I love comics, so whenever there is an adaption of some famous comic or graphic novel, I got to try it out. It’s even the crappy one since it’s sometimes canon or adds a new layer to a particular arc in the comic. So when The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk – The Amulet of Chaos – Chicken Edition dropped in our inbox, I jumped the sword (since they don’t have guns.. get it?). Or crossbow, whatever you want. Dungeon time!
Role-Playing Shenanigans
Initially, The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk is a role-playing parody that started as an audio saga. This humorous adventure takes place in a medieval fantasy world. Stereotypical role-playing game characters enter The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk searching for a dangerous artifact. Starring probably the worst line-up of heroes of all time, the saga makes fun of the classical pen & paper shenanigans, quarrels, and mishaps – but in a good way! A little bit of background before we dive deeper into context;
Very popular in France, the license diversified and also became a band (The Naheulband), a series of comic books and novels (currently ongoing), a role-playing game, and a board game. The Amulet of Chaos is the first video game in the Dungeon of Naheulbeuk wacky universe. Beyond the hilarious universe, it is set in. The game is, above all, designed as an ambitious Tactical RPG, drawing inspiration from classics such as Baldur’s Gate, Divinity: Original Sin, and X-Com. And it does this OK – even though the Switch version came with some… flaws?
Gameplay
The tutorial is straightforward and focuses on the main aspects of the game. Each character has its strengths and weaknesses, which are very stereotypically done. For fans of the genre, it’s probably a walk in the park. The story itself takes a lot of laughs at the most serious D&D-style games (and even A-RPGs in a way like Torchlight). Gameplay focuses primarily on exploring dungeons, tackling enemies, and finding loot. Each of the battles is tactical, like in X-Com, in which each hero can use special skills to deal more damage or heal a friend. To give you an idea about the playable characters – without spoiling too much.
- The Ranger: a not-so-heroic adventurer who acts as the team leader, despite heavy resistance from the other team members. He tries to maintain cohesion amongst the group. Still, he finds it difficult, especially with the Elf and the Dwarf constantly nagging each other and the Barbarian always trying to run ahead. Finally, he mentions completing a quest entailing that he chases chickens for his grandfather.
- The Dwarf: grumpy and greedy, the dwarf enjoys annoying the other members of the group, especially the Elf. He is also proficient in drinking beer and fighting monsters. He constantly argues with the Elf. The two are always mocking each other, although the dwarf usually instigates the fights. He fights with an ax and can speak the goblin language (despite his people’s hatred of goblins). He is fond of “chiantos candies” and bear meat with an ale-flavored sauce.
- The Elf is an archer, though she is more likely to hurt her allies than her enemies. Naive and comically girly, she likes nature, animals and takes excellent care of her appearance (actually nearly everything the Dwarf dislikes). She constantly argues with the Dwarf. In addition to her bow, she can see in the dark and has some surgery skills.
- The Thief: a cowardly thief armed with a dagger, though he never uses it as he would rather hide behind his comrades than fight. He can deactivate traps and open doors, but there are doubts about his abilities.
- The Ogre: a giant glutenous ogre who enjoys music and poetry. Unlike the others, he speaks in his language. The Enchantress is the only one to understands him, forcing her to act as a translator between him and the rest of the team.
- The Enchantress: a female wizard who serves as the translator between the Ogre and the rest of the team. A living library keeps shelves of books with her (that is, in the Ogre’s backpack). She reads profusely, sometimes in the most inopportune of moments, such as when under attack.
- The Barbarian: a rude, rather stupid barbarian who is only interested in fighting, usually yelling “Baston” (“Battle” in French slang) each time an enemy appears. He also mentions what appears to be his deity, Crom, whenever he is awed. Though quite a good fighter, he usually attacks without thinking ahead, even against more powerful enemies than him. Comically, he seems to have a sixth sense for solving riddles.
Torch-Com-Chicken-Dungeons?
After completing the tutorial, the game becomes a mix between X-Com and Torchlight and challenges you to dive deeper into the dungeon. Battle yourself through waves of enemies encountered in the rooms, with a standard RPG battle system to back it up. Each party member has two action points by default with one reserved for movement; leveling up sees you gain two stat points (3 at levels 7-10), one active skill point, and one passive skill point; gear comes in 4 qualities denoted by background color (black, bronze, silver, gold) with 8-10 slots depending on character options for the shield, melee weapon & ranged weapon; every one friend or foe gets one round before the turn counter resets. Combat events are scripted, so there is no way to trigger a fight randomly other than encountering a quest marker. This makes side quests very much essential for improving your team. And be sure to equip loot on your adventures since most of the loot found is meant primarily for one of your adventures.
Some of the more novel features are the injury systems – performance dips as the health bar goes from green to yellow to amber to red, as well as temporary stat debuffs that you acquire through being rendered unconscious. The dips can be removed through the use of an appropriate consumable. You can also choose at the start of chapter 3 to add one extra character (which I won’t spoil) that can’t be swapped out. There are also neutral combatants (chickens) that will attack the nearest non-chicken, irrespective of its side. Finally, each merchant has different rates for buying stuff from you, but all will sell the same item for the same price.
Conclusion
The only point of irritation I had while playing the game on the Nintendo Switch was the loading times. I had to wait for a few minutes (or at least it felt like that long) to load my save game after booting up. However, most of the other functions work well, and I think the Switch is a console that holds many fans of said genre. So If you are into games like X-com, Mario + Rabbids and Divinity, but want to play something a bit more … comical – check out The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk – The Amulet of Chaos – Chicken Edition.
