Fidel Dungeon Rescue Review

Fidel Dungeon Rescue is a cute little puzzle game in the form of a dungeon crawler. And you play as a cute little doggo that needs to clear the dungeon! Oh, and you can bark. So you should bark. Often.

The premise is pretty simple. You pop out on one side of the screen and need to earn a certain score by defeating monsters and gathering loot before the exit on the other side opens up and you move on to the next level of the dungeon. Sounds easy, right? Not so much. Each level gets progressively harder, with more strategy required to make it across to the exit with a high enough score without blocking yourself off from the exit. Different monsters inflict different amounts of damage and your pupper can only handle so much before the ghost begins to chase him along his pathway to take him to the great beyond. If you hurry, though you may still make it to the exit before the ghost catches you.

It is a fairly simple and basic concept, yet deceptively so. I like games that have a simple basis but then I get to find the approach or methodology that works best for me. I don’t think like everyone else, and I don’t want to play like everyone else. I like to find my own way and games like this let me do that to an extent.

The levels are quick and load very quickly as well. This is important to me when I only have 20 minutes to play and may need to stop at any given moment to handle some sort of crisis here at the homestead. If I have longer to play I can simply keep going up in levels or if I lose I have time to redeem myself a bit by starting over.

The graphics are so cute. They have that nice retro vibe that is so popular these days. Bright colors, pixel-style graphics, and bright colors bring the graphics together. Add in the animations when you defeat a monster or heal up and it is very visually pleasing.

The sounds are great, especially the music. I’ve not had one round where I didn’t actively think to myself “Wow, I really dig this song.” And I mentioned that you can make the dog bark right? I like to do it just before I hit the exit to win the match. Sort of like my victory cry when I’ve bested yet another level in the game.

The levels are random each time you play them. So if you make it decently far before losing a level and get knocked back to the starting level it won’t be the exact same set up as it was the last time you played. Some folks might prefer it to be the same so they can do it differently each time and know where they can improve but I prefer to get a new challenge each time I face a level.

There should be an option to play as a cat that meows instead of a dog that barks! Or is it just me that would like a cute little kitten that meows? Just me? Ok, but I want to see this in an expansion some time.

Being serious now, I really think there needs to be a tutorial. There isn’t and even though I mentioned it has a basic premise it would have been very nice to see one or two levels with hints and tips. Having some suggestions as to when to use your items or how to approach a set up for new players would be a welcome addition.

Introductions to the new monsters and explanations of items via mouse-over is sadly missing. You really can’t know what a monster will do or how an item will work until you use it. More than once that set me back to the beginning and was very frustrating. If I could have hovered over the item it would have helped. And some sort of idea of what a monster will do and how hard it will hit or help would be great.

My overall take on the game is that it is good solid fun. It has repeat value, no matter if you play it for hours at a time or use it as a filler between tasks or other games. You get a new experience each time you play, yet it is easy to save progress if you get interrupted. Each level you succeed in clearing is a save point. The cute graphics, excellent music, and randomized level generator gives you a fun fresh experience every time. It is currently only $9.99USD on Steam as of writing this. It isn’t the most robust game or I’d have given it an 8, but this one is a solid 7 in my book.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary PC code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.