The free offerings from Itch.io keep on coming. That’s great news if you’re looking to build up a collection of unique titles you otherwise wouldn’t have given the time of day. The latest offering is a colorful dungeon crawler called Rush Grotto. It is free, but you also have the ability to pay as much as you want to support the developer.
Developed by Daniel Moreno, Rush Grotto has everything you want in a game in this space. It has cute visuals, amazing music, and of course, addicting movement mechanics that will have you coming back to this game time and time again. It’s great to see a game like this come out. It shows that you don’t need to have an endless amount of resources and money. Rather, some creativity and great gameplay elements are all that are needed to make a game successful and a hit with the community.
You don’t even have to download this game. Rather, you can simply play it in your browser. It doesn’t get any more convenient than that. What makes this game unique compared to other dungeon crawlers is there is a timer. Between every action performed, the clock ticks down. If it goes to zero, that’s the end of the line for your character.
A lot of strategy is involved deciding what actions to execute. Naturally, there will be a lot of dying at first. Eventually, you’ll start getting used to the pace and the layout of every floor. As you advance in the game, more complex situations are thrown your way. Thus, there is always something new tackle and you’ll feel immense satisfaction upon completion.
And although the actions — such as walk and jump — seem simple, having a time counter at the top creates added tension. You’re constantly looking at the top of the screen hoping to make the right move before time runs out. In order to be successful, you’ll have to think quick on your feet. Sometimes clicking haphazardly on an action icon at the bottom is the only thing you can do, and sometimes, it works out.
For a free title, Rush Grotto has exceptional re-playability. Hours seem like minutes when traversing through the simple, yet beautiful dungeon floors. The developer certainly deserves a lot of credit for taking a retro gaming style and adding his unique take on it. Everything certainly comes together nicely in Rush Grotto.
