Merge Dungeon is a grisly dungeon crawler from the creators of Dark Sword and Merge Star

Merge Dungeon is a casual dungeon crawler and follow-up to publisher Nanoo Company's Merge Star. It's just launched today for iOS and Android, and it looks to build upon its popular predecessor while offering a grislier world and art style seemingly inspired by the excellent Darkest Dungeon.

The basic gameplay sees you delving deep into monster-filled dungeons in search of rare loot and glory. Along the way, you'll find 100+ items that can be merged together to create a single improved piece of gear with randomised stats. This means that you'll constantly be comparing different pieces of merged gear to weigh up their stats and decide what best suits the task at hand.

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Outside of the core merging action, you'll also spend a good deal of your time tackling surprise events, unlocking new skill items, and upgrading your heroes. Speaking of heroes, there are three to choose from at launch – the Warrior, Hunter, and Sorcerer.

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You might remember that Nanoo Company was also behind the Dark Sword series, which we've covered in the past. Merge Dungeon seems like another solid free-to-play release from them, and its strong Darkest Dungeon vibes are sure to draw in plenty of RPG-loving punters.

I do sometimes forget that Red Hook Studios actually put out a tablet version of Darkest Dungeon a few years back. Jon reviewed it at the time, calling it "a rich, tough, ingenious dungeon crawler that's a pain to play in (mostly) all the right ways," awarding it a shiny Gold Rating.

If you quite like the look of Merge Dungeon, you'll find it available for download now from over on the App Store and Google Play as a free-to-play game.