Dungeons of Blood and Dream gives you access to unsettling, powerful spells and potions that can help you as easily as they can kill you.
You have found yourself imprisoned for daring to become powerful in this world, but it’s not some normal prison you can break out of. You’re trapped in your own mind, and you’ll need to figure out the name of your captor to have any hope of escaping. That name lies somewhere in the twisting halls of your nightmares which are filled with twisted creatures of broken flesh, bloody halls lined with torn visages, and all kinds of other dizzying, creepy sights in this roguelike dungeon crawler. All of which give the game a delirious horror feel that overwhelms with gloom as much as it delights with its monstrous creativity.
As a wizard, you can cast magical spells. You just might not recall how to use them right now. To use your magic, you need to use four sigils. Depending on the order you use them in, you’ll cast different magical effects. You can find some of these spells in blood mirrors throughout the game so you’re not totally left alone to figure them out. That said, casting a sigil costs some of your health, and this game is relentless with its monsters. You can easily die from messing with this system, and you can just as easily discover that some of the spells hinder you or are downright useless.
Potions are another source of great power or ruin in Dungeons of Blood and Dream. They don’t tell you what they do, instead saying what they smell like (and it’s not just a single smell). You’ll need to figure out what a particular smell combination means (usually by drinking it) to see if it’ll make you stronger or make you even more withered and weak. So, while it offers high challenge in its eerie halls, it always encourages you to take risks with your life for greater power. It wants you to steadily take notes and figure out its quirks so you can dig deeper into your own mind. It’s exhilarating to try to understand its mysteries as you delve deeper and deeper, creating a compelling loop where I am often my own undoing.
Dungeons of Blood and Dream is available now on Steam.
About The Author
