We are approaching the end of 2024 and it's time to name my game of the year:
"But Jel," you might be thinking, "Dungeon Encounters came out in 2021. You also pulled this exact same stunt for two years straight. How can it be your game of the year in 2024?"
I don't care, I'll talk about Dungeon Enounters whenever I want. It's great and here's why:
You may have heard stories about how early in the game, there is an enemy that can steal your gold. Not just some of your gold, not just ALL of your gold, but leaving you with a negative gold balance that seems insurmountable at the time. Dungeon Enounters regularly hits you with busted, soul crushing mechanics that make you wonder if you should start a new game. And yet, without fail, you keep playing and slowly realize that they also give you the tools you need to overcome whatever wild problem they just threw at you. I can't think of any game experience quite like it.
Dungeon Encounters is a project from legendary game designer Hiroyuki Ito, who is best known for his work on the good Final Fantasy games (go ahead and look up which ones, then FIGHT ME). This becomes very apparent in the simple but extremely effective combat. Basically, your equipment makes you choose order or chaos - do you use a fixed damage weapon that will guarantee you kill a monster in two turns, or do you use the weapon that can do literally any amount of damage between 0 and 10,000 in the hopes that you can kill it in one? This concept and a few other mechanical twists make for one of the best turn based battle systems I've experienced in a long time.
This is not a game trying to be a movie. There are no graphics or cut scenes or voice lines asking you to suspend your disbelief. The fat has been trimmed, and all that remains are some nice crunchy numbers and your imagination. Dungeon Encounters does give you a fascinating little blurb about each playable character as a prompt, and your brain can fill in the rest. I'm not saying every game should be like this, I'm just saying this game does it and it's great.
Do you want to hear a butt rock remix of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkryies" that sounds like it's being played on one, solitary, synthesized guitar? Do you want to hear it looped for hours on end? It's a lot to swallow, but after awhile it was just adding to the low budget charm of this game.
He gets a special weapon that allows him to eat enemies. No damage or anything, he just eats them and they're dead. I love him.
The last time I played Dungeon Encounters, I was exploring around post credits and died fighting a black hole and a super computer. They were so far beyond my power level that I had zero chance of harming them, and I decided that would be the appropriate time to quit forever, fully satisfied. I don't want to sound like I'm gatekeeping, but I do wonder if your average person who hasn't had their brain saturated with decades of janky JRPG's would "get" Dungeon Encounters. It's possible you might need that context to appreciate the seemingly unfair and broken parts of this game are intentional and well crafted. If you are in that category, please check it out.
(My actual favorite game of 2024? I don't really have one. I literally wrote an article about quitting video games recently so... I'm enjoying the Dragon Quest III remake, does that count?)