HKEY_LOVECRAFT
Florida, United States
 
 
Your faith will be tested. Bring a No. 2 pencil.
Currently Offline
Favorite Game
235
Hours played
21
Achievements
Rarest Achievement Showcase
Review Showcase
2.8 Hours played
DISCLAIMER: I am a Kickstarter backer. This is important for two reasons. One, I've logged more hours with the game than is represented by my playtime in Steam. Two, I obviously have a history with the game that influences my opinion of it, for good or ill.

As others have no doubt mentioned, TinyKeep is a Rogue-lite with a number of distinguishing features. Like previous and upcoming titles that fuse elements of the original Rogue formula with other genres, TinyKeep's primary offerings are randomly-constructed levels and permadeth wrapped in tactical, hack'n'slash gameplay. Fans of The Binding of Isaac and its derivatives should feel right at home, despite this game boasting some significant differences.

Room-to-room exploration is similar enough to competing titles, though TinyKeep frequently surprises the player with the myriad split-second decisions that each area offers. A robust if masochistic physics implementation provides constant obstruction and destruction opportunities. Barrels, crates, columns, spike traps and highly-flammable (and more importantly unstable) braziers are strewn throughout the dungeon, providing neverending frustrations and delights.

Combat is a mixture of swinging and blocking and, despite being simplistic, is extremely satisfying. The game seems aware of this and frequently offers a slow-mo death cam for the player's viewing pleasure.

I've not yet beaten the game as I'm terrible at it, but I've enjoyed myself the entire time.

PRO(S)
Graphics (highly-stylized, borderline cute and quite beautiful, really)
Sounds effects
Music (wonderfully appropriate music for 'adventuring')
Gameplay (frenetic yet thoughtful, despite the improbability of anyone ever typing those two adjectives together)
Random dungeon layouts (keeps the challenges fresh and forestalls boredom)

CON(S)
Occasional physics quirks (can cause irritation, though they also frequently benefit the player)

HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE CON
Camera movement (the entire level swings around your character as you rotate with the mouse, which may dizzy and even induce nausea in those easily-susceptible to spinning motions)

I think most will find TinyKeep to be an enjoyable dungeon romp that will elicit numerous attempts to escape. The success-to-failure ratio displayed on the title screen won't be the only reason why.
Completionist Showcase
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