Dungeon Clawler Is My Next Roguelike Obsession on Steam Deck

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A key was provided by Stray Fawn Studio for review. Thank you!

Ever since their rise, I have played tons of different roguelikes, and there are some really unique takes on the genre out there. There are the more popular ones, like Balatro (poker roguelike), while we have some less popular but amazing ones like Peglin (Pachinko roguelike) and Backpack Hero (inventory management roguelike). Dungeon Clawler from Stray Fawn Studio, developer behind The Wandering Village, takes the classic and addicting arcade claw machine and turn it into a roguelike, which works extremely well. It gave me the same shock that Balatro gave me when I realized just how well Poker could feel as a roguelike.

The concept is simple. You go through a dungeon to try and kill whatever enemies stand before you. To dictate whether you attack or increase your defense, you will use a claw machine to pick up items, which will activate if you successfully pick them up. As you beat enemies, you will be able to choose new items to add to your machine, giving you different attacks, special types of blocking power, or even increasing your stats. There are also events you can encounter to get other items that are based on other gambling-esque machines, like Pachinko, or other claw machines that give different rewards like more health or extra gold.

You will also be able to upgrade your items with the gold you have. You can find a smithy in-game, which gives you the chance to increase the power and effectiveness of the items you have using coins. It can end up being a bit costly, but it can really help in future fights and in boss battles.

There are over 35 different items that come with Dungeon Clawler's early access release, all with different effects. There’s the standard sword and shield for attacking and defending, a spiked shield that will give defense while harming the enemy who attacked you, a poison bomb that will stack poison on every enemy you’re facing, and even a hairdryer that will attack the last enemy in the row you’re facing. You can also pick up items that have special effects that can change your items, like being able to shrink 4 objects in your machine every turn so you can more easily grab them or giving you 1 extra max health for every 10 coins you’re carrying.

You can also choose different characters that offer different benefits that will influence your run. There are 11 characters to play as, and each one will change your starting items and a perk. It's a nice way to change up the run, and gives you another goal as some of these characters you have to unlock.

Even though there are more items on the way that will be added throughout early access, I never felt tired of the selection so far. The claw mechanic kept me engaged even with limited items and upgrades, and I really like how everything can interact with each other. On top of that, I’ve always been a sucker for physics, so seeing the way the items move when the claw dips down is great. There’s also a nice variety of different types of claw machines for some of the events you can participate in, which is a nice treat to diversify from the usual claw game we play in battles.

Like a lot of other roguelikes, you will go across a map where you choose which node to go to. However, it is structured like a dungeon where you can sometimes optionally choose different rooms or skip them entirely. It feels a bit like The Legend of Zelda in a way, but it is simpler. The artwork is much more cartoony, but it works really well, and I enjoyed the visuals a lot.

Dungeon Clawler - Steam Deck Performance

As for how it plays on the Steam Deck…well it’s perfect so far. 90 FPS, under 8W battery drain, and great controller support. It makes sense with the aesthetic that Stray Fawn Studios chose, but it’s still great to see how well it is optimized.

Dungeon Clawler has a ton of potential to be one of the best roguelike games out there. The team took a random concept and was able turn turn it into an addicting gameplay loop that, even with it being in early access, still feels like a fulfilling experience. If they can keep the momentum up, I can see this being an essential game for the Steam Deck library, and I can’t wait to see what they will add next!

Dungeon Clawler is available to get on Steam for $8.99 on a 10% off sale until December 5th.

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