After Crawling Through Dungeons in ‘Pixel Dungeon’ on Meta Quest, I Never Want To Leave This World

The world of VR is still an untapped goldmine for unforgettable experiences. Sure, it’s easy to give someone a headset, put them on a virtual rollercoaster, and watch them lose their mind. But I’m in it to win it, and I want something with a bit more meat on its bones. Ever since I grabbed a VR controller for the first time, I’ve wanted to swing a sword, bash some baddies, and explore dungeons with my friends. Pixel Dungeon, a voxel-based game that caught my attention, may be exactly what I’ve been waiting for all this time. It’s deep, exciting, and most importantly, incredibly fun and rewarding. Plus, I can grab a crew of my closest companions and explore in multiplayer sessions. Think Elder Scrolls meets Diablo, but it looks like Minecraft, and you’ve got a basic idea of what this one is about.

Both a Dungeon Crawler and a Workout, so Stretch Before You Head Out on an Adventure

Either solo, solo with a CPU companion, or with a group of friends, Pixel Dungeon is a pure dungeon crawler. Find loot, beat up creeps, and fight a massive boss at the end of a run. The sense of scale feels great, with monstrous foes feeling genuinely scary to face off against, while smaller enemies feel like proper fodder. The general flow of the game is also excellent, as characters move briskly and strike with deadly intentions. Alongside games like Mythic Realms, Pixel Dungeon has some of the most satisfying swordplay I’ve found in a VR experience to date.

Seeing as maps share similar themes, but are procedurally generated, no two runs are ever going to be the same. Even if I ran the same theme twice in a row, new enemies, new areas, and new adventures awaited me. There’s a lot of replayability here, and the development team at Suplife Games has been adding even more content since I started playing. Four levels may not sound like much, but seeing as “levels” are essentially themes, there’s still plenty to do and see here.

Upgradable weapons, cosmetics, and more also await in Pixel Dungeon. But rather than needing to spend $30 to unlock a brand new armor set, you can unlock these by completing runs. A wild concept in modern gaming, I know, but still. It’s nice to see that I could unlock new armor just by playing the game.

‘Pixel Dungeon’ Is a Blast and a Half, and Easily Scratched That Dungeon Crawler Itch I’ve Got

After doing more than a few runs, I’ve been telling all of my VR friends about Pixel Dungeon. I need to get more of my friends on the Meta Quest train so we can all spelunk through these creepy caverns together. I already know that we’d have a blast running these dungeons together, especially since we’ve been burned a bit more by modern ARPGs than we’d like to admit. Except for PoE2, that one is cash.

If you’re anything like me? Just do yourself a solid and check out Pixel Dungeon. Don’t be fooled by the Voxel-based graphics: this one can get rather intense. It’s cutesy and cartoony where it needs to be, but also provides some incredible action and exploration gameplay. It suits any playstyle, too. Mages, archers, berserkers, those who want to get up-close-and-personal against their enemies. You can do whatever you want here, as long as you’ve got the skills to back it all up.