This game is what French speaking millenials have been waiting for since their teenagehood. The audio fiction 'Donjon de Naheulbeuk' is a huge reference for all the nerds of our generation, so I might not be the most objective. But for me, this adaptation is a huge success. Game-design (4.5/5): the fights can be as gritty as old-school TTRPGs if you like it (or lower the difficulty if you prefer something less punitive). The numerous organic combo options, interaction with the environment and character options let you approach them as you feel, and offer some replayability. It might not give the same feeling of freedom as a DOS, but they do not appear as puzzle-like as some other modern TRPGs (Langrisser Mobile, I look at you). Level design (4,5/5): The battle maps are easily understandable but still giving you surprises so you need to adapt you plan. The destructible terrain gives many tactical options. The exploration maps are giving some metroidvania feeling without having to run everywhere all the time. The atmosphere is amazing. UI (4/5): I would have enjoy a larger UI, a few more keyboard short cuts (maybe I didn't find them) and a bit more control on the camera. But all the character options, stats, gear, ennemies, are very well explained: mechanics are synthetic, flavor text is amazing. The menus are very easy to access and everything is where you need it to be. (Side note: the game could be a bit smoother with better optimization, but for a TRPG it's no big deal) Narrative design (5/5): as a fan of the original audio serie, it's hard for me to be objective. But I feel that the hints and hooks are well made. The humor is... a very subjective topic, but as a RPG and TTRPG player, I love it. Actually, the game is so well written and dubbed in French that I am really curious to see how they localised it in English! Conclusion: a big shout-out to Pen of Chaos for the realisation of this project!
