Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
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- Hipolito
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Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
Some buzz at the Quarter to Three forum inspired me to try this game. It's a turn-based dungeon crawler in which combat is handled with a "deckbuilding" card system. What the heck does that mean? You start the game with a small deck of cards that represent attacks, spells, healing, special moves, etc. When you get into a fight, this deck is shuffled. During each turn of battle, a few of your cards are dealt into your hand. You play your cards and they get placed into your discard pile. If the battle lasts long enough to use up your deck, your discard pile is reshuffled to form a new deck and you are dealt random cards again.
As you get loot and visit shops, you acquire more and powerful cards for your deck. However, it's as important to get rid of weak cards whenever you can. The smaller your deck, the more often your favorite cards will come to your hand in battle. You know you've built a great deck when you're getting hot and synergistic cards every turn to help you waste powerful enemies.
Dream Quest is notable not just for its deckbuilding system, but its really weird style. To give you a taste of its sense of humor, every game begins with the statement "Don't be afraid to eat the squirrels!" I have yet to discover what this means. The art is laughably crude. Check out this review if you want to see screenshots. (The game still has the black bar problem mentioned in the review.) The words are pretty tiny and hard to read on my iPhone 5, but there's not much reading that has to be done. The music is pretty good but sounds MIDI-quality and there are only a couple of sound effects. The game seems to take pride in its low production values.
That's OK, though, because gameplay is what matters most and this game's got it. It's very addictive and difficult. After about two dozen games, I've yet to beat the boss for the second level of the dungeon. One thing that helps, though, it that the monsters generally don't move when you do; they remain still and let you walk right up to them, not fighting until you decide start a battle. This means you can explore the dungeon (to the extent that the monsters aren't blocking you) and decide the best order in which to challenge the monsters. Your character's special ability, which you can use every couple of battles, will weigh into your strategy. The Warrior can destroy a wall, the Priest can see through walls, the Wizard can teleport, and the Thief can create random treasure.
When you die, you get some points and often one or two of the game's many achievements. Whenever you get achievement, you unlock something that will be available in future games such as a new card, better starting stats, or even a new character class. The points accumulate from game to game. You can use the points to buy achievements instead of earning them. You can also use points to resurrect from your last level-up, though this is not cheap. There are no in-app purchases on offer.
I enjoy Dream Quest a lot and would recommend it to any roguelike fan. I feel a little burned out by the difficulty so I'm not sure I'll play it enough to ever beat it, but I'm pretty happy to have this game on my phone for $2.99.
As you get loot and visit shops, you acquire more and powerful cards for your deck. However, it's as important to get rid of weak cards whenever you can. The smaller your deck, the more often your favorite cards will come to your hand in battle. You know you've built a great deck when you're getting hot and synergistic cards every turn to help you waste powerful enemies.
Dream Quest is notable not just for its deckbuilding system, but its really weird style. To give you a taste of its sense of humor, every game begins with the statement "Don't be afraid to eat the squirrels!" I have yet to discover what this means. The art is laughably crude. Check out this review if you want to see screenshots. (The game still has the black bar problem mentioned in the review.) The words are pretty tiny and hard to read on my iPhone 5, but there's not much reading that has to be done. The music is pretty good but sounds MIDI-quality and there are only a couple of sound effects. The game seems to take pride in its low production values.
That's OK, though, because gameplay is what matters most and this game's got it. It's very addictive and difficult. After about two dozen games, I've yet to beat the boss for the second level of the dungeon. One thing that helps, though, it that the monsters generally don't move when you do; they remain still and let you walk right up to them, not fighting until you decide start a battle. This means you can explore the dungeon (to the extent that the monsters aren't blocking you) and decide the best order in which to challenge the monsters. Your character's special ability, which you can use every couple of battles, will weigh into your strategy. The Warrior can destroy a wall, the Priest can see through walls, the Wizard can teleport, and the Thief can create random treasure.
When you die, you get some points and often one or two of the game's many achievements. Whenever you get achievement, you unlock something that will be available in future games such as a new card, better starting stats, or even a new character class. The points accumulate from game to game. You can use the points to buy achievements instead of earning them. You can also use points to resurrect from your last level-up, though this is not cheap. There are no in-app purchases on offer.
I enjoy Dream Quest a lot and would recommend it to any roguelike fan. I feel a little burned out by the difficulty so I'm not sure I'll play it enough to ever beat it, but I'm pretty happy to have this game on my phone for $2.99.
