You don’t come across with a lot of dungeon crawler games on the Wii U system. Even more rare are first person dungeon crawler games, that’s exactly what Ziggurat is. It released a while back on other devices but landed on Wii U a couple of days ago. Do we need to celebrate its arrival in the eShop or was the shop better of without it? Let’s find out.
Forget the story
There are dungeon crawler games with great stories, stories that push you to advance room after room, enemy after enemy. Ziggurat is no such game but takes a more retro approach. At the beginning, you’ll see some drawings explaining the situation. Long story short, you’re an apprentice that needs to take down several (original) monsters in order to prove you’re worthy of joining the clan of magicians.
That being said, you can select different characters to play the game with, at first you can only pick a boy or a girl but the more you play, the more characters you’ll unlock. These characters serve as the level of difficulty of the game; some are weaker than others so you’ll have a harder time reaching the end.
Reach the top of the pyramid
The goal of the game is easy, reach the top of the pyramid without dying. There aren’t any checkpoints in the game, so if you die, you need to restart the whole thing. It starts off easy in the first rooms. These rooms serve as an introduction of the controls. Your weapon is a magical want that can shoot out energy in two different patterns. In the first rooms, you won’t find enemies.
This changes the more you advance, however, the world of Ziggurat is filled with hideous creatures that want you dead. The designs of the monsters and especially the bigger bosses are one of the game’ strengths. All monsters are uniquely designed and have a different personality thanks to their looks. It’s a lot of fun, discovering what kind of freaks will be waiting for you in the next room. Of course, you won’t have that much time to enjoy their designs since you’ll need to kill them as fast as possible.
An RPG layer
As for as we discussed until this point, everything feels like a classic dungeon crawler but that’s not true. Ziggurat adds an extra RPG layer to keep things interesting. Thanks to the skill system, you can really start to improve your character and its odds of survival. Some skills will give you more health for example, which can come in handy if you want to make it to the top. Besides that, you can also change and upgrade your weapons to deliver more damage. Thanks to the integration of the RPG layer, the runs never feel the same. You always learn from your mistakes and thanks to some better skills and weapons, you’ll be able to survive a bit longer.
Surviving is definitely worth it since the game looks great for an Indie. It’s completely 3D with unique enemies and vibrating colors. It’s a fun world to be in and you’ll want to see everything it has to offer. Don’t expect a technical wonder but the game does a nice job in creating a certain retro atmosphere.
| The Good: | The Bad: |
| + Great enemies | – Solo only |
| + Skills and better weapons | – Bit too short |
| + Right level of difficulty |
Ziggurat is another great addition to the Wii U’ eShop. It’s a classic dungeon crawler at first sight but the RPG layer makes it stand out from the crowd. It’s not an easy game but if you like to be challenged and aren’t afraid to replay several levels over and over, this might be the game you’re looking for.
Score: 4 out of 5:
