Deep Dish Dungeon Preview

I have the misfortune of being a bit of a homebody, while also having the need to go out on an adventure every so often. While not an issue most of the time, when I feel the call of discovery, it can be a difficult want to satisfy, considering both my introversion and the current trend of everything being expensive. As such, I oft turn to the world of videogames when this meandering mood takes me, which brings me to the dungeon delving delight that is Deep Dish Dungeon.

The game starts off with minimal plot: we are an adventurer of some fashion and are led into the titular ruins by an old man who hints at us possibly being the ones to “find what we’re looking for”. From there, we’re set loose to explore and interact with the cave we find ourselves in.

Deep Dish Dungeon, much like many other dungeon-crawling titles, is played in first-person, and the player has a small inventory to store any items or resources they come across. The ruins themselves aren’t exactly welcoming either, so they must be explored with caution and steel at the ready. Where the game differs from the usual blueprint, however, is how it approaches progression.

Typically, one would assume an example of the genre to be mostly about fighting monsters and delving deeper into the dungeon du jour. While this is true in Deep Dish Dungeon, there seems to be a bit more emphasis on slowing things down.

In addition to exploration and rudimentary combat, the game includes survival mechanics, where the player must eat and drink regularly or risk reduced health and stamina. This, in combination with the very limited inventory space, incentivises the player to favour shorter expeditions ranging out from a base camp instead of linear progression. The game further encourages this by having a crafting system reliant on multiple resources and specialised workstations in addition to an open design of the ruins, which offers multiple paths to explore.

Hands-down, the best part of the game, however, is the atmosphere. The sound design, general dilapidated look of the dungeon, and the lighting engine all work together to form a great, if slightly oppressive, feeling of being alone. The flickering torches that dot the walls do little to light the pitch-black darkness all around, and the low ambience almost gives it a horror vibe, though never crossing over into being scary.

Now, it should be said that, while it can give off a very lonely vibe, explorers needn’t delve on their own! While enjoyable solo, Deep Dish Dungeon also features co-op, allowing multiple players to venture into the ruins together. The forgotten area even has a tannoy system built in, so you can let your friends know their wild peppers are burning.

Another interesting feature the game had was how the torches deteriorate. When held in hand, the player is shown a percentile indicating how much of the light source is left until it dies out. However, if the item is placed on a holder on the wall or thrown to the ground, it retains its current level of use. This means that the player can easily switch out a fresh torch from a wall with their sputtering flame, but said flickering fire will be seconds from being snuffed if they decide to grab it again. It’s a fun addition to the existing resource management system, and I appreciate it.

Some readers may be curious about the name of the game, as it seems to emphasise a culinary inclination of some sort, and this is surprisingly true! Even though the player is stuck in a forgotten crypt no one has visited in years, it's no excuse to eat poorly, after all.

A large part of the crafting system involves cooking different kinds of meals to boost stats and give the player an increase in both health and stamina. Sure, you’ll start off with eating raw apples and grilling mushrooms on a rotisserie, but you’ll soon be cooking various stews and using algae to make veggie rolls. It’s honestly pretty charming, though I regretfully wasn’t able to unleash my inner Gordon Ramsey in the preview build.

Based on my short stint with Deep Dish Dungeon, I emerge both impressed and eagerly anticipating more. The exploration was great and rewarding, and I thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with the environment and organic puzzles the game had to offer. If the developers can keep it up for the rest of the game, I think this is one to keep an eye on.

Deep Dish Dungeon is being developed by Behold Studios and published by Raw Fury. The release date is unknown at the time of writing.