During the Square Enix Presents livestream of the all-digital Tokyo Games Festival, Square Enix unveiled a new stylistically-minimalistic dungeon exploration RPG simply titled Dungeon Encounters. Being developed for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC, the single-player game will be available digitally on 14 October 2021 worldwide.
Behind the scenes of Dungeon Encounters are veterans of the Final Fantasy franchise including director Hiroyuki Ito and producer Hiroaki Kato. Given this, enough though the RPG is a new IP, it won’t be lacking those Final Fantasy touches we have come to expect from any game in the series. In particular, it will feature a “newly polished and refined iteration” of Final Fantasy’s Active Time Battle (ATB) system.
Dungeon Encounters seeks to challenge players to “test their strategic skills with 100 levels of thought-provoking challenges”. Exploring through the dungeon using 2D grid based movement, you are invited to lead an expedition charting the depths of an otherworldly labyrinth. Plan and prepare to overcome numerous obstacles, battles, and defeat monsters in a bid to outwit the formidable game system and reach the deepest level of the Dungeon.
Dungeon Encounters seeks to “[feature] an expansive range of fantasy inspired characters by character designer Ryoma Ito, offering players a unique take on the dungeon crawler genre, and the ability to customize their team in order to complete the challenges and obstacles effectively”. Another returning Final Fantasy veteran is Nobuo Uematsu, who serves as musical director, and hopes to provide “a modern take on classical tracks”.
Pre-orders are now open for the Nintendo Switch and Windows PC, with a 20% discount being offered until late October 2021. The game will be available to order at launch on the PlayStation 4, with a 20% discount for PlayStation Plus members until 28 October 2021.
