Dragon's Lunch

There are some good ideas here, and it seems like some of the mechanics are quite sophisticated, but I just can't get over the incredibly confusing control scheme, which both uses way more keys than it needs to and needs an excessive amount of key presses to get anything done. That's forgivable in a standard roguelike with a turn-based, grid-based world, but here, it makes simple actions like trying to use items in battle a complete nightmare. Inventory key --> WASD to select item --> use key --> inventory key again. That's not acceptable when doing all that requires standing still while the game continues in real time. The basic combat mechanics are also very poorly designed: attacks happen when you /release/ the appropriate key, which makes it feel clunky and unresponsive. The range of the basic attack is also really, really short, with the end result being that combat is no fun at all. It also seemed to me like it might have some rather nasty balance issues, but I didn't get far enough for that to become much of a problem.

+1 🎯

https://youtu.be/D_kE-JII9Cw A rogue like experience that experiments with free form movement but struggles turn that decision into something meaningful. Core mechanics are present but offered at the barest of levels.

Dragon's Lunch is a really unusual roguelike because it takes the traditional dungeon crawling formula and makes the whole thing happen in real time. I start off playing golf, somehow end up falling down an absurdly deep rabbit hole and wake up in a suit of armour inside a dungeon. My goal is simple enough. I need to find my lost golf ball while making my way through twelve dangerous levels and eventually dealing with the dragon waiting at the bottom. The whole golf setup is ridiculous, but I actually like how much personality it gives what could otherwise be a fairly standard dungeon game. The real time system is the thing that makes it stand out for me. Traditional roguelikes usually give me plenty of time to think about every move, but here the monsters keep moving while I am looking around, checking my map or deciding what to do. There is no normal pause, so I have to stay aware of what is happening around me. I can still use the familiar roguelike ideas of exploring, finding potions, reading scrolls, using weapons and armour, firing wands and collecting rings, but I have to make those decisions much more quickly. I like the extra pressure because even checking something can b…