May 6, 2024: Shattered Pixel Dungeon

There are a ton of great tabletop and digital roleplaying games out there, but sometimes you just want to enjoy some dungeon delving, monster slaying, and treasure hunting. If that sort of thing appeals to you, consider picking up Shattered Pixel Dungeon as soon as you can. It's a simple but addictive game that is easy to play but tough to master. My husband and I have become increasingly obsessed since downloading it to our phones a few weeks ago. 

 

Shattered Pixel Dungeon is based on Pixel Dungeon, a roguelike game that came out in 2012. Shattered Pixel Dungeon retains the charm of the original, but builds on its predecessor with new music, new unlockable characters, new items, and plenty of other surprises. You start with the option of playing either a Fighter or a Mage. As you continue to play and earn achievements, you'll unlock the Rogue, the Huntress (my personal favorite), and the Duelist as options. Each dungeon level is procedurally generated, so you'll never play the same game twice. You will, however, face bosses like the Giant Ooze and the Tengu, and meet characters like the Sad Ghost and the Troll Blacksmith. My personal favorites are the various Shopkeepers that you encounter on different levels – the incongruity of visiting a fantasy convenience store after facing a deadly adversary makes me laugh every time. (The Shopkeepers themselves never seem terribly worried about their position. Who are they, and what do they know?)

 

Ready to test your skill? Shattered Pixel Dungeon is available on Google Play and the App Store, as well as Steam, Gog.com, Itch.io, and GitHub. 

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