Developer: Impact Gameworks
Publisher: Impact Gameworks
Platform: Switch, PC, Mac, Linux
Tested on: Switch
Tangledeep – Review
Tangledeep is a game from somewhere in 2017 as it released on Steam before it ever released on Switch. It is on the Switch since a good year as well though, and the gameplay already seems to have somewhat of a mobile aspect, so perhaps this was one of the best choices for Tangledeep; Roguelike and easy gameplay that’s mobile as well.
Story
Tangledeep is set in a fantasy-rich magical world. A world where humanoid creatures sometimes have something called ”Touch”, a characteristic feature or element that gives the person an abundant drive to explore outside of the unknown. That’s basically a big part of what the game gives you. Other than that, the game offers a few small conversations and readable texts that you will find during your adventures, but there’s not a lot of a main story to experience. Most of the game is about the dungeon crawling mechanics and leveling up/advancing floors.
Graphics
Tanglewood is as simple in its visual approach as it is polished. Polished meaning as far as a simple game like this can be polished. The character movements look very nice, especially on i.e. the job (class) selection screen. The animations are simple and reminiscent of the 16-bit game era with the colorful SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis. In that aspect, they are also very communicative in what’s going on. Proper hurt animations on monsters, numbers that appear on the screen with damage dealt, all are very informative and well crafted. The level view, which is almost a full top-down perspective, offers nice maps and details.
Sound
Tanglewood has nice music that sounds like it’s custom-made for the game and gives a unique feel to all of the gameplay. It’s really high-quality, and to sketch a better image (or sound), imagine a combination of 16-bit games of the past with great soundtracks together with Square Enix music such as the Final Fantasy series, highly praised for its good quality. With the sound effects matching the 16-bit style, as well with windy-sounding slash effects and such, you get the general image of the sound that’s there to enjoy.
Gameplay
Tanglewood has gameplay that can be somewhat addictive. With rogue-lite elements and growing possibilities, you get to play this dungeon crawler floor after floor. The premise for doing so is rather simple which makes it addictive. You have a small settlement where you can buy, sell and manage your inventory, and then you have the dungeon where you can try to get as far as possible through a variety of environments with multiple enemies to fight. The game offers you a permadeath mode, a ”heroic” mode of which the game claims it’s how it’s supposed to be played, and an ”easy” mode. Heroic only allows you to keep what you stored so you can pass it on to your next character, while easy allows you to keep it all.
Everything in the game is turn-based on a grid that’s randomly generated for each dungeon floor. Even walking, though you can just run multiple squares and for each square you run, enemies also take a turn. There’s nothing wrong with any of this, though it’s also where the game kind of fails. No matter how many things you can do such as taming and raising monsters, growing trees at your base, or learning new skills and mixing together a character of a variety of jobs (classes), the game still feels a bit stale as you clear floor after floor and monster after monster. It’s the same type of gameplay, aside from some new skills. When a monster is within range, you can use ranged attacks or skills. When they are one square away, you can smack them until they are dead. In a way, even when playing on heroic, it all feels rather easy and a bit like casual gameplay.
This casual gameplay is the main reason why Tangledeep feels a lot like a mobile game, as well as that you will mostly hold a single button and run around. Now, the retro-styled graphics and the sound make the game feel quite atmospheric, but the gameplay itself just misses something. You gain loot and food by the minute which allows for easy healing and money-gaining, and the game doesn’t have a very clear and easy way of alternating between your base and the new floors you are on. There is a certain unique focus missing, be it more story or advanced gameplay. Eventually, you will be whacking your way through enemies and healing when your health gets low, and that’s pretty much where the game’s focus stays.
Conclusion
Tangledeep offers some good and classic experiences that feel casual enough for anybody to enjoy with pretty straight-forward dungeon crawling. However, the story isn’t really selling and the gameplay seems lacking a bit because of how easy it generally is. The game quickly boils down to smashing and healing, smashing and healing to push your way forward to the next floor, and that’s why it’s not the best it could be.
Tangledeep - Review,
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