Quest of Dungeons

Lore & Background

Quest of Dungeons was developed by Portuguese studio Upfall Studios, with development starting in June 2013. Initially planned as a tablet-only game, it was ported to PC before its initial release after being approved via Steam Greenlight. The game was built using an in-house game engine. It was first released on March 25, 2014 for Windows, Mac, and iOS, then ported to Linux and Android, and later to Xbox One via ID@Xbox on September 7, 2015. In February 2016, a Wii U and Nintendo 3DS version was announced, releasing on September 29, 2016. A PlayStation 4 version followed on January 17, 2017, and on August 2, 2017, a Nintendo Switch version was announced.

The game's plot does not take itself seriously, making fun of traditional stories: an Evil Dark Lord steals all light and traps it in a magical lantern, and four heroes decide one should enter alone—a nod to illogical B movie plots. The player chooses from four character classes—Warrior, Wizard, Assassin, or Shaman—and enters a Mansion on the top floor, progressing downward through increasingly difficult floors by leveling up. The entire game is randomly generated, with monsters, traps, and loot placed differently each time. The world is a tile-based square grid viewed from a top-down perspective, with turn-based movement and actions. Permanent death is central: if the player loses all HP, the game restarts from the beginning with a new dungeon, and while saving is allowed at any moment, death cannot be undone.

Reader's Guide

Quest of Dungeons holds significance as a multiplatform roguelike that successfully transitioned from a tablet-focused design to PC and console releases, demonstrating the viability of the genre across diverse systems. Its fast turn-based mechanic, where enemy turns are processed quickly to maintain fluid action, helped distinguish it from slower traditional roguelikes. The game's reception varied by platform: critics generally gave good scores, with the Xbox One version considered the most polished and easy to pick up. The desktop version received mixed to positive reviews, largely due to poorly devised keyboard and mouse controls at launch. TouchArcade rated it 4/5, calling it 'a very good roguelike and a fun game.' Softpedia gave it 7/10, praising solid gameplay, replayability, and difficulty balance, but noting a lack of variety. Pocket Gamer gave it 6/10, while Nintendo Life awarded the Wii U version 8/10. The game's permanent death mechanic, with no option to change it, reinforced its roguelike identity and contributed to its replayability. Its self-aware plot and B movie humor added a distinctive tone that set it apart from more serious entries in the genre.

Did You Know?

• The game was initially planned as a tablet-only title before being ported to PC.
• It was developed using an in-house game engine by Upfall Studios.
• The Xbox One version was released via the ID@Xbox program on September 7, 2015.
• The game's plot parodies B movie logic, with four heroes deciding one should enter alone to defeat an Evil Dark Lord.