Mighty Dungeons Review

MIghty Dungeons is a homage to the dungeon crawler bold games of yesteryear, with HeroQuest one of the first titles that come to mind. Whether it's finding secret doors, unearthing tons of gold from treasure chests, or battling an array of monsters, Mighty Dungeons pretty much covers all the bases. Getting the ingredients down is one thing, but is this dungeon really that mighty?

Players are given the option of picking from six classes: warrior, barbarian, wizard, ranger, assassin, and bandit. Since I prefer hacking and slashing with power and also crave the strength I don't have in real life, I chose the warrior. If I were a bit braver, I would have picked the wizard just to see how long I'd last in the dungeon after a few swords to the stomach. Before you embark on your adventure, you are offered the choice of permadeath, which is pretty cool if you're confident in your fighting and strategy skills.

The game play for Mighty Dungeons is so easy, you don't even need the tutorial. Just get into the dungeon and start tapping to the direction you want to go. Once you bump into a creature that's ready to kill, just make sure you slaughter him first. Since the combat mode is turn based, simply tap your finger on the attack button to begin the battle. Although the early stages feature easy monsters to kill such as orcs, goblins, and skeletons, each stage gets a touch more difficult. Whatever you do, purchase a ton of health potions, even before you think of repairing your weapons or your armor. Going into a dungeon sans potions is kind of like bringing a knife to a gun fight -- it just doesn't make sense.

Mighty Dungeons' best quality lies in its attempt to be more than just a one-dimensional slash and grab game. Once you come home from a mission armed with tons of gold, most of that will be spent on repairing your items, purchasing new spells, or even upgrading your armor and weaponry. If you're in the middle of a mission and simply want to leave, you can head back to the village and head to the tavern to relax. A little food and grog never hurt anyone, plus you'll replenish your health points!

With all these elements successfully covered, Mighty Dungeons should have been a home run. By the first hour, however, I was ready to ditch my iPad and take a nap. It's already a given that throwback dungeon crawlers will have a level of simplicity, but the best titles have engaging storylines or something that totally catches one by surprise. There is absolutely nothing about Mighty Dungeons that enthralled me, yet I still I trudged on, waiting for an inspiring moment that never came.

As much as I love fantasy and RPG based titles, Mighty Dungeons just didn't leave a lasting impression. The lack of GameCenter integration (although there are specific in-game achievements), also left me disappointed. Even though it delivers on certain levels, it is a lot less stronger than it thinks, and unless there are updated improvements down the pike, I'll leave the dungeon hunting to someone else.

App Store Link: Mighty Dungeons for iPhone & iPad | By Forest Moon Games | Price: $0.99 | Version: 1.1 | 31 MB | Rating 9+