Dungeony is an odd interpretation of a roguelike. Taking control of a hero you plunge down through randomly generated levels to battle untold terrors in your quest to level up. Where it differs from others examples of the genre, however, is that none of your adversaries attack or even move.

As the initiator of every encounter, Dungeony takes on a puzzle like quality. With limited health you have to carefully select your fights and route through the world. Unfortunately, without monsters stats surfaced you often find yourself entering into impossible battles with little way of knowing what you are about to face.

Each single-screen stage is divided into tiles, with single taps of the screen moving your hero between them. Once in place he can start swinging at any ghosts, skeletons, or wisps that are in range - with the proviso that he won’t stop until the beast is dead, even if it seems he’s bitten of more than he can chew.

Dungeony biggest problem comes from its difficulty. Your hero sets this, with characters like the barbarian providing less of a challenge than the cyclops. Easy characters are just that, with games going on for what feels like hours. While harder difficulties prove more entertaining, the game’s random nature often ends runs frustratingly prematurely.

Whatever the difficulty, collecting items is vital if you want to be ready to face what lies ahead. Some collectibles refill health, while others provide buffs to your stats with items like the helmet adding additional defence. Alongside items to improve your chance in battle there are also keys and bombs strewn through the world. Keys predictably open doors and chests, but the explosives add a more surprising ability, allowing you to blow new paths through walls. Again this plays to Dungeony’s puzzle element, letting you circumnavigate enemies that block your path and revealing hidden secrets.

Like many recent roguelikes, Dungeony has a pixelated retro style. Thanks to some nice visual effects the minimalistic art manages to elevate itself above pure function, but still looks basic in comparison to its peers.

Dungeony is a interesting take on dungeon delving. Unfortunately, the unsurfaced nature of its combat and slow pace of play makes it feel like you are searching for fun that keeps on eluding you.