Because I’m the Dungeon Dame, it should not be surprising that I love a good dungeon or two. I’ve been getting my dungeon on lately in Tales of Maj’Eyal, or ToME for those who can’t pronounce the former (like me). ToME is a old-school roguelike in a sea of roguelites-- so brace yourself for a game that is unforgiving and high fantasy. But it’s worth getting the hang of for the genuinely fun gameplay and clever writing. |
I’m going to be honest: I died a lot getting used to this game. Running in and trying to kill everything all at once, even as a warrior, really doesn’t cut it when you’re supposed to employ strategy. Thankfully, the combat in this game is super tight and polished and genuinely fun-- no grindy battles. If you get to be super powerful, the game even auto-skips the boring parts, so you’re not crushing a bunch of useless low-level nonsense on the way to the boss. One tip: always have an escape plan. ALWAYS. You never know when a really bad baddie is going to find you.
One of the most enjoyable parts of this game is the well-written lore scattered across the level. The stories are amusing, well-written, and genuinely engaging. No, really! I usually roll my eyes at most fantasy and mash the skip button repeatedly ( I have NO idea what the plot of Torchlight II is. Did somebody get it? Can you explain it to me?) but the plot pieces in ToME are well worth the read. Plus, there are plenty of useful hints hidden in the story, which can save you from a nasty surprise. If you’re not sold on the fun of ToME’s world yet-- your character can be an Oozemancer. An Oozemancer! A master of slime!

The game is great to look at (considering its vintage genre), but if you’d prefer not having any pretty pictures, there’s an ASCII mode for the old folks. The music is great, but I prefer cranking some dungeon-looting epic music in the background to get into the spirit of things.
In Tales of Maj’Eyal, it’s all about creating the experience you want.
Go give it a (free!) try at http://te4.org/download.
Even better, the paid version of the game, with all the extra features, is available on sale this week on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/259680/.
In Tales of Maj’Eyal, it’s all about creating the experience you want.
Go give it a (free!) try at http://te4.org/download.
Even better, the paid version of the game, with all the extra features, is available on sale this week on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/259680/.
We’re giving away a FREE full-featured copy of Tales of Maj’Eyal this week!
Just click the (subtle) Rafflecopter link below for the opportunity to explore dungeons to your heart’s content!
Forever spamming Stunning Blow,
The Dungeon Dame
The Dungeon Dame