Gracias por estar aquí.
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- Harkonis
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
This is one of my favorite ios games
I loved DP too! - ChesspieceFace
- SpaceLord
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
Holy crap, I'm addicted to Dream Quest. It's really well designed. I find the graphics funny, and after a while, you don't notice them at all. Everyone that has an iOS device should look into it.
They're going to send you back to mother in a cardboard box...
- wonderpug
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
Ok, ok. I'll finally give this monstrosity a try.
- wonderpug
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
How do you do this?Hipolito wrote:However, it's as important to get rid of weak cards whenever you can.
- coopasonic
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
It can be a level up option. It is what you do at monasteries as well.wonderpug wrote:How do you do this?Hipolito wrote:However, it's as important to get rid of weak cards whenever you can.
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
How is it on the iPhone? Functional or clearly designed for the iPad?
- wonderpug
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
I've been trying it on the iPad but just fired it up on the iPhone to check. The text is pretty damn small. I think it's legible for my eyes but not the most pleasant size to read. Some of the buttons are also pretty tiny. So I'd say it's borderline. You can make it work, but it seems clear all the developer did was shrink the game to fit on the screen without making any UI changes to accommodate the smaller size.Cortilian wrote:How is it on the iPhone? Functional or clearly designed for the iPad?
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
Thanks for the info.
- coopasonic
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
I have played 10-15 games of it on an iPhone 4s and have had no trouble with hitting the right buttons and reading the text.
-Coop
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- Hipolito
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
Has anyone reached the 3rd dungeon level yet? Grrr.
- coopasonic
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
I've reached the boss of the second a couple times. I switched my focus to finishing the first with all of the base characters. That unlocked the samurai who isn't bad. I think I prefer the wizard though.
-Coop
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- SpaceLord
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
I unlocked the necromancer yesterday by using all 7 altars. I've yet to play him, though. I know his Soul Siphon ability seems insane:coopasonic wrote:I've reached the boss of the second a couple times. I switched my focus to finishing the first with all of the base characters. That unlocked the samurai who isn't bad. I think I prefer the wizard though.
Spoiler:
They're going to send you back to mother in a cardboard box...
- wonderpug
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
I don't know if I'm enjoying the game as much as the vocal fans love it, but I do admit everyone was right that the horrible graphics aren't an issue at all. The gameplay is fun and original, but my big beef is that it doesn't seem to have that roguelike aspect where I feel like I've lost because of something I did wrong. I get to the level 2 boss yet again, and then die yet again, not feeling any sense of "if only I had done X differently."
Maybe I'm just not good enough at the game yet, but moreso it seems like I'm meant to die repeatedly until I unlock more goodies through achievements. That sort of progression model would be fine if it felt like I was progressing a little bit farther each run, but I almost always hit the same dead end every single time.
Even just making the dungeon levels a little bit larger would do a lot for me. I'd just like for there to be more to do and more opportunities to develop my hero before each boss battle arrives.
Maybe I'm just not good enough at the game yet, but moreso it seems like I'm meant to die repeatedly until I unlock more goodies through achievements. That sort of progression model would be fine if it felt like I was progressing a little bit farther each run, but I almost always hit the same dead end every single time.
Even just making the dungeon levels a little bit larger would do a lot for me. I'd just like for there to be more to do and more opportunities to develop my hero before each boss battle arrives.
- SpaceLord
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
Have you tried purchasing Achievements using gold?
I suggest:
Elementary: Kill 5 Elementals, costs 200gp – All characters have 1 extra mana
Lizard Losses: Kill 5 Akami, costs 200gp – All characters have 1 extra health
Dragon Tamer: Kill 5 dragons, costs 200 – All your characters find 1 more treasure chest per level
The last two are harder than they seem, and they’re worth the 400 gold spent.
I suggest:
Elementary: Kill 5 Elementals, costs 200gp – All characters have 1 extra mana
Lizard Losses: Kill 5 Akami, costs 200gp – All characters have 1 extra health
Dragon Tamer: Kill 5 dragons, costs 200 – All your characters find 1 more treasure chest per level
The last two are harder than they seem, and they’re worth the 400 gold spent.
They're going to send you back to mother in a cardboard box...
- wonderpug
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
I haven't bought achievements yet, no. I'll definitely give that a try. It looks like I've already unlocked Lizard Losses naturally, and I'm halfway to Elementary, but I'll take Dragon Tamer since apparently I haven't come across a single dragon yet.SpaceLord wrote:Have you tried purchasing Achievements using gold?
