TANGLEDEEP Review for Nintendo Switch

Tangledeep by Impact Gameworks is a 16-bit dungeon crawler for Steam and Nintendo Switch. This RPG takes place in a beautiful underground world where everyone has forgotten what the surface is like. You must travel through a maze of dungeons, called the Tangledeep, to reach the top and find out what everyone has forgotten. Unfortunately, the Tangledeep is filled with monsters and is ever changing.

Tangledeep is a dungeon crawler with turn-based combat that reminds me of a combination of Legend of Zelda and Pokemon. A more recent comparison would be to Undertale; however, Tangledeep is a lot more colorful and has more of a classic sword and sorcery fantasy feel. I have a huge soft spot for fantasy RPG’s because I am a huge fan of Dungeons and Dragons so this game was a lot of fun for me.

One thing that I found interesting is that you play as a heroine. While it is not uncommon to have female characters in fantasy RPG’s, there are usually more male characters to choose from. This RPG only has one main character but you are able to choose her job (or in D&D we call this your character’s class) and how you upgrade her skill tree. Each job has a difficulty, which is really handy to see when choosing what kind of game to play.

With that being said, you can choose from three different game modes: Heroic, Adventure, and Hardcore. The game is meant to be played in Heroic mode but all unbanked items will be lost when you reach 0 HP. In Adventure mode, all of your items are saved but you do lose half of your money, JP (job points), and XP progress. When dying in Hardcore mode you lose all previous progress, meaning your game is completely erased. If you rage quit easily, I suggest starting out doing the adventure mode until you get the hang of the game. It is really easy to experience the permadeaths. While this feature may be infuriating to some, I feel like the fact that the dungeons are never the same gives it that draw that a lot of rage games don’t have. It isn’t repetitive but you have to work to get to the end.

Beyond the modes and character build, Tangledeep’s gameplay is very classic SNES-like, which is fun to see on the newest Nintendo system. This game was originally made for PC, which is a little obvious in the controls and menus. I didn’t find this to be a big problem, but I am very familiar with playing RPG’s on a PC so I found my way around pretty easily. There were a few times I got lost and I felt this was because the tutorial is presented in pop-up texts and dialogue. I find it easiest to remember what the tutorial wants me to when it forces you to open up the menus and see where everything is. I know some people find this irritating and unnecessary, but I find it useful. Some of the controls are a little tricky on the Switch and I feel like they would be a lot easier on a PC. This is because of the limited buttons, whereas on a keyboard you can have a wider range of controls and clickable menus. However, once you get into the flow of it, it doesn’t hinder the experience.

There are some cool unique features in this game like the monster corral and the magic tree garden. You are able to knock out monsters with a specific mallet and then raise them to be your pet. You can also collect seeds and plant them to grow magical trees. You are also able to teleport back to town whenever you need to while in the Tangledeep. This allows you to back your items when playing in Heroic mode, shop for items, or cook raw foods together to make them into dishes, which have stronger properties.

The art and music in this game are gorgeous. I love when 8 bit and 16 bit games are able to make such beautiful worlds and characters. According to the game info on Nintendo’s website, the music was “composed by award-winning composer Andrew Aversa – joined by Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana), Grant Kirkhope (GoldenEye 007, Civilization: Beyond Earth), and Norihiko Hibino (Metal Gear Solid 3, Bayonetta.)” You don’t need me to tell you the soundtrack is good, but I am going to anyway. I love this soundtrack. It’s nostalgic, beautiful, and it just fits the game perfectly. The art throws me into the fantasy setting and I stay there because of the music.

Overall, I really like this game. Tangledeep is a fantasy RPG dungeon crawler that is the perfect amount of new and familiar with beautiful art and music. While the controls and menus may be a little awkward for a system like the Switch, it has a draw that just makes you want to keep coming back for more.

8/10

Take a Look at the Tangledeep Trailer:

Tangledeep is available for Nintendo Switch eShop and PC, Mac, and Linux via Steam and GOG.