Dungeons of Eternity is one of the best VR co-op games I've ever played, bringing a strong fantasy action RPG to Quest. Here is our full review.
Note: This review was originally published as a review-in-progress on September 21. It was updated on October 20 with our full thoughts and final verdict.
Dungeons of Eternity focuses on gameplay over narrative, so its story is practically non-existent and explained in the tutorial. Set on the planet Eternity, you are tasked with exploring randomly generated dungeons and overcoming traps to find treasure. That's all this premise needs and the game feels better for it. You can go adventuring alone, but like most games designed around co-op, this is best experienced with others.
Dungeons of Eternity features three different gameplay modes, but 'Dungeon Raid' is the more traditional "dungeon crawler" option. Each run features multiple paths with different obstacles like giant swinging axes across narrow paths and lava. Several rooms hide treasure chests with better rewards, such as new weapon designs or avatar cosmetics. Coins aren't shared between the party but treasure chest loot is, often awarding different items depending on what you already have.
Some areas involve environmental interactions like pulling levers to open up doors or holding torches in dark areas – small things that build the immersion well. The four biomes show great variety and the loot system encourages exploration. Most rooms hide coins, power gems for magic staffs and potions that are picked up using a magnetic grab. Even simple moments feel pleasing thanks to subtle haptic feedback and accompanying sound design during object interactions. The map is a physical item that you can place on the floor so everyone can view it at once, which is a great design choice.
Don't expect a smooth ride though. Entering new rooms usually kicks off a small enemy wave. Some breakable barrels and pots hide either coins or spiders, making that a minor risk or reward situation. If you're downed mid-combat, other party members can repeatedly revive you but if everyone falls, that's game over. Solo plays gives you a chance to deploy a potion or down an enemy with a set time limit, which is a reasonable alternative.
There's a lot going on and for a hack-n-slash game, I'd consider combat the most important aspect. Thankfully, Dungeons of Eternity nails it. Melee weapons are holstered around your waist, and between maces, swords and daggers, there's something for all play styles. It's helped by an intuitive parry system, which simply requires blocking enemy swings without any complicated actions. Axes were my highlight, which can be thrown for mid-range damage and called back using a magnetic grab, making you feel like Kratos.
Ranged weapons, shields and magic staffs are placed on your back and I was immediately taken with the bows. Finding good VR archery is tough, as many games struggle between realistic movement and what suits gameplay. With other titles you're often pulling your arm a little too far to make it comfortable on repeat, but Dungeons of Eternity walks the line well. The 15+ monster types, ranging from basic skeletons to floating abominations, keep the combat interesting.
Eventually, I reached the end of Dungeon Raid, which involved finding drone batteries held by enemy units to make my escape. A challenging fight for survival ensues. Knowing my team had each other's backs, coordination was essential to avoid being snuck up on – completing the raid together felt rewarding.
Once you're out, everyone is awarded EXP and you'll gradually level up to unlock more items. This includes additional perks for your exosuit, adding buffs like decreased fall damage for a pleasing extra level of customization. Progression combined with the random dungeons gives this strong replayability, and I found myself carrying on for as long as the Quest's battery life let me.
Dungeon Raid is where I spent most of my time but that doesn't mean the other two modes aren't enjoyable. 'Soul Harvest' offers a relatively contained horde mode. One player wields a Soul Staff and tags enemies before your party members take them down, collecting souls across three increasingly large waves. I enjoyed the change of pace, though it becomes slightly repetitive when playing solo and I noticed enemy numbers change depending on party size.
Rounding out Dungeons of Eternity's modes is 'Crystal Hunt.' This mode plays similarly to Dungeon Raid but instead converges on one central room. Your goal involves finding three crystals to power up ancient machines before defending them from an enemy wave. My first attempts ended in failure, as it wasn't clear what was needed in order to attack guardians. Normally invulnerable, I only later realized that I needed to enter their realm by approaching blue triangles on the ground to attack them.
Dungeons of Eternity - Comfort
Dungeons of Eternity features extensive comfort options. You can choose between 'Continuous' movement for stick-based artificial locomotion, teleportation and a 'Blink' setting that's similar to teleport but includes a quick fade. Directional movement can be based around your head, left hand or right hand. Smooth and snap-turning cameras are available, the latter providing 15°, 30°, 45° and 60° turning angles.
Seated gameplay is supported and adjusts holster positions for greater ease, while a separate realistic unholster option will mean that weapons don't automatically use the correct grip. Blinders for a tunneling vignette can be activated when moving. Sprinting is activated by holding down the left or right stick, depending on your selected dominant hand. Quick climbing or sliding down involves gripping the chain and holding the A button while looking up or down. Finally, you can change the button used for pulling up your inventory.
I'm highly impressed by Dungeons of Eternity and its high production values are evident. Beyond a handful of inconsequential minor bugs, everything feels well polished with engaging gameplay accompanied by comprehensive comfort settings. Visually, it looks great on every supported Quest headset and the environmental design helps considerably, feeling suitably tense but never creepy. While post-launch content updates are planned, the game already feels like a complete experience.
Unusually for Quest 3 users, you do need to activate an optimization button in the options menu to manually boost visuals. During my pre-release testing, I noticed this added a considerable change even on Quest Pro, but Quest 3 takes it even further. Everything is brighter compared to Quest 2 and though the game logo looked oversaturated, the background environments were notably sharper. I was initially told this would be removed at launch, yet the manual toggle remains at time of writing.
Dungeons of Eternity VR - Final Verdict
Dungeons of Eternity isn't a revolutionary experience but it's an incredibly enjoyable fantasy action RPG to play with a group of friends. What's here is significantly polished on all headsets, even when playing within the hardware limitations of Quest 2. Combat is excellent, catering to many different playstyles, while the progression system feels rewardingly well-considered. Dungeons of Eternity quickly became one of the most enjoyable VR co-op experiences I've ever tried and I can't recommend it enough.
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