Roguecraft DX PC Review: Old-School Dungeon Crawling With a Lovecraftian Twist

There is something comforting about a game that knows exactly what is is and what it has to offer. Roguecraft DX does not try to bury you under complex class mechanics, endless skill trees, dozens of stats, or a 100+ hour campaign. Instead, it takes the classic idea of exploring a dungeon, fighting monsters, grabbing loot and trying not to die, and wraps the whole thing in charming pixel art, a Lovecraftian atmosphere. It very roguelike light, that holds just enough randomness to make every run feel a little different.

The game started as an entry in the AmiGameJam 2023 competition for the Commodore Amiga, the 40 year old 16-bit gaming darling among retro gaming fans. Roguecraft DX feels both unique, yet immediately familiar. It has that an old-school isometric look, a tile-based dungeon, simple controls and a gameplay loop that you can understand within minutes. Roguecraft DX is a modern release that deliberately embraces some classic design ideas, making it surprisingly easy to pick up and play on a modern PC or handheld.

What Is Roguecraft DX?

Roguecraft DX is a roguelike dungeon crawler with a simple objective: enter the dungeon, explore 15 increasingly dangerous floors, find the key to progress, fight whatever gets in your way and survive long enough to reach the final encounter.  

Each run uses procedurally generated dungeon layouts, meaning you cannot simply memorize exactly where everything is and breeze through the game. Enemies and Potions are randomized as well, with each kind of potion taking on different effects from one run to the next. One run might give you a blue potion that boosts your speed, while during the next run that same blue potion would provide elemental damage or something considerably less helpful. That uncertainty is part of the fun.

There are three character classes to choose from, The Warrior, the Rogue and the Wizard. Each class choice approaches the dungeon a little differently. The Warrior is the more straightforward choice, while the Rogue brings some interesting sneaky abilities and the Wizard can dish out more damage while being considerably more fragile.

Simple Does Not Mean Easy

Movement in Rougecraft is grid-based and you move one tile at a time. When enemies are present, every move matters because the world essentially advances with you. Combat is equally simple. Rather than having a collection of buttons for attacks, blocks, dodges and special moves, you generally attack by moving into an enemy.

You still need to think about positioning, when to engage and when to back away. Sometimes the smartest move is not attacking at all. Running away, finding some health and returning to the fight can be the difference between reaching the next floor and becoming another pile of bones in the dungeon.

There is also a nice environmental element to combat. Hazards can be used against enemies, giving you another tool when simply walking into something with a sword is not the best idea.

And yes, you are going to die. Probably quite a lot. Death is permanent, and there is no huge meta-progression system waiting to make your next character dramatically more powerful. 

Instead, Roguecraft DX embraces the traditional roguelike philosophy of learning from each run and building skill, and of course get lucky with the RNG. You discover how things work, learn which enemies are dangerous, figure out how to use your resources and then try again. 

Badger love

A Game That Respects Your Time

One of the things I particularly like about Roguecraft DX is how easy it is to fit into a busy day. 

A complete run can take roughly 30 to 40 minutes, although that can obviously change depending on how well you are doing. More importantly, the game does not demand that you dedicate an entire evening to it before you feel like you have accomplished something.

That short-run structure translate particularly well on PC or handhelds. Roguecraft DX feels right at home on something like a Steam Deck, but it is equally comfortable as a quick desktop or laptop game. The relatively modest requirements also mean you do not need a monster gaming rig to enjoy it, afterall it was initially  built for Amiga.

And Then There Are Chickens

I cannot talk about Roguecraft DX without talking about the chickens. The game has a wonderfully strange sense of humor hiding underneath its Lovecraftian dungeon crawling. You will encounter plenty of tentacles and creepy creatures, but chickens also play a surprisingly memorable role in the game.  There is even a Chicken Run mode where you play as a chicken with only two health points.  Yes, really.

This new bizarre little addition fits well within Roguecraft DX's personality. The main adventure can take itself seriously enough to provide a genuine challenge, while these little touches remind you that the game is also here to have fun.

Retro Presentation That feels Fresh

Despite, or perhaps, thanks to its retro aesthetics,  Roguecraft DX is a beautiful game.  The isometric pixel-art presentation immediately brings back memories of classic PC and Amiga-era games. Everything is clean, colorful and deliberately designed around that retro aesthetic. The Lovecraftian influences also work surprisingly well with the style.

The sound design deserves some attention as well. The  original sound track composed by Jogeir Liljedah, Proton, SloopyGoop and others brings that unique Amiga feel to the game and really builds an wonderful atmosphere,  while the combat sounds effects by H0ffman are crunchy and impactful. Making those encounters all the more satisfying. There are even some subtle audio details that show a surprising amount of care, such as different enemy sizes having appropriately different sounds.

This is the 3rd major release of the game and it shows all the polish that comes with that.

The Quirks Are Part of the Experience

Roguecraft DX is not perfect, and some of its old-school design choices can occasionally work against it.  Combat relies heavily on chance, and there are moments when missing an enemy repeatedly can become frustrating. That can be especially noticeable when you are already trying to manage limited health and decide whether to fight or retreat.

The Rogue's teleportation ability can also produce some amusingly unhelpful results, occasionally sending your character somewhere that is considerably less useful than where you hoped to land.

If you play on a handheld pc,(or hand held Evercade if you bought the last version for that system)  then some of the visual details can also become difficult to pick out on a smaller screen. 

But these quirks were never a real showstopper nor did they diminish my fun with the game. It is all part of the experience, with some of its old school roots, this is a game that is not afraid to let randomness occasionally slap you in the face once in a while.

Parental View

Roguecraft DX is a pretty easy game to recommend for older kids, teens and adults who enjoy retro-style games and dungeon crawling.

There is fantasy violence, monsters and plenty of combat, but the pixel-art presentation keeps everything relatively tame. The Lovecraftian themes provide some creepy atmosphere, although the overall presentation is more quirky than genuinely frightening.

The short runs are also a great fit for families where gaming time is limited. You can play a run without needing to commit an entire afternoon.

Final Thought

Roguecraft DX is a game that reminded me why simple games can be so much fun.

It does not have an enormous skill tree. It does not need hundreds of hours of content. It does not throw a dozen complicated mechanics at you in the opening tutorial. 

Instead, it gives you a dungeon, a character, some questionable potions, a collection of increasingly weird monsters and the simple challenge of seeing how far you can get. The procedural dungeons and randomized potions give each run enough variation to keep things interesting, while the short play sessions make it incredibly easy to pick up whenever you have a little free time. 

Add in the excellent retro-inspired visuals, enjoyable music, amusing chickens and Lovecraftian weirdness, and you end up with a game that is very easy to like. When your games end, you will want to start another run.  And then another. And then, somehow, another. That is usually a pretty good sign.

If you enjoy retro gaming, roguelikes or just want something you can pick up for a quick dungeon run, Roguecraft DX has a lot to offer.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a chicken to defeat.

Roguecraft DX is a fun, accessible retro roguelike that delivers short, replayable dungeon-crawling adventures with plenty of old-school charm. It may occasionally remind you that the dungeon is not playing fair, but that is part of the adventure. 

DadGeek (Rob) is the co-founder of GeeksVsGeeks. He is a product of the eighties and never let go of his geek interest and hobbies no matter how often someone told him to stop. His love for gaming and all things geek has been part of his parenting style and permeates throughout the whole family. A family of GeeksvsGeeks