GamesAdventureQuest 8-bit Dungeons & Doomknights is a heavy dose of mid-2000s internet meme nostalgia that released on the NES first, for some reasonWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesAdventureQuest 8-bit Dungeons & Doomknights is a heavy dose of mid-2000s internet meme nostalgia that released on the NES first, for some reasonWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Artix Entertainment)
I playedAdventure Questback when it came out in—2002? God, that can’t be right. Give me a second, I need to lean on something and take some deep breaths.
Okay—in case you missed that particular boat, I need to explain to you how much of a phenomenon Adventure Quest actually was. While it never quite reached RuneScape’s popularity, it occupied the same niche of being a persistent RPG you could play on basically any computer that had an internet connection.
This meant that, yes—you could play Adventure Quest on school PCs, which was basically the only requirement for a game to become a fad back then. It was also charming in a ramshackle, cobbled-together-with-tape-and-glue sort of way. Its developer Artix Entertainment has still been making games for the past 21 years (deep breaths, Harvey), to mixed success: DragonFable, Adventure Quest 3D—and, apparently, a game for the NES.
Dungeons & Doomknightscame out for the NES—the actual Nintendo Entertainment System—a year ago. As of 2024 it’s now on Steam. This might be the first instance where a modern game has taken that particular route to publication, but who am I to judge?
You play as Artix von Krieger, face of Adventure Quest itself, as you journey through a Zelda-like landscape of 8-bit caves and graveyards to slay the Doom Knight. It’s clunky in a charming sort of way, both in terms of its gameplay and its presentation.
Its controls feel stiff, but serviceable—and the gameplay loop is so straightforward I’m having trouble describing it. From what I’ve experienced, there’s two types of gameplay: Zelda-style overworld zones, and 2D platformer areas. In both instances, you move up to skeletons and hit the axe button and try not to die. That’s the whole combat system.
This is, indeed, a Duke Nukem reference.(Image credit: Artix Entertainment)
You unlock some metroidvania-style abilities as you play—for instance, I had an undead-seeking pomeranian I could send through small doors to attack inaccessible skeletons. You need to find keys, kill all the enemies on a screen, or flip switches to progress. Bog-standard retro imitation stuff. For a mercy, dying doesn’t reset your world progress—so the ‘save point’ system is more about determining where you’ll end up when you inevitably bite it.
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The main star of the show is the game’suniquesense of humour, which’ll only land at all if the words Numa Numa and Leekspin make any sense to you. Within the first ten minutes there’s a “All Your Base Are Belong To Us” joke. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, Dungeons & Doomknights isn’t for you.
(Image credit: Artix Entertainment)
Otherwise the game is cute, and that’s about it. Exploration is decently satisfying, and there are some neat puzzles which are fun enough to plink away at. I initially thought I was in for a hardcore challenge, but that’s just because I jumped off a dragon in the wrong direction and accidentally stumbled my way into a secret boss fight with death.
It’s nothing mind-bending. You’re mostly fighting to decipher what’s actually a cave entrance and what’s just part of the scenery. More than once I’d get lost just because the area wasn’t properly signposted, but for the retro style this game’s going for that’s arguably part of the charm.
The only real issue I have is the price point. $19.99 (£16.75) feels like a lot for a game that’s one big running gag, and you’re missing out on the novelty of the NES version’s cartridge. Best I can tell, you’re getting about 7 hours of game for your trouble. Whether this thing’s worth your time will be entirely based on your nostalgia for an era of Moglins, Zards, and begging your parents for a Guardian Upgrade.
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The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April
Lords of the Fallen publisher embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its games
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’
If you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo video
Square Enix launches new anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners from abusive fans
The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements
Path of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better loot
Palestinian developer raises more than $200,000 to make Dreams on a Pillow, a game about the horrors of the 1948 Nakba
Piranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’
Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod scene
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