Dungeon Munchies | Switch Review

I’ve always appreciated when developers take chances in a genre with which I’m very familiar. Despite the comfort of familiarity, it’s refreshing seeing something different. maJAJa (yes, that’s how it’s spelled) brought a fresh spin with Dungeon Munchies regarding both its gameplay and setting. The world is super weird in the most charming way possible, and the gameplay loop offers a level of variety I don’t think I was prepared for. For the most part, you can play this 2D platformer any way you want to. Unfortunately, this led to some over-complications that wound up getting in the way more than they were rewarding.

Chew on This

As wacky as it comes off, the setting and story present was probably my favorite aspect of Dungeon Munchies. You wake up as a zombie in a post-apocalyptic world after the sun decides to just…leave. Most living things have long since died off, but what remains are sentient foods and vicious monsters. I’m not making this up.

Your character is summoned by a former chef, now spirit, by the name of Simmer. She summons the undead to do as she wishes, and you are her next victim. What transpires as you work your way through this six-hour adventure can only be described as deliciously bizarre. At one point I was witnessing a political campaign that leads to a revolt. And all of these characters are overgrown, walking, talking…food. On paper it makes no sense. Even as I write this, I’m shaking my head at its absurdity.

The writing, however, is shockingly crisp and witty. Although I never felt fully invested in the characters, I was highly entertained by the in-between moments. It’s almost as if the writers said, “I’ve got a crazy idea”, and just went with it. And I’m here for it.

Order Up!

On the surface, Dungeon Munchies looks like a gear-gated game, but it’s much more linear than it appears. There is an element of backtracking available, however, as you can go back to any level via fast travel. This is mostly to farm for more ingredients, but you can also find hidden upgrades you may have missed. There’s nary a traditional map, however, so it’s difficult to really know what you’ve missed. It’s almost easier to just start from the beginning, work through each level stronger than you were before, and scour every nook and cranny. This isn’t nearly as fun as exploring games like Metroid and winds up feeling more like a grind, even though it’s optional.

The meat and potatoes (see what I did there?) of the gameplay is the many combinations of abilities available to you. Simmer provides you with a mysterious cookbook that acts as your skill tree for the remainder of the game. Upgrading your abilities doesn’t involve XP or leveling up, however. Instead, you harvest the remains of the enemies you slay and cook them into a multitude of meals. Making the correct recipe yields new weapons and abilities. Some may give you permanent upgrades like a double jump or the ability to climb walls, while others offer significant buffs and special attacks. You’re only allotted a certain number of slots at one time, however, so you’ll constantly swap upgrades to feel out your favorite combinations.

Variety Isn’t Always the Spice of Life

My biggest issue with the gameplay is how much the default settings feel very “off”. When I started playing, my character wouldn’t face the direction I was pointing. Instead, he would often run backwards. Since my melee attacks were based on direction, this was very frustrating. It was only after digging into the settings that I was able to make some tweaks to make it play more to my liking. I can’t imagine most people would prefer to play the way the game suggests at the onset, but it’s not like you can’t remedy that in the menus. Still, I think this could have been explained much better.

There’s a lot of fun to be had with the constant changing of gear and power-ups. The upgrades almost come too quickly, however. Just when I’ve gotten comfortable with a certain build, I’m given a fresh set of choices I feel almost obligated to test out. Because of this, I never fell into a groove. To be fair, this feels like the point of Dungeon Munchies. You’re never meant to feel 100% comfortable and are encouraged to experiment on the fly.

The most frustrating aspect of this comes with the boss fights. While gorgeously designed visually, figuring out the best way to tackle the toughest enemies in the games requires a bit of trial-and-error to figure out which strategy best works in that particular situation. This formula works in a game series like Mega Man where you have, at most, eight different weapons to figure out a boss’ weakness. I found there to be simply too many options and combinations to make experimentation a fun experience.

Dungeon Munchies Final Verdict

Dungeon Munchies is a game I appreciated more in concept than execution. Although I found the premise very clever, the six or seven hours it takes to complete this game felt much longer, and I was ready for it to be over well before the finale. The art style and writing are top-notch, provided you’re OK with a silly tale. But that alone can’t save a game if it stops being fun shortly after the halfway mark. I can only mildly recommend this one just to see the sheer number of freedom the game gives you to expand your arsenal. It felt otherwise forgettable after the novelty wore off.

To hear me talk more about Dungeon Munchies, be sure to listen to our January 19th Episode of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 52:59 time stamp.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Dungeon Munchies provided by Stride PR for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation,  iOS, Google Play Store, Mac, and PC via Steam and GOG.