There are so many isometric dungeon crawling style games out there right now. They were popularised by Diablo, and brought back into the limelight by the rave reviews for Hades and The Ascent (well, at least in our team). One thing is missing from a lot of these games though, and it’s a pretty big thing to be missing. The ability to go on dates with your weapon. Luckily, that’s where Boyfriend Dungeon comes in. That’s right, finally a dungeon crawling game where you can go on dates with your sword, dagger, scythe, etc., and really get to know them in a more… intimate way.

There’s a huge variety of weapons to be discovered throughout Boyfriend Dungeon, each with their own personalities. After moving to Verona Beach in California, you’re convinced with very little effort to risk your life and fight monsters in a mall. Why did it take no effort? Video game logic, I suppose. After moving into your cousin’s place and revealing that you have never been on a date before, it instantly becomes his mission to set you up on a bunch of dates. One of said dates, which is apparently not a date because he is professional, is with a fencing instructor named Isaac. Isaac is very professional, so surely he will teach you the basics and you’ll be on your wa.. nevermind, you’re on your first date with him. That went quick.

Isaac is a bit more than just a fencing instructor, he’s also your weapon. The world of Boyfriend Dungeon is a bit strange and everyone just seems to acquiesce to these things happening. When it’s explained to you that people turn into weapons, it’s just accepted. Just like when you learn a couple characters (after a few dates of course) are vampires, your character barely bats an eye. As you progress through the mall, and later through a nightclub, you’ll stumble upon damaged weapons that were dumped by someone else and left conveniently in your path. Different weapons have different abilities, attack styles, and playstyles for the most part. Using them is also the main way to get their love meter up, which leads to more dates.

Going on dates with all of the weapons is important, as this is how you get more abilities for them. So less than a week after arriving in California, you’ll go from having never been on a date to juggling quite a few partners at once. One may, or may not be a cat, but let’s just ignore that part.

Weirdly enough, this is where the main complaint about Boyfriend Dungeon comes in. It seems every single person that you come across is happy to date anyone and everyone. What are the chances that you will not only get along with the vastly different group of people you come across, but all of them will be attracted to you? This is where some of the traction of the game starts to let up a bit. I preferred what happened in games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, where everyone had a personality and their own sexuality. When building your character, you’re able to pick he/him, her/she, or they/them. This should have an effect on who you can have a relationship with, and who you can just be friends with.

The main idea behind the dungeons in Boyfriend Dungeon is to battle your main character’s insecurities. Again, maybe this is something that could have been affected by character choice. Something similar to Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, where you run a personality test at the beginning of the game to dictate what your insecurities may be, or even just give a bit of variety to your current run. There are a few interesting options given in the game though. For one, not receiving inspirational text messages from your mom. Another one is the variety of conversation choices you have, both in-person and through text.

The art outside of combat is nice: all the characters are well designed and their different sprites accurately capture their attitudes and personalities. The visuals while dungeon crawling is a bit more simplistic, but everything is distinguishable. The real key part here are the small animated cutscenes when a character changes from a weapon to a person the first time you meet them. These are animated incredibly nicely and are actually one of my favourite parts of this game.

The other side of the artistic presence is the music. The soundtrack is fitting to the game, especially the synth/electronic tunes in the nightclub dungeon. My only complaint is a lack of variety. Each dungeon only seems to have one song that loops pretty consistently, if you’re able to survive for more than a floor at a time, that is. Which you better be able to do if you plan to survive for very long.

Boyfriend Dungeon was far more enjoyable than expected. Sure, every character you meet may want to hop into bed with you in an absurdly thirsty way. There could have been a bit more variety in terms of enemies and areas, with me being hopeful that a potential sequel might fix these issues. Boyfriend Dungeon is available on Game Pass as well, so if you’re even a touch skeptical about this game’s odd themes, I highly suggest diving into it and seeing it for yourself. Even if you don’t care about the dating sim part of the game, the dungeon crawling itself is already more than satisfying.

 

Graphics: 8.0 While the graphics in the dungeons are a bit basic, the animation in the cutscenes and all the spritework are really well done.	Gameplay: 7.5 The dungeon crawling is fun, as it maintains enough challenge to warrant repeat attempts. The downside is anything outside of dungeons, as well as feeling like every character is just looking for someone, anyone, to get off with.
Sound: 7.0 While the themes are good, there’s a lack of variety making a lot of them repetitive on extended runs of any area.	Fun Factor: 9.0 All around a lot of fun, way more fun than expected for a game called Boyfriend Dungeon. I walked in expecting something basic and cheesy, but instead got something cute and with a nice balance of life and combat.
Final Verdict: 8.0

Boyfriend Dungeon is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One.

Reviewed on Xbox One.

A copy of Boyfriend Dungeon was provided by the publisher.