Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Dungeon Munchies is by far my favourite food based game I've ever played. It's a 2D action platformer that's quirky, fun, compelling, and full of crimes against sentient vegetables. Now finally out of Early Access, let's see what the finished product has to offer!
In Dungeon Munchies you are a zombie. Specifically, you are the latest in a long line of zombies produced by the great Necromancer Simmer. Simmer has resurrected you for a very important task: learning how to cook. Now, while all the single college men are probably scared, this nameless zombie is tasked with procuring ingredients for cooking with.
Namely? Giant bugs. And how do we get giant insects for cooking? We hit them with sticks.
After beating up some of the local wildlife, you will discover that most of the vegetation in the area has started developing a conscience of its own, which means some of those vegetables will fight back when you want to eat them. Not only that, but the Lord Protector of the Forest won't be too happy with you harassing their subjects. To arms o zombie! Or at least as many arms as you can find.
Dungeon Munchies, for the most part, has a surprisingly basic formula, but maybe that's what has made it so endearing to me. At its core, Dungeon Munchies is a 2D action platformer where you progress through a series of stages, beating up enemies, exploring for hidden "lost recipes", and combatting the enemies that stand in your way. You have both a primary and secondary weapon slot, both of which may be used at the same time, as well as a series of food related enhancements to your character. Later on you may also get some permanent enhancements added to your character through emergency zombie surgery as well, such as a permanent double-jump. There are a number of different weapons to choose from, both for primary and secondary equipment. Primary weapons may include swords, spears, or axes, whereas secondary equipment could be shields, throwing weapons, or even a passive boosting item.
In addition to your weapons, you can also cook! Well, considering your necromancer boss is also a chef, you should really expect that. Cooking food will allow you to eat it, and I know that sounds dumb, but hear me out first. All food requires certain ingredients to cook, but once created you have access to it at any time you're at a cooking station. You can only have so much food in your stomach, but thanks to being a zombie you don't digest it, so you always have the bonuses! If you want to replace the bonus for something else, for instance removing the double-jump food ability once you have a permanent double-jump, you just need to visit a cooking station and vomit the food out, making room for something new.
There are plenty of different weapons to craft and food to make, and thankfully enemies are in abundance, so all you need to do is return to old locations in order to harvest their materials. Once you have what you need, you can start experimenting with different food effects and weapon combos. Some food increases damage from certain weapon types, some food gives access to a new move with a weapon type, and some food just gives you a general bonus, such as adding poison to your attacks. The neat thing is that, as far as I can tell, every food effect actually has some form of visual change to your zombie, even if it's slight. It's the little things that matter most, right?
Gameplay will take place by making your way through the world of Dungeon Munchies one checkpoint at a time, hitting up crafting stations and fast travel points as you go. At most of the larger camps, your friendly boss Simmer can usually be found, along with a few of her skeleton crew. By talking with Simmer and the skeletons, you can learn more about the world and how it came to be a planet devoid of human life. You may also come across research stations or documents left around by the old world government that may help shed light on things. Fair warning right now, despite how comedic the game tends to take itself, there are some pretty serious and dark moments in the storyline. Dungeon Munchies hits at the top for a lot of new experiences for me, including "Biggest Mood Whiplash I've Ever Actually Enjoyed". You can have a discussion about the desolation of a species and the coping mechanisms of being the only relic of a bygone era, followed shortly afterwards by making a sword out of somebody's snot.
I'd also like to take this moment to touch upon something that is often brushed by without any real depth to it. The characters in Dungeon Munchies feel really…well, real, I guess I'd have to say. They're goofy and wacky at times, but then get serious for stuff that matters, and they all have such distinct and relatable personalities that it makes it rather hard not to grow attached to them throughout the course of the game. Add to this that the general graphics tend to be more bit-like, and character portraits have a very wide variety of emotions, expressions, and…I don't even know what to call the weird things they do…graphical effects? Either way, it's incredibly entertaining and endearing.
I actually picked up Dungeon Munchies as an Early Access title some time ago on the PC, and I can honestly say I binged the entire game that was available until about 4 in the morning. Moving onto the Switch release, it still flows pretty smoothly, although there are a few things here and there that can be a little annoying, both for the Switch specifically and in the PC version. One of my issues with the Switch version is that movement and aiming aren't particularly separate. While in the PC release aiming with your mouse isn't a problem, using items like magic wands, where you need to aim, or trying to run while attacking an enemy behind you, can get a little annoying, but it certainly isn't a deal breaker. There are some enemies/stage placement/enemy combinations that can be a little frustrating, and some of the bosses have special skills or attack patterns I thought were really dumb. Special mention goes out to the "intermission" between Chapter 2 and 3 which took me way too long to do.
That being the case, Dungeon Munchies does a lot right. It has a good combat system, the dialogue is a wonderful combination of goofy and serious, and I thought all the characters were really interesting. There is a massive pool of different food items and weapons to choose from, and there is a built in function to reset dialogue and bosses. That's right, you at the end of the game and want to go pummel the first boss with your infinity+1 sword? Go right ahead. You can also recap yourself on the storyline while you're at it. There are multiple difficulties available, and while I didn't have much issue on the normal difficulty apart from a specific part here or there, easier or harder options are available.
Summary
Overall, I have to say that Dungeon Munchies is by far one of my favorite games I've played recently. I had so much fun with it, and I really enjoyed what it had to offer, especially considering the small size of the team that put it together.
If you're looking for some 2D action platforming experience, I highly recommend you give Dungeon Munchies a try.
Score: 9.5 / 10
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