Nintendo Switch Critic Reviews

Dungeon Encounters is a hardcore experience, that some will dismiss as overly simple. More fool them.

Remaining addictive and compelling throughout, I’m in love with Dungeon Encounters. Ito, Kato and Uematsu make for an absolute dream, being a key part of what makes this the best and most vibe filled rogue-lite experience of the year. Where its minimalistic design may off-put, it’s more than worth moving past that and exploring the genius and wonder on offer. Level readability is so concise and polished. Puzzle design is clever and stimulating, flexing muscles in the brain I haven’t used in years. ATB combat is back and thriving, being the best it’s ever been. Layers upon layers of depth are offered here. There’s so much magic in Dungeon Encounters. I only pray people find the time out of the heavy influx of games to give this one a shot. If you do, you’re in for an amazing ride.

There is an abundance of delicious meat on these old bones. [Issue#367, p.117]

If you’re looking for an epic, grand story with a vibrant presentation, you won’t find that here. But if you just want raw and engrossing exploration and turn-based combat, Dungeon Encounters delivers in spades.

The Japanese role-playing game stripped back to its bare essentials and yet rather than an exercise in nostalgic pandering this is one of the most compelling and sharply designed dungeon crawlers of recent years.

There’s so much to Dungeon Encounters. People might not even notice at a first glance. But the systems at play are so compelling and rewarding. Finding a new item. Beating a party of foes that stumped you before. Managing to track down a wandering adventure. Saving a party of fallen allies that died earlier because you overestimated your abilities. It’s enthralling. And given the nature of the Switch, it is even more satisfying playing Dungeon Encounters there in any situation and taking tons of notes. It’s one of my favorite surprises in 2021.

Dungeon Encounters is a masterstroke of game design, character and narrative – it’s storytelling in the way only games can be. It teaches how scale is felt in a game, and it teaches, through their absence, the roles of rich visuals and verbose storytelling. Next time we play an RPG with baroque graphics and forests of text, we will understand a little more deeply where a game’s atmosphere really comes from.

Dungeon Encounters is not going to be for everyone. It’s not even going to be for most. But if you relish the idea of a challenging, no-frills dungeon crawl with a familiar yet slightly novel battle system, a game that cuts the genre right down to its gameplay skivvies? This is it. I can’t imagine a better realization of such an objective, no matter how niche a target it may be. Maybe if it had better music. Just be warned that the game may well bring you closer to spiking your controller than you’ve been in a while.

Dungeon Encounters is a pared-back RPG focused purely on battles and exploration. By gaining knowledge and experience, the player needs to learn how to overcome traps and enemies, resulting in a satisfying experience. Although the game kind of loses momentum in the second half, it’s still well worth a look.

Smart, minimal, fast and engaging, Dungeon Encounters is a good old-school JRPG experience, with a hardcore soul that arises after some playtime. Maybe even too much hardcore.