ProtoDungeon: Episode I

Really nice throwback to GBC Zelda games. Due to its very short length (I completed it in 20 minutes), there is only a single mechanic - swap, but it's very well implemented and makes for some nice puzzles. There is a mysterious atmosphere to the whole thing and graphically it's very faithful to GBC games. Can't wait for the third episode to release, as well as the full game that this is a prequel to!

Good, old-fashioned, classic GBC style gameplay with a Legend of Zelda style dungeon, but more lore and intrigue. What will happen to our protagonist? Will she wake from her dream? Also runs great on steam deck! Just like the classic handheld games!

Fun Game

A micro-puzzler in the mould of Link's Awakening, the first ProtoDungeon is a short fun sojourn.

As anyone should be who is into games like Zelda (Game Boy, style-wise), I've been looking forward to "The Waking Cloak" ever since I saw bits of it on Twitter. So playing the prequel (mini)games was a no brainer. This first episode, while short, is still just the right amount of challenge to still let you take in the atmosphere and enjoy the style. You only get one useable item, a spell, and the rest is keys. The game has a proper build up gameplay-wise despite its shortness, you're led to explore your surroundings and make yourself familiar with things as you go There are a few bugs still present but the game is short enough that even in the rare event that you lock up entirely (I did once because I was experimenting), a complete restart does not hurt, I definitely look forward to playing Episode II (and when they are out, Episode III and The Waking Cloak!)!

[h2]Short and sweet, but quite buggy[/h2] [b]Difficulty:[/b] ★★☆☆☆ It is a bite-sized, nonlinear puzzle dungeon crawler with a cool old school aesthetic. Good level design, sadly it is a bit short, can be completed in 30-60 minutes. It is buggy though. I managed to phase into and get stuck in walls and objects, but a reload fixed these issues. The more serious bug was that near the end I got softlocked and the reload was broken as well, had to resort to restarting the game... which does not look good 9 months after the release. Regardless, it was worth it. Cool little game.