Ziggurat – Review

There’s an obvious trend in gaming at the moment, with more and more titles appearing to have that old school vibe. Step forward another one in Ziggurat, a first person shooter focusing on dungeon crawling, developed by Milkstone Studios. For a game that’s come out of nowhere, like the majority of them at the moment, can it have an instant impact that draws me in to wanting to play it?

Well, let’s find out. You are, initially, a sorcery beginner named Argo wishing to join one of the greatest wizard guilds in the land and to do so you must prove your worth in a mighty test that few come out unscathed from. Entering a labyrinth of dungeons, the aim is to overcome the deadly challenges you will face in order to reach the end and ultimately become a powerful wizard. And without putting in some explorative efforts, that’s about as much of the story as you’ll be given; not that it’s a bad thing as that’s all you’ll need.

The variety of the minions determined to destroy your health is rather impressive given that in a complete playthrough there’ll be new enemies added to proceedings regularly to keep it fresh. Some of my favourites include a slime-ball that can split into tiny versions of itself and the psychotic carrots which are a constant reminder of why I steer clear of vegetables. There are also some beasty bosses to end the levels such as the giant flying dragon-like creature and the crazed banshee.

I think the main negative I picked up on throughout was that despite the differing layouts, for every level and playthrough, each room did eventually become samey. The rundown dungeon design sets the tone really well but there are only so many times I can admire the areas I ended up in during my adventures without the sense of resentment towards seeing the same elements used over and over again.

Combat comprised of using up to four weapons that can be acquired over time, with each using all important Mana pools that you must keep topped up, except for the magic wand that regenerated its own. Having a mixture of Staff weapons, Spells and Guns with their own differing elemental effects made for some fun battles. Ziggurat had a rather simplified way of perks to assist you during these trials and tribulations in that you either found them by exploring or you picked one after levelling up. These consisted of health boosts and Mana capacity increases to name just a few.

There were a couple of issues I had during combat, the main one being that it occasionally the game got stuck and wouldn’t unfreeze for a short while, which affected the flow of battling for my survival. Oh and the enemies that often merge into the environment, not in the ghostly way either, more like the glitchy kind. There was nothing major enough to actually put me off Ziggurat though.

The story mode, in fact the only mode, in Ziggurat can be over for the average adventurer in two hours but there are new characters, weapons and perks that unlock over time which helps make multiple attempts at the five tiered dungeon a real possibility for even those who are normally against repetition, like myself. It hasn’t overcomplicated things, so if you’re after a bit of explorative first person shooting then look no further than Ziggurat.

I’m even going to have another bash myself now, what are you waiting for? Enter the dungeons and prove your worth to the mighty wizards!