Adventure Time: Explore The Dungeon Because I Don't Know! Game Review

Reviewed by KW Gaming on Jan 13, 2014

Rating:

Dungeon crawling at its most mediocre. Adventure Time: Explore The Dungeon Because I Dont Know! is for fans only.

Team up with friends and fight through dungeon after dungeon. Courtesy of WayForward

Where the heck are we now? Courtesy of WayForward

Threats are everywhere in the dungeons, watch your back. Courtesy of WayForward

Adventurous First Impressions

Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! is the second game to be made based on The Cartoon Networks hit animated TV show Adventure Time and it comes from fan favorites WayForward, developers of DuckTales: Remastered.

I have no experience with the animated show, so I didn't know what to expect from this new Adventure Time game but I was pleasantly surprised by the retro style on dispay. The pixelated edges to characters, the old-school sounds when flipping through menus, the crude cut scenes. It all reminded me of the earlier days of gaming, bringing up fantastic memories.

Adventure Time: Explore The Dungeon Because I Don't Know!Courtesy of WayForward

Adventure Time was off to a good start impressing me. Characters are excellently voiced by the TV shows voice actors and the writing seemed sharp. It was time to get this adventure started!

Story and Gameplay

After choosing your character -- the roster includes Finn, Jake, Marceline and more -- Princess Bubblegum updates you that prisoners have been escaping the once thought impossible-to-escape dungeon. It's up to you (and your friends if you choose to play co-op) to explore the deep depths of the secret Royal Dungeon under the Land of Ooo.

Adventure Time: Explore The Dungeons Because I Don't Know! plays a lot like you'd expect a dungeon crawler to play, think of games like Diablo or Torchlight. You'll be tasked with clearing out every nook and cranny of enemies, looking for treasure and eventually figuring out the mystery as to how prisoner's are escaping.

Adventure Time: Game Trailer

This is where Adventure Time starts to fall apart though. It all starts fine enough, but gameplay stays the same throughout the adventure and it becomes a bit of a slog. You have limited moves at you disposal and there is no feeling of real progression since what you start out with is essentially what you end up with (as far as attacks/abilities). It's rinse and repeat through and through. Even the cute Kitten Launcher weapons fun wore off quickly.

You can play through the game solo or with friends in some co-op play, which is definitely the more fun option.

Adventure Time: Explore The Dungeon Because I Don't Know! Available NowCourtesy of WayForward/D3

Final Thoughts

Adventure Time: Explore The Dungeon Because I Don't Know! is fun for a couple hours but the lack of depth and variety kills the overall appeal. Hardcore fans of Adventure Time will enjoy the game for what it is. Those looking for something with more depth, check out our Best Games Of The Year List.