Saturday Casual Gaming 249: Soda Dungeon

In Which I Play A Fun Free Steam Game

I love me some Roguelike Dungeon Crawlers, guys, and Soda Dungeon has been suggested to me pretty much ever since it came out. Since it was free on Steam, I couldn't resist and downloaded it.

It's addicting as heck.

Which is funny, because addiction is kinda a big theme in this game.

Addiction, money, fame, and big scary monsters

You are a hapless, impoverished person with big dreams of bigger wealth, but the best way to get money where you are is to venture into a dungeon of certain death... which you're super not into. Fortunately, while hanging out at the local soda bar, you end up with a grand scheme: con a bunch of soda-addicted crazies into going into the dungeon of death for you.

And thus, your journey as a very messed up kind of adventure pimp begins.

But... money!

Ethical complications aside, this game is fantastic. From the peppy, bullet-hell-style music to the awesome arcade-like graphics to the hilarious story (so far), this game has had me hooked from my first run with a mostly naked Soda Junkie.

You have different choices you can make while your party ventures through the dungeon. Do you choose each move yourself, or do you let the game automatically run your guys through? Which of the three boss chests do you open? Do you take one of the alternate paths that occasionally appear, or do you ignore all possible distractions?

Speaking of bosses...

They can be pretty epic...

Look how tiny you are compared to that behemoth! Your party, which can contain up to five adventurers of varying skills and abilities, is always dwarfed by the bosses (and minibosses) of each section. So far, I've only made it to the fourth zone, the ice levels. I'm sure I'll eventually get further, but I'm having a good time, regardless, and earning tons of money.

But what can you spend that money on?

One of the main features of Soda Dungeon is the Soda Bar, where you hire your adventurers to go make you money. You spend that sweet gold on upgrades to the Soda Bar, which let you buy and sell gear, earn money while offline, invite more and stronger adventurers who get buffs depending on the decor and food qualities, and you even end up with a wizard who can warp you to later levels you've beaten so you don't always have to run the dungeon from level 1! At one point, a faintly creepy gladiator guy shows up to let you know you can send a trio of adventurers to die for you in the arena for money. If you want to see how far your loot can take you, that's a fun challenge!

All in all, Soda Dungeon, from AN Productions and Pox Power via Armor Games is a great game, both on Steam and on Mobile, so if you're looking for a free game fix, this is definitely a fun one to play.

And I'm serious about that music being awesome. It really gets you pumped!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Saturday Casual Gaming 234: Roguathia

Roguathia
by Seiyria on Kongregate

I like me some Rouguelike games, as you might have guessed, so when I see a newer game that sounds like it's going to be a Roguelike RPG, I'm going to try it out. What I found when I clicked on the link to Seiyria's Roguathia on Kongregate was... very different from what I'm used to, but I dig it.

When I say different, I mean it...

Roguathia is, as you might have guessed, a Roguelike RPG, but it's not like I'm used to seeing. If you zoom in on that screencap, you'll probably notice that the entire dungeon is rendered in ASCII, and everything is... well...

It looks like a DOS or Commodore game.

And I'm 100% there for it.

Guys, I grew up with DOS and Commodore games. It's like returning to my roots. It's like coming home. There's something comforting about this game. It doesn't hold your hand or tell you, really, anything about itself within the game itself. There doesn't appear to be any button for instructions, you have absolutely zero control over the heroes as they trudge through the dungeons, and you have no indication of what each of the three "currencies" are within the game, how they work, or what they're for until suddenly, upgrades appear and you may or may not be able to afford them.

So it's a DOS/Commodore game. It has no mercy. You don't need it.

You've got, for currencies, SP, KP, and VP. I don't understand what they are. I don't need to understand, really. All I need to know is that when SP upgrades appear, they primarily deal with character creation - different classes or races, bonuses to stats, maybe starting equipment? - and when KP upgrades appear, they're usually for the Dungeon modifiers - monsters, difficulty, depth of dungeon. I'm... lost as to what VP will get me. I think I earned some, but I was tired and just clicked "BUY" without paying much attention.

That is how it differs from a DOS or Commodore game. It's not a text-parser, it's a clicker!

So you might be trawling through your dungeon with an Evil Lizardman Archaeologist (which is 100% a thing you can get. Mine is named Esali, apparently) and if you end up with upgrades, you click on the yellow command to buy the upgrade. If you're not fond of the randomly generated critter you've got, or if they go really stupid and just... walk around the same room for 30 minutes (which is a real possibility), you can click on the Options tab and...

Commit Seppuku.

No joke.

You get your points (SP and KP, from what I can tell) and a new hero is generated to go through your hilariously labyrinthine dungeons.

I am really digging this game, and to the incredibly skilled programming nerd who generated this game: thank you. You did a really good job on this and it rocks!

Go check out Roguathia on Kongregate, guys. It's worth it!

And Go Enjoy Something!
FC