Dungeon Clawler
Critic Reviews for Dungeon Clawler
An interesting mix of claw machine mechanics with turn-based combat and roguelike elements
Dungeon Clawler is such a clever game that I have to appreciate that it exists. Taking the concept of a claw machine and making it into a deck builder is the kind of unique idea that only ever springs from an indie game. The presence of a physics-driven claw machine turns the standard staples of a deck builder upside down, and that’s a lot of fun to toy with. The wide variety of characters is impressive, especially how each of them alters the game’s core rules in some way or another. Even without factoring in the special claws. Being able to do things like change an item’s material, which affects how it interacts with the machine and other items is brilliant. I just wish there was more room to experiment with it because many of my experimental ideas were simply not viable to realistically pull off and win the run. Be it because of how many specific items it would take, or the final boss simply saying no and slapping it down. The poor balance doesn’t make Dungeon Clawler a bad game by any means. It’s still a fun and unique deck-building game. But with so many builds being nonviable, and so many options clearly taking the throne as “meta” choices, its replay value burns out much faster than it should.
