While I don’t typically like to be critical of how and why some indie games are made, I will admit that there are times when I play games that are fundamentally fine, but utterly lack any spark to give them some excitement. Much like its predecessor, One More Dungeon 2 does work and is absolutely playable as a first-person sort of dungeon crawling action game. Unfortunately, another thing it has in common is that in many ways it simply feels like it is going through the motions, which while it does make for a playable experience, also makes it very bland and forgettable.

Starting with what's positive, I’m typically a fan of anything roguelike, and really believe in the ability of that element acting as a catalyst for some unpredictability and fun. Some runs are going to possibly be a bit more rough, but there should also be those where it feels like fate is acting in your favor. Another plus is that there simply aren’t many options on the system that feel quite like this, so if you’ve been looking for a first-person dungeon crawler designed for you to just load it up and get rolling, this is at least a match.

But then getting to some of the troubles, it’s hard to ignore some issues. One casualty of roguelikes and their procedural design is that you can often end up with levels that don’t feel exciting or meaningful so much as just there. Once you’ve run into more than a few dead ends and areas that simply don’t make much sense you may find yourself tiring of that design decision, or at least in its implementation, here. Compounding that issue is that some types of traps can be hard to see very well until you’ve tried to walk into them and the haphazard stages can make these spots incredibly annoying and a cheap way to lose health.

At the end of the day, I suppose you could just decide to accept that this is ultimately a roguelike experience, and whatever warts you may encounter with it are a function of its unpredictable design. I’m more inclined to view that as too much of an excuse though, and even within procedurally-generated experiences there can still be guard rails and rules in place to ensure a more enjoyable experience. Even as much of a randomness and unpredictability fan as I am, in this implementation it feels like a shortcut to skip over thoughtful design, and while some people may still enjoy the game, I can’t see recommending it.