V-Hunter Puzzler Dx

get your mind out of the gutter, [b]v-hunter puzzler dx[/b] is not some hentai porn game, v stands for vampire. you're hunting them, along with other nasties, in a turn-based fashion. you act, then enemies act, and so on. [b]64 levels[/b] unlocked one by one, no on-screen level numbers, only in the pause menu. more monsters and other mechanics get introduced as levels go by. e.g.: rats are stationary and will attack adjacent cells after every 3 moves, skeletons patrol, vampires have longer attack range, etc. not only the baddies but their blood is also dangerous, need extra hearts to step on it and survive. vampires can only be killed with holy water, so that has to be picked up first, and there are some weapons too. [b]alternate appearances[/b] for our hero are unlocked with certain achievements. decent amount of enemy variety and levels are big arenas with no obstacles as such, but some are pretty packed. and as you keep killing, leftover blood can become a problem and you can easily paint yourself into a corner if you're not careful. [b]unlimited undo[/b] in normal mode, works from a fail state. [b]hard mode is timed and only has one undo[/b], plus no enemy turn counter above them. no move limit anywhere but move count is revealed at the end of a level. doesn't do anything, so the lack of an on-screen move counter isn't a big deal. would be nice to have 'back to main menu' and 'back to level select' buttons on the results screen though. the [b]non-rebindable controls are almost good enough[/b]. wasd/arrows to move/attack, space to rest and place dynamite if you have any, 'c' fires your gun, again, if you can. 'z' is undo, 'r' is supposed to be restart but what it does is it kills you and brings up the fail screen with the option to restart or undo. not very elegant, then it replays the dialog as well. movement and undo can't be held to do more, gotta keep pressing. controller is supported, mouse also works and there are icons for the menu and undo, but I wouldn't recommend playing with the mouse, clicking tiles one by one is tedious. [b]presentation is a mixed bag.[/b] the 16-bit parts (menu background and some portraits during dialog) are done well, the 8-bit parts (everything else) not so much, so their pairing looks even worse. audio is servicable but settings aren't available while playing. they consist of separate volumes, a resizable windowed mode and the option to turn off dialog completely. an instant text display for dialog would be necessary but clicking works to make it all appear at once, speed is not that slow and there's no annoying text display sound. it's not a hugely exciting, challenging or long game (2 hours tops) and definitely needs more polish, but not too bad as a first(ish) effort. I'm sure hard mode is a lot tougher but I didn't bother with that. [b]has a demo[/b], progress carries over.

