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Essays 28 June 2022, 14:18

author: Adrian Werner

The Best Obscure RPGs - 2022 Update

There's plenty of good RPG releases every week. Unfortunately, many of them do not get the popularity they deserve. Today, we are looking into games that some fans of the genre might have missed, and definitely should play.

Table of Contents

Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk – there's no end to games and laughter

THE DUNGEON OF NAHEULBEUK: THE AMULET OF CHAOS IN A NUTSHELL

  1. Developer: Artefacts Studio
  2. Platforms: PC, PS4, XONE, Switch, PS5, XSX
  3. PC release date: September 17, 2020
  4. 5,235 reviews on Steam

The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos is a turn-based RPG that (unfortunately) has not gained much popularity. This may come as a surprise as the game didn't come out of nowhere. The IP is popular in France, where a series of mocking fantasy audiobooks, comics and even board games are released. Sooner or later a computer game had to be made. Ultimately, it appeared on all smaller and larger platforms, including next-gen consoles.

As for an RPG, the plot isn't overly complex. We are dealing with a fairly simple story about heroes locked in the title dungeon, who have to face the dangers of each level, and finally have to defeat the main evil. If not the plot, what's the strong point? Without a doubt, player-driven characters and ubiquitous humor.

The team consists of as many as 8 members. Each of them represents one of the archetypes. So we have a dwarf with a shield and ax, a magician, a great ogre, a priestess, a thief/rogue, a guard who's something like a supporting class, an elven archer and a muscular barbarian. Each of the heroes fits in with the typical patterns for a given race/class and is exaggerated in this to the limits. And so the dwarf is a stingy blinded by the lust for wealth, the priestess is the personification of goodness, the elf is a stereotypical blonde, a barbarian would solve all problems by force, and the ogre has such a low intelligence that he cannot express himself "in a common language" and is understood only by a haughty sorceress . It might seem that all this is trivial and… it indeed is, but it was enough to put all these clichéd characters into one bag, in this case of the team, to make hilarious conversations and situations between them.

You can play the title for a few bucks as part of the Xbox Game Pass, if there is a promotion for the service.

Humor is one of the biggest advantages of this production. Team members eat each other, get into absurd situations and take part in performing original tasks. The Naheulbeuk dungeon itself was constructed with humor. Something different is happening on practically each of its floors and it's not dark and gray everywhere. However, we don't want to give you specific examples – it could spoil the fun of exploring the locations on your own.

How is it even played? We explore, talk, solve fairly simple puzzles, disarm traps, pull levers to open hidden passages, and sometimes we just break through the wall (it's an ogre's job) and fight. We fight often. After the fight starts, the game becomes turn-based. The fights are demanding, especially on the highest difficulty level, and are based on the effective use of the skills of each of the heroes. In addition to the skills that you get by leveling up, equipment is also important. We get it for completing tasks, buy it from traders and collect it from defeated opponents.

The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos is the game for you if:

  1. you like turn-based and challenging fights;
  2. you want to have a laugh;

Adrian Werner

Adrian Werner

A true veteran of the Gamepressure newsroom, writing continuously since 2009 and still not having enough. He caught the gaming bug thanks to playing on his friend's ZX Spectrum. Then he switched to his own Commodore 64, and after a short adventure with 16-bit consoles, he forever entrusted his heart to PC games. A fan of niche productions, especially adventure games, RPGs and games of the immersive sim genre, as well as a mod enthusiast. Apart from games, he devourers stories in every form - books, series, movies, and comics.

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