Super Dungeon Muncher is an interesting take on a fast paced adventure game where you're running away from a giant Muncher that eats ANYTHING in it's path, including the ground you're walking on. The only way to survive is to make your way downwards.
Not only will you have to navigate through the terrain as it appears below, but you'll also have to move around various enemies as well. Generally you don't want to attack them unless it's absolutely necessary. Attacking an enemy (when you move towards an enemy positioned right beside you) results in a trade where you both take 1 HP of damage. Most enemies have 2 HP, and you have 3 HP. One important thing to note is that when you move one space, enemies will also move one space as well. Kind of like a turn based function. However, the giant Muncher above doesn't give a dang about turn based movement. He is actively eating away at the land whether you are moving or not, so don't dawdel around for too long, cause it's an instant death if he eats you!
There are several coins you can collect as you make your escape down below. If you make it far enough, you will eventually reach a shopkeeper that will sell you various items if you have the money to buy them. Stuff like swords (can kill most enemies/destroy certain objects in 1 hit), hammers (can break through brick walls), and axes (can chop down trees blocking your way). However, these items have a limited amount of usage to them before they break, so use them wisely! Sometimes you can find some of these items around the land as well, but you might have to do some quick thinking (and maybe have a key) to get to these items fast enough). As you progress, the layout of the land will change and you'll need to adapt to a new set of challenges. Of course, once you die, you go all the way back to the very start with your default setup.
Despite it's cute and colorful sprites, this is very much a challenging game for even the most hardcore of gamers. You are going to die. A lot.
But no matter how often you die, you are given a score at the end based on the items you collected and enemies you killed. Along with that, you can unlock other little characters that have their own little quirk to them. One character starts with a sword, another has a chance to get equipment hidden in pots, and there is a poop guy who transforms half the land into poop! (Not kidding). The unlock conditions depends on the character you're trying to unlock, which thankfully is written out for you. Some characters are easy to unlock, some not as much. So even when you're dying several times in a row, you're usually making some sort of progress with unlocking at least one character.
I have to say it's rare for me to die dozens of times within minutes (or less) and still wanna come back for more! There is something addicting about this that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's the colorful graphics, or the challenge behind it to see how far I can go, but one thing I can say for certain is that it's super fun! As I'm making this review, I am still far from discovering everything this game has to offer. If you're new, there is a "how to play" section in the menu that will show you the basics of what you need to do, and even show you all of the items you can collect. Highly recommended game if you want a real challenge with cute visuals!
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Oh, and there is a wimp mode where all the enemies are removed if you don't wanna challenge yourself.
