Advance play report on "Dungeon Encounters," a completely new title from Square Enix! A pure dungeon exploration RPG that pursues simplicity to the extreme!

At the "SQUARE ENIX PRESENTS TGS2021" broadcast on October 1, 2021, an announcement was made about "Dungeon Encounters," a completely new RPG being developed by Square Enix.

We had the opportunity to play the game and present our impressions of the game.

A simple world expressed by numbers and lines

Many elements that are supposed to be basic to a game are absent in this title. There is no clear story and no intense action. There are no beautiful graphics depicting cityscapes or nature. The objective of "Dungeon Encounters" is to advance through a backgammon-like dungeon, divided by lines, to reach the 100th floor, the lowest level. The game system itself was designed to be fun, and unnecessary parts were stripped to the extreme. This is a game for those who want to enjoy the pure "game" aspect of the game, without the need for direction or expression.

In addition to the weapon shop and armor shop, there are facilities such as the "academy," where members gather to be taken on adventures, and these are categorized as "events. All of them are expressed in hexadecimal numbers (a method of expressing numerical values using A through F in addition to 0 through 9), and if we compare them to the standards used in the work, the weapon shop is numbered "14" and the armor shop is numbered "17. Furthermore, "abilities" that have unique abilities cannot be used on the spot, but can only be replaced by going to the "ability change station" at number "03".

Normally, in a game, it is normal to be able to acquire and replace abilities as a set, but in this work, players can search for such functions and call them up themselves. The elements such as the ability replacement and hexadecimal numbers gave me the impression of a program rather than an element. I guess I should say that we are touching on the original alphanumeric sequence before it takes shape in the product version. As I will explain later, the system itself is familiar from games. However, the way in which it is expressed is so unique that it was an unknown experience for me as well.

Battle and exploration of the dungeon are up to the player.

As I mentioned earlier, the dungeons in this game are divided by a massed floor. The player moves around the floor and uses the stairs numbered "02" to go down. If the player wants to go up, he or she can check the floor numbered "01. The numbers are black and white, with white indicating elements that are advantageous to the basic player, such as stairs and facilities, and black indicating battles with the enemy. Note that the ability "Battle Number Display" is required to visualize numbers related to battles.

The higher the number, the stronger the enemy. This work uses hexadecimal numbers, so 10 in decimal is "0A," 20 is "14," and so on. In other words, if you don't remember hexadecimal numbers, you will have a tough time in battle; you may mistake a hexadecimal number for a decimal number, step on the floor, and encounter a powerful enemy.

Since there was a time limit in this trial, I tried to find a balance between battles and exploration, but other players reached the 10th floor, the objective set in the trial, without much fighting. The reason I did battle as well as search was partly to prepare for possible forced battles along the way, but nothing happened. Perhaps it is possible to reach the lowest level without any battle at all.

I will explain the details in the section on battles, but the battles in this work are so severe that death by a single blow can be said to be the norm. One move can mean the difference between life and death, so you must carefully decide whether or not to step on the black numbers. However, even if a passage is blocked by a floor of black numbers, it is almost always possible to break through by taking a different route. Furthermore, the ability "virtual stair descent" can be used to instantly descend if there is a floor below one's current location.

In addition to this, "ability points" can be obtained by stepping through the levels and depending on the number of floors you step on. Ability points are essential for equipping abilities. Even if you take the long way around to avoid battles, you can get those points in exchange. The advantage is that it is that much easier to discover the white numbered squares if you are searching. In particular, the "battle loss recovery" and "HP recovery" squares numbered "05" and "06" are the lifeline of the strategy, so be sure to find them before fighting the enemy.

A fast-paced battle system where a single blow can determine the outcome

Dungeon Encounters" uses the "Active Time Battle" system familiar from the "Final Fantasy" series as its battle system. This system changes the frequency of actions of both sides based on the "speed" value, allowing players to enjoy real-time attack and defense despite the turn-based battle system.

The active time battle has been refined in this title, and "defense" and "magic defense" have been newly added. Both are like shields, with armor shrugging off physical attacks and magic attacks for a numerical value. If the target is attacked with the attribute of the one whose value is zero, the target's HP will be reduced, and if it reaches zero, the target will be incapacitated from combat. The same can be said for enemies.

This shield greatly enhances the strategic nature of battle. Not only does it shoulder the damage taken by enemies and allies, but it can also nullify the damage, including damage that exceeds the durability value. With even one shield, even 1,000 damage can be prevented, even if only once. In this game, both enemies and allies have high attack power, and direct attacks usually result in instant death, so it is important to know how to use this shield to your advantage.

The specifications of the shield would be a useful means of protecting allies. On the other hand, it is also an obstacle that must be destroyed when defeating the enemy. If the shield cannot be destroyed with a single blow, the number of actions required to defeat the target will increase by one. In this work, death by a single blow is a common occurrence, so if you misread your own attack power and the durability value of the opponent's shield, you may find that all of your allies are killed by an enemy who has the opportunity to take one more action, leading to total annihilation.

Although the difficulty level is severe, the key is to think about how to defeat the enemy with the fewest number of actions. The battle system is very simple, with players acting when their turn comes around, so we were able to take full advantage of the system even during our one-hour trial. The speed of the battles is also good thanks to the seriousness of the system, and most of the battles can be finished in ten to several dozen seconds, so the tempo of the exploration is good. Incidentally, the active time battle can be switched to "wait" mode in the settings. During this time, the flow of time stops, allowing you to carefully plan your strategy.

The performance of the equipment is also a major factor in the tempo of the battles. The "broadsword," which could be used from the beginning of the game, has a physical attack power of 50, while enemies have a strength of 30 or 40 at the beginning of the game. The durability of the defenses was about the same. The "Bastard Sword," which is two levels stronger than the broadsword, has a physical attack power of 180, and the magical attack "Marial 3" has an attack power of 300, and even enemies on the floor with large numbers on the 10th floor were hit with a single blow. The difficulty of the attack depends greatly on how well equipped you are.

However, each piece of equipment has a cost, so there is no limit to the number of items that can be added. A broadsword costs 3, and a bastard sword costs 7. The cost of all equipment, including armor and accessories, must be managed to fit within the "equipment points" set for each character. Equipment points increase with level, so if you want to focus on battles, you should fight as many enemies as possible.

As you can see from the battle scene in the trailer at the beginning of this article, in the latter half of the dungeon exploration, HP, defense, and magic defense exceed five digits. It is not hard to imagine that the real-time tactics of active time battles will become even more pronounced as the time required to calculate the durability values of your own attack power and your opponent's shield will also increase. It is not hard to imagine that the real-time tactics of active time battles become even more intense.

When I first saw the game on the screen, I was surprised at the brevity of the game, but this is not to say that the game is a bare-bones, unfinished product. Other than the backgammon-like squares, there is basically nothing but the ground, letters, and numbers, but the characters you can choose as party members, young and old, male and female, are delicately drawn, from their appearance to their clothing. The few elements that make up this work, such as the battle system in which a single move determines victory or defeat, and the presentation using numbers and coordinates, are rather thoroughly crafted. Those who genuinely enjoy games, those who seek ease in games, and those who like a stoic style will be satisfied with the brevity of this work.

• [Film info.
• Dungeon Encounters
• Genre: RPG
• Compatibility: PlayStation4/Nintendo Switch /Steam
• Downloadable version only
• Number of players: 1
• Price: 3,520 yen (tax included)
• Release date: October 14, 2021 (Thursday)
• Steam version: October 15 (Fri.)
• CERO: A (for all ages)

(C) 2021 SQUARE ENIX CO.
CHARACTER DESIGN: Ryoma Ito