Dungeons of Dreadrock 2 (Switch) Review

Dungeons of Dreadrock 2 is the sequel to the breakout success — unsurprisingly named Dungeons of Dreadrock — achieved by German indie developer Christoph Minnameier. Don’t be fooled by its small team, this top-down pixel puzzle game packs a huge punch.

Dreadrock 2 follows the journey of a young mage on her quest to collect the king’s treasure for her patron and the many surprising creatures and characters she meets along the way. Though this game is a sequel it’s not necessary to have played the first one, in fact the story is slowly revealed to you as you play. And damn, let me tell you, the story had me struggling through some difficult puzzles, luring me further to get more clues and information, feeling like its own little puzzle. Don’t worry if story-based games aren’t your vibe, though the story is very interesting and drew me in, it’s very possible to ignore it and just enjoy the puzzles!

First and foremost, Dreadrock 2 is a puzzle game, and the puzzles are absolutely the strongest part of the experience. There is such an incredible variety of different challenges and none of them feel repetitive, which is quite a feat considering just how many there are. Each puzzle feels like it uses a little knowledge you picked up from the previous ones without feeling like there’s a million mechanics and tricks to remember. There are a lot of very interesting mechanics that I either haven’t seen – or seen utilised in this way – in many games of this style, such as a beautiful split screen control of two characters. There are a lot of refreshing and new ideas in Dreadrock 2 that I’m excited to see expanded on and developed with future games.

Something I found particularly interesting was how the game reveals those mechanics to you, it follows the “show, don’t tell” rule and for the most part it’s very successful. I did get a little tripped up when it came to the way some of the creatures behave, as the context clues sometimes missed me, but that’s part of the puzzle. There’s never any fear of getting stuck though, there’s an incredible hint system – which very kindly reminds you there’s no shame in hints! – that gives you advice in stages so you have control over how much assistance you receive. There’s also a handy dandy reset button, which I used a lot, especially as the puzzles got harder.

The one downside I found were the controls; generally, they’re fine, however some of the puzzles need precise and quick movements, something I found difficult. This feels mostly intentional, as part of the speed and movement restrictions the game has in order to facilitate the puzzles — I have no problems with that at all, and it may not be an issue for everyone, but it definitely was for me. I highly recommend using the d-pad for this game as it helps some of the movement issues I encountered, but I struggled through with the joystick because it was more comfortable for me. Hopefully we’ll see some small tweaks to make the movement a little smoother and easier in the future.

If you’re anything like me, you’re going to be spending a lot of time looking at and figuring out these puzzles and we’re in luck because this game is very pretty both in handheld mode and on the big screen! Pixel styles can sometimes feel very busy and over-detailed, that’s not a problem for Dreadrock 2. Each character is wonderfully designed, they all feel unique and distinct, not just visually, but the way they’re written as well. Though the environments are very similar – it is a dungeon after all – there’s enough visual difference and variety of creatures that it somehow feels fresh and fun to enter each level. Even the short loading screens feature a cute little animation that takes your character from one level to the next — everything feels cohesive and thoughtfully designed. 

Overall I highly recommend Dungeons of Dreadrock 2 for anyone who likes pixel games, mystery or puzzles! You’re in for a challenging yet fun time that you can pick up and put down without any worry.

Rating: 4.5/5