[b]6/10[/b] Turn by turn, slay all the monsters. [b]What is it:[/b] A turn based pathfinding game in a roguelike/dungeon crawler presentation. Every level has a few monsters in it, and your goal is to kill all of them then reach the exit. There are different kinds of monsters, including rats that only attack in the 4 adjacent squares every 3 turns, archers that shoot horizontally in the same row as soon as they see you, mages that shoot diagonally every 4 turns, and too many other types to list here. Plus a few bosses, monsters that have bigger health and must be hit multiple times. Other than your basic hit which does 1hp damage, you can find a few tools in some levels: watches that stop time for 3 turns, dynamite that can do some serious damage to monsters, bullets you can shoot from a distance, stakes that do double damage, holy water needed for vampires, health potions that allow you to take some damage. And without a health potion, one hit instantly kills you, and not just that, after you kill an enemy it leaves behind a pool of toxic blood which also hurts you when you step in it. So, another thing you must take into account is where you kill each monster, since you run the risk of painting yourself in a corner without a path to the exit. The story: You're a vampire hunter looking for the big bad vampire Alric. You'll have to fight your way to him though, through many monsters and his 3 henchmen. The gameplay: grid-based, turn-based movement, you move one step at a time. Enemies don't usually move every turn, but once every 2,3, or 5 turns, but may take more than one action when it's their turn. Every action you take counts as a turn, including attacking, placing dynamite, or just resting in place. The goal is to kill all monsters on the level then reach the exit. There are two modes, "normal" and "hard", the two differences being that in hard mode you can't undo while playing, and you must keep moving, you have only 1 second to do a move or else you die, which kind of transforms the game from turn-based into realtime. [b]How hard is it:[/b] Easy to moderate. All levels are quite open and have many ways to solve them, almost all of them can be done by planning just 1 or 2 moves ahead. And with undo (in normal mode), it's OK to make mistakes. [b]How long is it:[/b] 64 levels in 5 chapters, 4 normal chapters of 15 levels each and four boss levels in the last chapter. Being rather easy, it should only take one or two hours to finish it. Chapters are locked and require that you finish the previous one. [b]Level design:[/b] Meh. Just a bunch of monsters scattered on the level, none of the levels seemed really interesting. Most of the levels that had multiple items for me to use I actually finished with plenty of items still on the floor. Rather than the actual levels, the different kinds of monsters are worthy of appreciation. [b]Quality:[/b] Rather poor. In hard mode the timer gets stuck so you don't really know how much time you have. While the monsters are moving, keypresses are not buffered during animations, so the flow is broken, which is extra bad in hard mode when you only have one second to move, and if you keypress too soon you'll actually lose your turn and die. Simple pixel art mixed with full graphics in the dialog cutscenes, doesn't look that good. Some low-res raster images stand out in a bad way in the otherwise crisp UI. Dialog repeats every time you restart the level. Basic achievements, including bad ones like "die 50 times". Very few settings. [b]Worth the price:[/b] No, wait until it's ~1$. [b]Most positive aspect for me:[/b] Interesting selection of enemies. [b]Most negative aspect for me:[/b] Keypresses are lost, breaking my flow. [b]Also consider:[/b] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/314330/DROD_Gunthro_and_the_Epic_Blunder/?curator_clanid=25928931]Deadly Rooms Of Death[/url] (with all of the DLCs, which are actually older games forward ported to the new engine), much more complex, with moving enemies and diagonal movement, but still basically carefully planning your every move. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1229060/Dungeon_and_Puzzles/?curator_clanid=25928931]Dungeons and Puzzles[/url], more sliding than sokoban, and with different weapons. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1389200/Cramped_Room_of_Death/?curator_clanid=25928931]Cramped Room of Death[/url], very similar but you take up two squares instead of one.

Short but sweet turn-based puzzler about killing monsters, avoiding hazards and using cool items. The game constantly keeps throwing something new at you. My most favourite levels are the boss levels, definitely the most challenging ones, as they should be. Another plus is that the game can be played in super short sessions too, if you don't have much time as the levels are bite-sized. Easy recommend if you like shorter but sweet puzzle games, especially considering the low price.

Initially I didn't know what I was getting myself into with this game when I first saw it, but thought "what the hell? I've got $3, lets check this out." And like many other Indie games I've tried, I was pleasantly surprised. The gameplay is simple and straightforward, and the game works smoothly on both PC and Steam Deck, which I appreciated for those intermittent couch sessions. Its level system and save feature also makes it a great game to pick up and play, even if its only for a few minutes at a time. While the game starts off with some pretty trivial levels, the mechanics definitely challenge the player as you continue to progress through it, keeping it engaging and enjoyable the whole way through. With various area aesthetics and enemy mechanics to remember, it actually carries some replayability and a decent challenge to it. The art-style is clean, the music slaps, and the game is good. For $3, what more can you ask for?

Cool, fun puzzle game for all ages. Very easy to learn and the epic music was a plus. Some levels were challenging and require more thinking than others, but it's still not rocket science so don't worry. Definitely recommend if you're into puzzle games or want to rock your inner vampire hunter. Buckle up, blast the volume, and start chugging that holy water!

Game is a lot of fun. Turn based strategy that's easy enough for my pea brain to understand and enjoy. Music is delightful.

(This is a review from a pre-release version) Nice little puzzley dungeon crawler. The game has a good variety of enemies and items that are fairly easy to keep track of, however when they start getting numerous it can become a bit chaotic. Most of the levels are pretty well tuned though, so there is always a method to the madness. The game was limited by the room size always being the same, so the levels kind of blur together without too much uniqueness beyond enemy variety. Also, while I'm not sure 5 additional costumes was necessary for a game with 6 worlds, it was fun, so can't complain!

It's a fun little game, and for only $3 can you really afford to not buy it? I like to pick it up and play it in 5 minute chunks.

Cute little puzzle game about beating up monsters. It regularly goes on sale for .50 and I'd say that is about right for how much playtime you will likely get.

Fan-♥♥♥♥♥♥♥-tastic.