Do you feel like dungeon crawling as a Stalker who also happens to serve as a piece of eye candy? If that sounds interesting to you then look no further because you’re in the right place. ‘Dungeon Stalkers’ is a PvEvP, extraction RPG where players take on the role of powerful and alluring Stalkers. Published and developed by ONEUNIVERSE Co., Ltd. and made with Unreal Engine, the game is currently available on PC/Steam.

Fight your way through treasure-laden dungeons against the guardians of a powerful and evil witch. You’ll be tasked with venturing through cursed dungeons as one of several playable characters referred to as ‘Stalkers’, each of which has their own background stories and a unique set of combat abilities. The main aim of the game is to enter dungeons, survive, loot and extract yourself to safety through open portals within a 25-minute timeframe.

Dungeon Stalkers offers the chance to play solo, co-op or against other players online. The game currently has 9 playable stalkers with 3 needing to be unlocked via Season Pass premium purchase or purchased with one of the game’s exclusive currencies, Wishstones. While Season Passes are expected, I don’t understand, however, why you would put playable characters behind it, when you already have basic unlockables like outfits included.

Prepare to face bomb-dropping goblins, sword-wielding skeletons and one-eyed poisonous monsters. Playable in PvE or PvP, you won’t be short on supply when it comes to an array of cursed enemies to fight, often spawning from the grounds as you progress through the maze-like dungeons. Stronger ‘elite’ monsters can also be fought and offer better gear than weaker enemies. Much of the gear and loot successfully extracted during missions can be sold for gold coins from various traders. Beware: If you fail to extract, you can lose all of your loot and gear you gathered during your adventure. 

The combat mechanics offered are very straightforward and feel quite stiff during both physical and magic-based attacks. Visible onscreen commands give ease of access to in-game controls, making it very easy to remember how to navigate the game’s controls during battle. Your Stalker outfit also deteriorates as armour starts to degrade, in some cases leaving very little to the imagination.

Online PvP matches themself can be quite brutal as a solo player, and the game crashes regularly when trying to load into quick matches. I found the online Quick Match option in particular to be highly unsatisfying. A few times that I did manage to enter an online Quick Match, they were over very quickly due to other players either being on teams together or somehow attacking me through the walls.

During exploration, you’ll encounter a rare currency known as ‘Adventure Tokens’. Make sure to utilise these precious tokens by upgrading Stalker abilities found on the Rune Page. They can also be used to purchase locked Stalker characters. In-game, you will find both a store and a shop; the Store is where you purchase fan-favourite Stalker cosmetics, wishstones, view Prime account details and purchase XP and coin boosters.

The Shop can be found via the Hideout, which offers NPC traders who sell and buy items to aid your dungeon crawls. Make sure to set up your loadout via the Hideout from the main menu before entering a dungeon. Craft weapons from blueprints in the Workshop and construct and upgrade hubs found in-game from the Construction area. You can upgrade these hubs by crafting building materials using natural resources found during dungeon adventures.

Dungeon Stalkers combines anime and fantasy visuals while offering somewhat synthetic and dated in-game graphics. The dungeons themself are appropriately (very) dark and lit only by fire or magic, but they feel uninspired with a lack of creativity after multiple dungeon adventures.

The sound effects utilised while playing feel relevant to game combat and exploration, with a looping backing track that feels calming. Although the sound itself was just fine, the game is severely lacking in atmosphere and dialogue. The lack of dialogue and the repetitive soundscape make the game feel like it has very little personality. 

A huge downside to playing Dungeon Stalkers is the seemingly necessary purchasable Prime account upgrade, which offers players willing to buy it a distinct advantage against those playing for free. Those with a Prime account have priority matchmaking with other Prime account users. Not only are players expected to purchase a Prime account upgrade, but there’s also the expectation of purchasing the Season Pass premium track or wishstones.

The wishstones themself are sectioned awkwardly so as to force the player to spend more money for desired cosmetics and upgrades, and you can’t access locked Stalkers without using wishstones, adventure tokens or purchasing the premium version of the Season Pass. 

I didn’t really enjoy my time playing Dungeon Stalkers, but I think other people would enjoy it purely for the fan service. The overall game itself is decently made, albeit painfully generic. It can feel satisfying searching for loot and battling magical entities on your way to an extraction portal while looking like a total baddie.

However, I did find myself getting bored with the dungeon build repetition and lack of storytelling in-game. It felt like more hours were spent on designing lewd characters and cash-grabbing ideas instead of developing varying and intricate dungeon designs, dynamic combat or a rich story with game-accurate lore. 

Written by: Nattia Jones