Does the thought of a cosy-adventure RPG, inspired by The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing sound amazing to you? What if I added an adorable axolotl? If any of these concepts have captured your attention, Dungeons and Dining Tables is an experience you will enjoy.
Catalyst Games, a new Australian studio built by award-winning graduating students from The Academy of Interactive Entertainment, are the creative minds behind Dungeons and Dining Tables, which is one part third-person combat and one part furniture decorating simulator.
As the cute axolotl hero, it is your job to seek out magical furniture to decorate the town of Kindlerest, a location plagued by a spell that has brought out the grumpiness in its population. Collecting furniture to decorate your own abode and spruce up Kindlerest will increase the Comfort of the town, increasing your strength and improving your stats to help you on your adventure.
I played a short gameplay section of Dungeons and Dining Tables which featured a mixture of both combat and decorating. The combat section included some basic enemies, which I defeated using a basic attack and dodge roll. The combat was responsive, and the moment-to-moment gameplay was enjoyable.
Dungeons and Dining Tables will feature procedurally generated dungeons, with these areas home to “quirky kleptomaniac monsters”. As this game is touted as a ‘cosy-adventure’, I assume combat won’t become too difficult as you progress, but I am interested to see how the combat system will evolve as more abilities and dungeons become available.
These dungeons are where players will find the rarest pieces of furniture to decorate Kindlerest and their own abode. When I arrived at Kindlerest, one of the townsfolk provided some basic furniture, which I happily accepted to decorate my humble home. Placing furniture was similar to how items are placed within The Sims series, with objects able to be rotated and placed wherever you like.
Dungeons and Dining Tables also has an adorable visual style, reminiscent of classic PlayStation and Nintendo 3D mascot adventures. I wasn’t able to hear much of the music on the busy PAX showroom, but previous trailers provide a glimpse into the sound, and I like what I hear. These trailers contained music that reminded me of the classic childhood cartoon ‘The Animals of Farthing Wood’, which, if you know its main theme song, is a fantastic thing.
I believe Catalyst Games have created an adorably addictive gameplay loop. Players will hunt for rare furniture, decorate Kindlerest, then increase their stats, allowing them to seek out even rarer furniture. This sounds like a gameplay cycle that I know cosy gamers will find incredibly satisfying when Dungeons and Dining Tables launches on Steam.
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