I'm also liking the game a lot more now that I've gotten my first character to the third level. He didn't last very long on that level, because my god do some of the mobs on that floor have nasty abilities.
I think the game is just geared toward you sucking pretty bad for your first few playthroughs. Now that I'm past that and have some decent upgrades unlocked, I'm much happier with how far I can progress in a run.
- Zork
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- SpaceLord
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
I've now been playing as the Assassin. She's a ton of fun. I paid 3k of my accumulated gold to unlock her, but it's been worth it. She's essentially a spellcasting rogue:
Spoiler:
They're going to send you back to mother in a cardboard box...
- The Meal
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
I just noticed today that you can control which pieces of equipment are loaded into your equipment slot(s), by selecting the [E] icon in the corner of the card when you look through your current cards (using the icon next to your current level located on the right side below your avatar). It defaults to the first piece(s) of equipment you had acquired, but you can tailor it between battles.
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- The Meal
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
Finally won (with the Necromancer) last night. I ended up finding a Tome of Wonder in a chest on the 2nd level and stomped mushrooms to double up on it. Had selected HEAL as my first talent (the only way to go), and +1 Equipment for the second (finding a +1 Equipment along the way, so got to start every combat getting two extra cards per turn from that point forward). Blew through many of the third level combats in one or two turns (fortunately), though the pair of 9th level Treants (120 health, Resiliency reducing all damage to 3 points maximum) took a long time to take down. I also had two Electrocute cards in the stack which combined with the Necromancer's extreme mana pool were very beneficial.
The Dream Lord was a PITA, but fun. I managed to score 47 points of damage on him in the four turns I got. Haven't tried the Paladin class yet, but that was the unlock for getting past the third floor.
The Dream Lord was a PITA, but fun. I managed to score 47 points of damage on him in the four turns I got. Haven't tried the Paladin class yet, but that was the unlock for getting past the third floor.
"Better to talk to people than communicate via tweet." — Elontra
- Hipolito
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
Congrats, Meal! I've kind of given up, having never made it past the second floor, but it was fun.
- GreenGoo
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
No android version that I can find.
- coopasonic
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
I started playing again after Meal's post and finally best the second floor boss with the Wizard. In the same run I unlocked the Necro and the Monk. I have been playing the Necro since, but I kind of think the Monk might be better with his free deletes, but I keep playing Necro anyway. I would like to beat the game just once.Hipolito wrote:Congrats, Meal! I've kind of given up, having never made it past the second floor, but it was fun.
It's a top three iOS game for me, but that's not saying much as I have yet to love an iOS game.
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- The Meal
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
I won again last night with the Paladin on what may have been my fifth run with that character. I was pretty fortunate again. It's nice that The Lord of the Dream doesn't always have the same buffs (first time he was like a Genie in that each turn you had to make a "wish" which had all kinds of negative effects, the second time he was like a ??? in that he surpressed certain types of cards -- "cards that begin with A", "mana cards", etc. -- in a cascading list that got longer and longer each turn). This time I managed 97 points of damage before he got me (I only managed 3 turns as opposed to 4 turns the first time).
"Better to talk to people than communicate via tweet." — Elontra
- Zarathud
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
Made it to the end once and got my ass handed to me by the End Boss. Making it to Level 3 was an achievement by itself. I also HATE the Genie's bad wishes.
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"I don't stand by anything." - Trump
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” - John Stuart Mill, Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St Andrews, 2/1/1867
“It is the impractical things in this tumultuous hell-scape of a world that matter most. A book, a name, chicken soup. They help us remember that, even in our darkest hour, life is still to be savored.” - Poe, Altered Carbon
- SpaceLord
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
So I paid to unlock The Professor, and he's bad ass.
Spoiler:
They're going to send you back to mother in a cardboard box...
- coopasonic
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
Finally finished it with the monk. I did 212 damage to the lord of the dream. If it wasn't for the turn timer I would have done more.
-Coop
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- The Meal
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
Very nice! My third time making it to him was an improbable run with the Samurai. Still haven't cracked the 100 damage (yet).
"Better to talk to people than communicate via tweet." — Elontra
- coopasonic
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Re: Dream Quest [iOS], deckbuilding roguelike
I am not sure when this made it to steam, but it did:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/557410/
I am tempted to pay full price since I really liked it on iOS... but...
http://store.steampowered.com/app/557410/
I am tempted to pay full price since I really liked it on iOS... but...
-Coop
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