Paul Plays Really old CRPG’s: : Dungeon Hack

Official Blurb

Built using the Eye of the Beholder engine, Dungeon Hack offers a randomly generated, RPG, Dungeon Crawler experience like no other. Explore countless new dungeons in a game that never has to be the same twice. Send your character on quest after quest, down through the many pits, traps, and puzzles that Dungeon Hack has to offer. This game delivers many combinations of play, a variety of magical and non-magical items to be found in each game and a bestiary stocked with over fifty formidable foes! For the more daring among you, Dungeon Hack also offers a Roguelike option, making death a far more definitive conclusion to your adventure.

Review

Dungeon Hack comes bundled on GOG with Menzoberranzan for just over £5…bargain! Based on 2nd edition AD&D (the best in my opinion) Dungeon Hack is a solo game akin to Eye of the Beholder, Bards Tale, and the like. You have 6 buttons for movement (left, right, forward, back, turn left, and turn right), buttons to attack/ cast spells, a small map (which expands when clicked on), and a body outline with equipment slots. You have to survive 10 levels of increasingly hard dungeon levels all on your lonesome. You can use a pre made character or create your own. You get to choose your stats, so could give yourself max in them all, but where is the fun in that.

To advance levels you have to find the stairs down, which means fighting monsters, spotting traps, looking for secret doors, finding keys, and really, really small hidden buttons. Sometimes frustrating, but great fun non-the-less.

The game has a reasonable difficulty, but be aware that you can be petrified by some creatures which is an instakill. As per most CRPG’s saving often is the key to success…and finding gauntlets of ogre power early in the same!

You can rest after fights to get hp and spells back, however resting costs food. So you have to balance how long you rest for. Iron rations are reasonably available as loot, and there is a magic item that stops your food level going down. I have one on my character, but I have no idea if what it is!

My rating is   8/10.  Great fun, if a little frustrating at times.