Game review: Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don’t Know

It’s a silly title I agree but Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don’t Know developed by Wayforward Productions and published by D3Publisher is actually quite a unique title that is based on a popular Cartoon Network programme. Adventure Time sees Finn the human and his dog Jake summoned to the Candy Kingdom by the Bubble-gum Princess who explains that there is some strange goings on in the Royal Dungeon where prisoners are escaping and treasures are going missing in mysterious circumstances. It’s up to Finn and Jake as well as friends Cinnamon Bun and more to find out what’s going on. The story is expectedly silly and fans of the TV series will be right at home here.

Players control their selected character displayed in 8-bit style as they navigate around the dungeons to find the stairs that transports them to the next level killing enemies and the obstacles that spawn them and collecting treasures along the way. The pros are that your character handles reminiscently like Link from A Link to the Past and they attack like him too, the cons however are many. The levels are not rife with enemies making it, in a good way, accessible to children, but in a bad way, too easy for more experienced gamers. The level design is far too simple too as each level looks just like a maze with the occasional obstacle here and there and the simplicity of the design means that more could have easily have been crammed onto the disc or even better, a variety in the gameplay.

The games design is unique and is pretty much the main selling point for it, mixing modern and 8-bit works nicely and it’s nice to see a homage to the generation I grew up with back in the late 80’s, early 90’s even though the characters are pretty poorly designed, even in the TV show. The visuals of the game are mainly meant to appeal to children and it shows with brightly coloured levels and cute characters that carry a sweet charm.

Summary

Adventure Time: Explore The Dungeon is purely for kids and fans of the TV show with its simple level design, easy combat and cute characters. The mix of modern and 8-bit eras is a nice honorary nod to past generations of video games but this may switch non-fans of the show off. Gameplay wise, it’s monotonous and bland.

Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don’t Know

Developer: Wayforward productions

Publisher: D3Publisher

3DS

Playstation 3

Xbox 360

WiiU

Genre: Action adventure

Release Date:15th November 2013

Story – 3/5

Graphics – 3/5

Gameplay – 1/5

Overall – 2/5