Delver >> Game Review

Older doesn’t mean bad

These days, often when people are buying a new game (more especially those with a shiny new RTX graphics card) they will stampede to the newest AAA game (new game with a big budget from a big game studio) and buy it because ‘it’s new, has better graphics and is therefore a better game’. If you applied the same principle to buying a car, you could (often, though not always) give a broken down car that hardly runs a fresh coat of paint and new interior and then sell it as the ’latest and greatest’ thing since the last ’latest and greatest’ thing (which was probably a few months ago). If a game is bad, amazing new 2025 (or whatever year it is that you are reading this) graphics with multi-sampled ray tracing (or whatever the latest trend is to sell graphics cards) will not make the game good, just more expensive.

The reason I point this is that Delver is from 2018 and does not have the best 3D graphics in the world, though that does not mean you should immediately dismiss it as rubbish. A little game with a lot of heart, if you like old school roleplaying (RPG) games with swords, spells and potions and also enjoy roguelite/like games then it may be something you will enjoy.

Not exactly sure of the story, though you start out at a campsite where you can stock up on weapons, scrolls and other things, and then ‘delve’ (use a dictionary if you are not sure) into the dungeon to find an orb (the goal of the game according to the Steam page apparently). Not that unique or interesting you might be thinking, and it probably isn’t the most original concept, though the execution is very good. There are not a lot of first person roguelite/like dungeon crawlers to compare it to and Delver has been done very swell. The 3D graphics are simple, not too violent and give it a cartoon, pixel art feel that kids and adults can both enjoy. You can repeatedly hack ’n slash your way through enemies, explore different dungeons for loot, avoid traps and upgrade your armor and weapons, making each play through a bit different from the last. Not taking itself too seriously, the 3D models used for the various enemies are (what appear to be) actually 2D models in a 3D world, enhancing the general retro vibe.

Where Delver shines is in the dungeons and loot, which would appear to be randomly generated, so no two plays are the same. Not an easy thing to do, the 3D dungeons are varied and quite interesting meaning you never know what will be around the next corner. Though this does make it a bit more difficult as each run (and dungeon) is completely different from the last meaning you can throw any hopes of planning out the window. If you ever enjoyed games like Ultima or Eye of the Beholder then much of the loot has a very similar appeal, finding a new +6 Sword of Whatever and then enchanting it with a scroll to make it more powerful is a lot of fun. You can also upgrade your belt (quick slots) and backpack to increase inventory size helping you to ‘delve’ a little deeper.

Delver is, in essence, a lite RPG in 3D that you can replay when you have a few minutes to spare. Not requiring a huge amount of inventory management and strategizing to play makes it more enjoyable for anyone that gets overwhelmed by the more advanced RPGs out there. Quite a lot of fun and I only had one main complaint ith the inventory system which, though not broken, can be difficult to navigate, other than that definitely recommended.

Get it on Steam Delver

THE GOOD…

• Random 3D dungeons over & over again
• A challenge, you won’t finish it 1st time
• Not too serious or complex & easy to get started
• Many hours of gameplay & lots of replayability
• Prety cheap & lots of fun without a lot of thinking

THE NOT SO GOOD…

• Inventory could be improved
• Graphics for enemy characters is not the best
• Not much else really - it is fun

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