games has been on my radar as a logical career, or at the very least a hobby, for some time now. These digital treasures have fueled my imagination for well over two decades now. I figured this Substack was a perfect way to create an avenue upon which I’m able to meander and muse about my time with video games. Let’s dive into the first review… an action-roguelite aptly named Pixel Descent.

OVERVIEW

If you’ve ever played the original Gauntlet, you could be forgiven for thinking Pixel Descent is a refurbished, modern rendition. Starting on floor one, the player battles hordes of monsters and miscreants while searching for copper, silver and gold keys. These keys allow the player to unlock gates preventing them from reaching stairs that descend into the underworld. There are ten floors with a chance to spawn bonus treasure vault levels during a transition to the next floor. In addition to your descent, XP gems drop from fallen foes allowing the player to level up the basic attack, special attack and an assortment of stats ranging from health regeneration to critical chance. The caveat is that these choices show up in sets of three in which the amount the stat increases fluctuate from +1 to +5. This can lead to some tense moments of survival early on when move speed appears to be favored and damage sits defeatedly at the starting amount. One can find ways to offset these disadvantages via persistence run mutators, buffs and perks. Each of these costing gold, which is routinely picked up during play. I am a sucker for the classic increased damage taken in exchange for X where X might equal damage output, XP gain, gold gain, etc.

The sprite work is surprisingly crisp considering the limitations of a smaller pixel count on screen and character classes such as the Mage, Gladiator and Vampire are easily identifiable. The roster has the perfect amount of choices with just enough variance between them to keep things interesting. You are equipped with a basic attack (which I quickly set to fire automatically to spare my mouse the burden) and a secondary special attack. The special attack, which consumes mana on use, is where the strategy and varied style of play shines. For example, the Vampire’s special sees them transform into a bat with increased speed and while miniature bats peel off from your position homing in on proximal enemies. I had a blast figuring out how best to build my stats in order to steamroll through each floor of the dungeon. Atypically of how I play most roguelites, I bounced all over from class to class in lieu of purchasing and succeeding with each in order.

THE VERDICT

Although somewhat derivative of other games in the current indie boom, I thoroughly enjoyed my descent into the bowels of the underworld. Let my 70 hour playtime counter and 100% achievement badge on steam persuade you to pay the more-than-humble price tag of $5.99 for this retro romp. Ultimately, Pixel Descent is a solid dungeon crawler with enough roguelite-variety to not overstay its welcome. If you’ve played this title let me know what you thought in the comments below!