Stray Fawn Studio | $5/£5
- Roguelike with neat claw machine mechanic
- Tense battles combine skill and luck
- Cute animal-based presentation
No, that isn’t a typo in the title. This game really is called Dungeon Clawler, and it stems from a terrible yet instructive pun.
This is a roguelike dungeon crawler in which turn-based battle is waged through a claw machine mechanic. As your cutesy animal hero sizes up a gang of baddies at the bottom of the screen, the bulk of the playing field is given over to the kind of claw game you see at fairs and arcade parlours around the world.
Grab items to attack or defend
Rather than stuffed toys and gaudy necklaces, however, this particular claw machine drags out swords, shields, and other objects of medieval (and not so medieval) warfare. Whatever drops into the escape chute is utilized in your next turn, with swords and offensive weapons laying the smackdown on the nearest enemy, and shields and curative items protecting or healing you.
It’s a neat twist on well worn turn-based combat mechanics, and one that wears its randomness on its sleeve. Rather than being at the whim of invisible dice being rolled in the background, your attacks and blocks are determined by good old physics. It’s still a game of luck, but of a more tactile variety.
Bonus rounds can get you extra money or items
There are also degrees of strategy, timing, and even skill to picking out the best item for the situation at hand.
Having that giant swords hanging precariously from the edge of the grabber, only to spill out just before the exit chute is agonising. Similarly, hoovering up a bonus item or two that initiates a devastating attack or negates the next crushing assault is immensely satisfying.
Boss characters can present a stiff challenge
You can help stack the odds in your favour by adding to your armoury of trinkets in between levels, whether through shops or bonus rooms. It’s possible to level up weapons or steer your ability set in new and interesting ways.
None of this disguises the simple fact that Dungeon Clawler is as silly and frivolous as the parlour game at its core. However, there’s just enough light RPG depth to keep you coming back for another grab, as well as sufficiently charming presentation to make it all sing.