Dungeon of Gravestone review - A fresh and fun roguelike

There are lots of roguelikes on the App Store. I don't have the time to count them all but I'm going to guess there's at least eight on there, possibly more.

That doesn't seem to stop people making new ones though. Sometimes you just look at them and sigh, other times you look at them and think, oh, actually, this one's got something going for it.

And Dungeon of Graveyard definitely fits into the second category. There are enough twists here to keep you interested, and some ideas that are probably going to become standard in future.

As usual you're playing a warrior tromping through a subterranean hell hole filled with chests, traps, doors, and squelchy monsters. Kill stuff, nick stuff, try and get out of there alive.

The controls are simple enough. You swipe to start moving in a direction. Tap and you'll move one square in the direction you're facing. Hold down a swipe and a D-pad pops up on the screen so you can move quicker.

Barge into an enemy and you'll start hacking away at it with whatever you've got equipped. Obviously it'll retaliate in kind, but you've got a few tricks up your sleeve to make sure you come out on top.

Potions boost your health bar after you've taken a beating, and bombs and arrows can give you an edge in fights if you're smart with them.

You've actually got two health bars. One depletes when you're thwacked, the other, which represents your blood, gradually ebbs away as you explore. You can top it up with potions or at blood wells scattered throughout the random levels.

Interestingly you can also leave messages for other players when you die. Spot a skeleton and wander over it and you might get a missive telling you a sad story. Mine just say "butts". Sorry.

Going underground

There's plenty of other things going on as well. Multiple camera angles, gear to buy, secrets to uncover, and a leaderboard that you can work your way up if you're good enough.

All-in-all, this is an excellent roguelike package. It doesn't feel super fresh, but it's bright and challenging, and full of the sort of fun that fans of the genre will lap up like some forbidden elixir.

Pick it up, have a crack. I reckon you'll be delving into these dungeons on a pretty regular basis for the next few weeks.