Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Infinite Combate, developed by MAGES. Inc. and published by PQube, is an adaptation of the popular DanMachi anime and light novel series that attempts to blend visual novel storytelling with action-oriented dungeon crawling. The result is a hybrid experience that appeals primarily to fans of the franchise, offering a faithful recreation of Bell Cranel’s early adventures and his encounters with the goddess Hestia, Aiz Wallenstein, and the colorful adventurers of Orario. While the game captures the charm and spirit of its source material, it often struggles to balance narrative depth with engaging gameplay, resulting in an experience that feels sincere but uneven.
The story follows the familiar arcs from the anime’s first season, retelling Bell’s journey as a novice adventurer determined to grow stronger in both skill and spirit. The narrative is divided between Bell’s perspective and that of Aiz, giving players two distinct viewpoints on the same series of events. This dual-structure approach adds welcome depth to the story, allowing moments that once felt one-sided to gain new emotional resonance when seen from another character’s eyes. Between major story beats, players also have the chance to engage with side missions that expand on relationships with secondary characters, leading to lighthearted interactions and unlockable CG scenes. The writing does a competent job of maintaining the tone of the series—equal parts action, humor, and heart—but the pacing occasionally falters due to the frequent switches between visual novel exposition and dungeon segments. Still, for those familiar with the franchise, it’s an enjoyable way to revisit iconic moments and uncover subtle new details about the world of Orario.
Structurally, the game alternates between lengthy dialogue-driven sections and short bursts of real-time combat. The visual novel segments are fully voiced in Japanese, featuring the original anime cast, which adds authenticity and personality to each scene. These parts are presented with attractive 2D illustrations that capture the series’ art style beautifully. Once the talking ends, the game transitions into its dungeon-crawling sequences, where players take control of Bell, Aiz, or other characters as they fight through procedurally arranged floors filled with monsters and traps. Combat is simple and easy to grasp, built around basic attacks, dodges, and a small selection of skills. While the system works fine at first, it quickly shows its limitations. The battles lack fluidity, the hit detection feels inconsistent, and enemy variety is minimal. After a few hours, the dungeons begin to blur together, offering little sense of progression beyond new gear or slightly tougher monsters.
There are hints of potential buried in the gameplay design. Each character has unique attributes and skills, and equipment can be enhanced with elemental effects, allowing for some customization. Yet the lack of meaningful enemy behavior or strategic combat scenarios prevents these systems from truly shining. The repetition is made worse by how frequently the game forces players back into similar dungeon layouts for minor quests or side missions. This padding disrupts the flow of the narrative, creating a noticeable disconnect between story momentum and gameplay. The best moments in Infinite Combate occur when the action directly supports the plot—when Bell faces a dangerous foe or when Aiz explores deeper into uncharted territory—but too often, the game feels like it’s cycling through content just to extend its runtime.
Despite its mechanical shortcomings, Infinite Combate delivers a strong sense of atmosphere thanks to its visual presentation and sound design. The combination of colorful anime art, detailed character portraits, and stylized dungeon environments creates a consistent aesthetic that feels true to the series. The transition from visual novel artwork to chibi-style 3D models in gameplay might seem jarring at first, but the art direction manages to keep everything cohesive. The soundtrack is another highlight, alternating between relaxing town melodies and tense dungeon themes that echo the tone of the anime. It isn’t a standout soundtrack on its own, but it complements the world nicely. The inclusion of full Japanese voice acting elevates the experience, helping to carry weaker dialogue and immerse players in the familiar world of Orario.
One of the more divisive aspects of Infinite Combate is its pacing. The game is structured in a very formulaic loop—story, dungeon, side mission, repeat—and this pattern doesn’t vary much from start to finish. For fans of the visual novel genre, the extended dialogue scenes may be a welcome feature, giving them time to engage with the characters and world. For players expecting more traditional RPG progression, however, these sequences can feel excessive, breaking up the action too frequently. The lack of dynamic storytelling or branching outcomes also limits replay value, as most choices lead to the same narrative results. Once the main story concludes, optional dating events and post-game dungeons offer additional content, but these extras rarely do enough to reinvigorate the experience.
Where Infinite Combate succeeds most is in its treatment of its source material. It’s clear that the developers approached the DanMachi universe with care and respect, ensuring that familiar characters behave as fans expect them to. The lighthearted humor, the awkward charm of Bell and Hestia’s relationship, and the thrill of exploring the Dungeon all come through authentically. The game even adds subtle emotional beats, giving players a closer look at Aiz’s internal struggles and Bell’s growth from timid adventurer to determined hero. These narrative details, combined with the inclusion of beloved voice actors and recognizable settings, make Infinite Combate feel like an interactive companion piece to the anime rather than a disconnected adaptation.
However, as a standalone video game, its limitations are harder to overlook. The combat lacks polish, the exploration is repetitive, and the overall structure feels thin compared to other modern action RPGs. The experience is best enjoyed as an interactive story rather than a full-fledged game. For those coming in without familiarity with the franchise, Infinite Combate may seem underwhelming and shallow, offering neither the mechanical sophistication nor the narrative clarity needed to stand alone. Yet for devoted fans of DanMachi, it serves as a nostalgic and affectionate adaptation—one that captures the heart of the story, even if it stumbles in execution.
Ultimately, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Infinite Combate is a game built for a specific audience. It’s a love letter to fans of the series, offering them a chance to walk alongside their favorite characters and re-experience key moments firsthand. Its shortcomings in gameplay and pacing keep it from achieving greatness, but its charm, presentation, and respect for the source material give it a certain sincerity that’s hard to dislike. It may not be the definitive DanMachi experience, but for those who simply wish to spend more time in its world, Infinite Combate offers a familiar and enjoyable adventure, even if it’s not an especially deep one.
Rating: 5/10
