Super Dungeon Bros Preview

Dungeon-crawlers have always featured a less-than-serious tone. Even the more imposing end of the spectrum, featuring the likes of Diablo and Dungeon Siege, has kept its tongue firmly in its cheek all these years. Super Dungeon Bros, a new dungeon-brawler from Wired Productions and React Games, takes that nonchalant tone to a whole new level. From the first moment you lay eyes on the game, it’s clear the whole thing is going to be rather silly. In a game that’s based around up to four player co-op however, silly is exactly what you want. Who needs a deep storyline and complicated gameplay when you’ve got your friends launching you off of buildings or balancing on your head?

The premise is pleasantly simple: Super Dungeon Bros is an action game in which you and three other friends barrel through procedurally generated dungeons, taking out bad guys and upgrading your personal ‘bros’ as you go. I’m sure you’ve seen this kind of game before; afterall, the last console generation was loaded with co-op games of this sort. Admittedly, the genre petered out a little towards the end of the generation, but with the PS4 and Xbox One now fully in their stride, there’s no better time for small developers to jump back on the co-op brawler band-wagon.

Set within an amusing rock-and-roll world appropriately titled Röckheim, players take control of Axl, Freddie, Lars and Ozzie. You can pretty much see where to rest of theme goes from there; locations within Röckheim include Cryptheim, Chillheim and, yes, Bogheim. As mentioned, it’s supposed to be a little ludicrous, just like the slitted-glasses wearing protagonists and the array of weapons they can use. Crossbows, hammers, swords and wands are obviously pretty standard fare, but the game allows users to craft and upgrade their weapons as the game progresses. The options I saw at this year’s gamescom seemed fairly elaborate, so that should be a fun element of the game that allows for a fair bit of replayability.

Of course, the randomised dungeons are the real clincher in the replayability department. Plus, those who prefer to go it alone will also be treated to a single player campaign - how exactly this will play out has yet to be seen, but here’s hoping it incorporates the amusing theme properly. The four player characters do seem to be a little on the annoying side, but I'm sure they could provide more than a few laughs along the course of a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously... or seriously at all. Considering the whole game is based around co-op, I’m assuming players can jump into the campaign, although this should become clearer as we near release.

So far, so similar to every other title in the genre - excluding the theme, although that’s sure to be a make or break factor for most people. Super Dungeon Bros is looking to bring a little innovation of its own with some cool tag-team moves that allow friends, whether they’re playing online or on the same couch, to work in tandem to take enemies down. The most basic example of this is the Bro Throw, which simply sees one player launch another towards the bad guys - or, you know, off the map. Other moves include the Bro Nado (really) in which players stack on top of one another and swing for the fences. It’s a good way to get players interacting, rather than just blasting through oblivious of one another. The section I played was quite tricky too, and I can only assume that these moves are important if a team wants to succeed later in the game.

Another unusual element is the game engine. Super Dungeon Bros will be one of the first games to release using Unity 5, an engine ideal for the game’s random environments. It’s also perfect for cross-platform play, as such the game will be available on both current-gen console as well as PC and ac. Plus, in a bid that could really bring some extra attention to Super Dungeon Bros, crossplay will be possible between Xbox One and Windows 10 and, separately, PS4, PC and Mac. That leaves a lot of options for friends who own different platforms, and is sure to help the game get off the ground. With all of this, it’s the ideal title for the likes of PS+ or Games for Gold, something that could broaden the game’s horizons even further.

Super Dungeon Bros is due out sometime before the end of the year. It’s shaping up to be a great way to lose a fair few hours alongside your friends, and while there are certainly plenty of co-op experiences already on current-gen consoles, this is one that, with its cartoony art style and simple gameplay, could find a much broader market than those that have come before. We’ll be keeping an eye out.