Delver is a first person action roguelike dungeon crawl with crunchy pixels. Take the role of an adventurer that tries their fate in the dark dungeons (and probably dies horribly). Fight monsters, grab loot, hoard potions, and level up! Quest for the Yithidian orb at the darkest depths of the dungeon and attempt to bring it back to the surface - getting to it may be the easy part. Levels are randomly generated in each playthrough so you'll never know quite what's around the corner.
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Pretty bad
Pretty fun, if a bit limited. I come back to this one every now and again
Delver describes itself as a "roguelike dungeon crawler, just like you wished they used to make." While this is true, it is also what holds the game back. The game does not do enough to hold the player's attention, and the player quickly feels like they have seen everything in just a few hours.
While exploration is fun and the combat is fine, you quickly feel like you are walking through the same halls, doing the same things with the same weapons over and over. It is cute for what it is, but there are many better options out there.
While exploration is fun and the combat is fine, you quickly feel like you are walking through the same halls, doing the same things with the same weapons over and over. It is cute for what it is, but there are many better options out there.
Delver is an old-school shooter/hack n slash with a traditional roguelike format. If you've played Nethack, you'll be familiar with the way potions and scrolls work (although scrolls are identified by default, and most items are also identified). The game looks nice, although it isn't anything special, and the combat is simple, but smooth. There's a bit of progression in between runs, as you keep all your gold, which you can spend on a few items before you enter the dungeon, although none are really important. You also get access to a shop halfway through the dungeon that allows you to upgrade your inventory space, which helps a lot. I found you can still beat the game without any of this progression, though.
I wasn't a big fan of this one, as I ended up swimming through lava multiple times near the end of my best run, using up most of my healing items. During the final climax of the game, I kept taking burning damage from sources I couldn't see, and I lost a bunch of points of my Magic stat for some reason, which emptied most of my wands. I ended up failing, but I felt like I would have won if some of these things hadn't happened.
Anyway, it is one of the more complete and polished games in the bundle, but it wasn't my cup of tea. It felt like the game was pretty easy, until some misfortune murders you.
I wasn't a big fan of this one, as I ended up swimming through lava multiple times near the end of my best run, using up most of my healing items. During the final climax of the game, I kept taking burning damage from sources I couldn't see, and I lost a bunch of points of my Magic stat for some reason, which emptied most of my wands. I ended up failing, but I felt like I would have won if some of these things hadn't happened.
Anyway, it is one of the more complete and polished games in the bundle, but it wasn't my cup of tea. It felt like the game was pretty easy, until some misfortune murders you.
Incredibly fun and atmospheric FPS roguelite with lots of charm, variety, and personality. Started playing the early versions back when the game was on Indie DB, and it still holds a special place in my heart.
Played this (partially) live on stream on the 15th of April (twitch.tv/sleepy_nice).
God, I wanted to hate this game soooo badly. I didn't think I'd have much time in my heart for an indie action roguelite dungeon crawler with first-person perspective, 3D environments, 2D models and procedurally generated levels, but uh, this game is really good! Admittedly that combination of elements might not have been the slog of cliches that it is in 2022 when the original version was conceived of, back in 2013. Even in 2018, when Delver released officially, the landscape was only just becoming bloated with this type of exploratory action game with randomised levels.
Delver managed to keep me hooked for a solid 2 hour run by still managing to feel pretty authored and crafted in spite of its randomised design. I didn't get as deep as the levels go (I died in an admittedly pretty comedic way in what I now know is the second-to-lowest level) but everything escalates really nicely, and the biomes were distinct and atmospheric. There's a Spelunkiness here that was appealing - explosive item drops, potions with unforeseen effects, chaotic secret rooms - and I wonder if there was a similar attitude towards the randomised levels as Spelunky, using pre-built collections of map-parts rather than randomising everything completely.
Definitely going to try at least one more run to see if I can complete it, but even if I don't I was genuinely pleasantly surprised by Delver! Oh, also gorgeous music.
God, I wanted to hate this game soooo badly. I didn't think I'd have much time in my heart for an indie action roguelite dungeon crawler with first-person perspective, 3D environments, 2D models and procedurally generated levels, but uh, this game is really good! Admittedly that combination of elements might not have been the slog of cliches that it is in 2022 when the original version was conceived of, back in 2013. Even in 2018, when Delver released officially, the landscape was only just becoming bloated with this type of exploratory action game with randomised levels.
Delver managed to keep me hooked for a solid 2 hour run by still managing to feel pretty authored and crafted in spite of its randomised design. I didn't get as deep as the levels go (I died in an admittedly pretty comedic way in what I now know is the second-to-lowest level) but everything escalates really nicely, and the biomes were distinct and atmospheric. There's a Spelunkiness here that was appealing - explosive item drops, potions with unforeseen effects, chaotic secret rooms - and I wonder if there was a similar attitude towards the randomised levels as Spelunky, using pre-built collections of map-parts rather than randomising everything completely.
Definitely going to try at least one more run to see if I can complete it, but even if I don't I was genuinely pleasantly surprised by Delver! Oh, also gorgeous music.