Dungeon
Munchies by developer maJAJa and publisher Chorus
Worldwide Games—Nintendo Switch review written by Richard
with a copy provided by the publisher.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
