Plunge

cute pretty challenging and awesome

Cool vibe and unique concept. Fun for a couple runs, but each level is generally set with some variation so replayability after clearing would be relatively low if not for the unique characters with different starter perks.

The definition of easy to learn, hard to master. The mechanic is such a fresh combination between turn-based and action combat, feels almost like I'm playing a real-time action game.

Easy to pick up and put down. I'm having a great time so far!

The game was a complete surprise. For the price of games made on the knee in two days and failing Steam, we were offered a great project. In spirit, the game reminded me a little, oddly enough, of Into the Breach, but in a more fun and dynamic execution. There is only one unit (that's us), and we move in slides in four directions. The level is a puzzle, but not of the "aaah, how can I solve it" type, but in the roguelike style. You can lose lives and get them later, you can use cheat potions, you can get skills that pump up your character. It's a lot of fun to play. The graphics are extremely stylish, the music is cool, no early access... In short, this is a definite recommendation, a very high-quality product!

This game is very good! Fantastic art style, super interesting puzzly movement, clear enemy action indicators. I always felt like when I died, it was because of my mistakes, not because of RNG. The bosses are fantastic, especially the final one. I actually prefer my roguelikes on the shorter side, so this was great for me. I highly recommend it to puzzle fans. Mortar is best character. Double potions forever! Now, a small but detailed gripe. This is very secondary to the rest of my review, so if you are just considering buying this game, don't worry about this detail. I think the last unlockable character has some major problems. -You start each floor only able to deal 1 damage (unless upgraded), which can be very messy on certain (Voidblocks) rooms. It feels like certain rooms are impossible to escape without taking some damage because of high quantity of enemies and the possibility of getting surrounded if you can't eliminate the enemies quickly enough. -You gain damage by moving quickly before attacking. You can maintain this damage threshold by continuing to move fast, including attacking enemies. This feels a bit strange because simply moving and then attacking over and over again, no matter how fast you do it, will not build up this counter. You need to specifically move without attacks to build up this speed. -Sometimes, enemies will "skip" a turn. This can put you in a really bad spot or even guarantee that you get hit. You could move away from an enemy attack, then move back, and get hit by the attack that was prepared the turn before. This seems to happen far more often when moving quickly - I think I might be triggering my next movement input before the enemies trigger to move. You could slow down to check if a turn has been skipped, but that doesn't work well with the need to act quickly as this character. This makes building up that damage counter wayy more challenging, since if you go too fast, you might cause a skip, or miss that one has happened. -If you take damage, the counter goes back down to 1 damage. For me, this combination of traits made this character no fun. The combination of random damage from skipped turns and crowded rooms did not match the high level of precision and focus needed to make this character work. I suppose that I could play until I get aggro or some other damage buff and just play this character like a vanilla 2 damage character, but I don't necessarily want to reroll until I get that option. So I won't be finishing 100%, but I really enjoyed the rest of it. Everything else is really good. Thanks for your time!

This is a fine little indie puzzler, especially for the price. The art style isn't for everyone, but it's well produced, and the music is pleasant. The characters, powerups, and different enemies are little ways to shake up the puzzle genre set forth by flash game predecessors like Bloxors or the one with the ninja. At its core, this is a puzzle game. That aspect keeps the roguelike part fresh. I will not be completing this game. A certain area involving darkness frustrates me too much. But I recommend it nonetheless.

Plunge is an absolutely lovely game- the visual aesthetic and the music are instantly charming, and the mechanics are simultaneously elegant and so, *so* fun to play with. Plunge only allows you to move in cardinal directions; this allows for both some fun puzzle-adjacent levels and some really hectic gameplay, if you're willing to go fast (and, of course, if you play with the [spoiler]secret character[/spoiler] which all but begs you to). All in all- a great experience. :)

I was first attracted to Plunge by its grungy aesthetic, the mostly monochrome palette and its intentionally mangy bodies making a strong impression amidst plenty of more polished but less expressive styles. The goofy slide of your character with each movement, followed by a satisfying thud to each strike, makes Plunge visually punchy and memorable. The only issue comes in the isometric perspective; depending on the size of the floor and the position of the camera, certain foes or other obstacles can be obscured by terrain or placed inconveniently off-screen, with no option to rotate your view, or even zoom in and out or drag about the scene. Plunge is a turn-based dungeon crawler. You can move in one of four directions, and upon doing so you will careen until you collide with an obstruction. These moves are your means of traversal, evading enemy strikes, and enacting your own attacks. Every move is brisk, ensuring combat happens at an appreciable clip. All enemies take action following your own, and strategically placing yourself about the gridded map will determine whether you soon face triumph or demise. Each of the three worlds introduces new terrain gimmicks and enemy types which, when combined with the distinct advantages you’ll procure each run, create the potential for a highly dynamic combat experience. Plunge is at its best when you find yourself surrounded by a bevy of different enemy types, forcing you to consider each turn like part of a movement puzzle, trying to minimize oncoming damage while also anticipating how your new position will alter the situation. You’ll often be best off picking your battles, snagging the key and making swift exit, slipping past the remaining enemies. The power-ups are varied, but some simply outshine most others, while others are basically never worth taking. And the potions cause a range of effects, often helpful, sometimes detrimental, frequently humorous. Unfortunately the number of potential rooms is relatively small for a randomized game such as this; while Plunge boasts over 400 different possible room encounters, you’ll see 90 of them in a single run if you make it to the final confrontation. So you will be familiar with most of them in a relatively short time. This is not helped by the fact that Plunge is a bit on the easy side. The first world feels like a freebie, even when learning the ropes, making the plunge fairly slow to ramp up in difficulty. Later on, it’s challenging, no doubt, but never reaches that nigh-insurmountable treachery which makes the best roguelikes’ victories so memorable. Few rooms truly swarm you with foes numerous and treacherous enough to fully exercise the full potential of the combat systems, and I saw Plunge’s credits roll after only a few attempts. Perhaps this would have been helped had Plunge boasted any increasing difficulty options. The playable characters do add a bit of replay value, but for the most part your tenth run will sport the same difficulty as your first. At least the final unlockable character introduces a new challenge, one which makes use of your knowledge of the room pool and adds a real-time twist to the turn-based combat. They are, by default, slightly weaker than the other characters, but with the potential to do outstanding damage if you can keep the turns moving rapidly. The risk is, of course, the greater vulnerability that comes with less time to consider your options. The game does suffer a few troubling bugs. I found myself soft-locked when a certain potion effect caused me to endlessly slide into a wall, unable to advance. And every time the credits conclude, you’ll just have to force the game to quit as it never returns to the menu or hub. These and other, less pressing quirks detract from the polish of an otherwise smooth experience. Plunge boasts a wonderful combat system, but its modest scope doesn’t fully realize its potential. Though I’d love to see these systems expanded upon, as-is this is a quaint but thoroughly enjoyable little roguelike. Oh, and that sharp, ringing sound that accompanies your plunge into the next floor is just, so satisfying, every time. This one’s definitely worth delving into.

Simple, short but not bad game