Dungeonoid 2 Awakening | PS5

Following in the footsteps of the brick breaking arcade legend Arkanoid, 'Dungeonoid 2 Awakening' continues with the legacy mechanics while building upon them in this RPG inspired indie sequel. In it four heroes including an individually named and background inclusive paladin, priest, sorcerer, and valkyrie fight weapon and spell against an evil priest who is attempting to resurrect the ultimate evil. An evil demon from the depths of hell who has been lying dormant for over 300 years. 

Utilizing the traditional brick breaking paddle, powerups, key items, and two attack types you will not only fight against the minions of darkness, but loot the lands, and upgrade your character of choice as the screen auto-scrolls upwards through 6 differently themed lands filled with obstacles. Each land, in turn, offering their own shops, treasures, and gems needed for enhancing the heroes' abilities. 

While storytelling is not Dungeonoid 2's shining achievement you will find details on everything you need to know in a visual manual made available at the main menu screen. This manual breaks down the plot points, gameplay features, and the mechanics you'll be putting to use in-game. Outside of the manual is a hands-on tutorial which rehashes controls, and mechanics before sending you off to the Adventure mode which is, but one of a few unlockable modes offered. Leaving a separate achievements menu as the feat based bragging rights for efforts rendered.

Gameplay, itself, follows the basic brick breaking rules while auto-scrolling you through a fantasy world filled with bricks, obstacles, enemies, and objects that can be interacted or destroyed with by bouncing the ball off of them. Using the paddle you can speed up the ball, and change the ball's launch direction. You can even reset the ball to the paddle if it fails to return within a given time limit. 

Aside from brick breaking, and object interaction the ball also acts as a means of attack based on a cooldown slash meter that once filled can be used to clear the path more quickly by applying a weapon based attack. Either that or dealing the death blow to minions or boss creatures more easily. You'll also be able to collect various power-ups with your paddle which can hinder or help with your efforts depending upon their type. Creating, in kind, paddle effects that enhance width or negatively reverse controls, among other things. 

The paddle will be used to alternatively collect coins, gems/emeralds, and other key power-up items like spells/mana. Items that are crucial for progress sake. Speaking of spells these screen clearing attacks that differ by character choice will become available when you've collected enough of the mana power-ups. 

Other than brick breaking, and minion slaying you'll survive the loss of heart health by visiting the shop, or collecting heart power-ups. The former being a feat which is done by sending the ball into the shop tent. A place wherein potions of varying types can be bought using the coins you've collected. A currency that doubles as a means to buy back your soul for a continue should you lose all lives.

The Presentation ...

Visually Dungeonoid 2 blends traditional brick breaking design with a fantasy art style constructed of pixels. It is complimentary with UI displays onscreen that help assist you in your efforts to progress without ever obscuring the view of the ball. While bricks will break from slash attacks, spells, or the ball itself so too will the less traditional environmental objects that the ball collides with outside of those bricked barriers. You'll even open treasure chests using the ball, and an acquired key that drops like the other power-ups. 

Seeing as it is a pixel built indie with a fantasy theme the soundtrack does good to stay true to the retro-like design while accenting the gameplay with fantasy themed tunes. There are also the usually brick breaking sounds as well as other sound effects tied to the core mechanics.

The Verdict ...

Dungeonoid 2 Awakening can be played without having played the first entry. It has it's own standalone story, and unique characters to enjoy. Something that is very minimalized, but effective as a motivational means to explain away what it is you are doing. Gameplay is definitely prioritized over storytelling, but character bios do add a sense of personality to what would otherwise be generic hero and heroine classes. Through the game's manual, and hands-on tutorial everything is explained clearly enough, and leaves the completion of the game up to those willing to take on the challenge, and if you know about brick breaking games they are indeed challenging. 

If, by chance, you fancy something both retro and indie, 'Dungeonoid 2 Awakening' is a worthwhile addition to an EastAsiaSoft fanboy's (or fangirl's) gaming library. It is appropriately budget priced, and will not set you back too much compared to the more mainstream AAA releases.