Part platformer, part RPG, part hack-and-slash, part cooking simulator… Dungeon Munchies has put a lot of things into its game that set it apart from its competitors. But unfortunately, just like soup, putting in more ingredients doesn’t always make for a great experience. It feels like it’s not cooked to perfection.
Yes, I threw a lot of food puns into that introduction. You play as a zombie reanimated by Shimmer, a necromancer spirit who cooks and raises the dead. As you can imagine, the story is quirky and I found myself laughing a few times at the puns and jokes throughout the game.
Instead of leveling your character like in traditional RPGs, you use the ingredients you get from defeated enemies to cook your food. Once the dish is finished, you can equip it. Each meal grants different abilities, and characters can equip up to seven entrees. However, calling this title a cooking simulator is generous. Throughout the game, you can find cooking her stations where you can take the items you find and combine them to make different foods. Unfortunately, no experiments are allowed. I have a cookbook that shows the recipes and parts needed to make a dish. It’s a shame because the cooking aspect of the game could have had more depth. Instead, it feels matte.
You can make weapons as well as cooking. Weapon crafting is similar, combining materials you find from enemy drops to create new weapons. But again, the system guides you to create weapons based on the specific items you have. You can’t get creative and try to combine random things.
All the above criticisms could be forgiven if it weren’t for the obnoxious combat.You can use two different items. To attack an enemy, aim your weapon with the right analog stick and deal damage with the A button. This feels like a carryover from the PC port and doesn’t work well with the console. Since you can hit the button repeatedly, you can use melee weapons without any problems. However, ranged items are more difficult as you have to target your opponent with the right stick. Many times the target doesn’t seem to work as intended and attacks don’t always hit. Ended up sticking to swords and axes instead.
Also, the levels are poorly designed. All levels have the same look and feel. This area of gameplay could have spent more time in the oven. The only feature is the enemy design. And the boss is also well done. It’s a shame because a lot of time can be told when designing bad guys, but without a level of better design nothing is memorable.
