Become the ultimate desktop cursor in a deeply infected operating system! Navigate folders like dungeon rooms, delete viruses, and level up with EXEs in this action-packed roguelike.
Developed by: Gearbyte Games
Played on: Steam
Length: ~3 hours
A review key was provided by Gearbyte Games.
If I had a nickel for every cursor-based roguelite that takes place on a desktop interface that was released this year, I would have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
Developed by Singaporean indie studio Gearbyte Games, Identifile: Desktop Dungeon is one of two dungeon crawlers to combine the frantic chaos of bullet hell games with the nostalgia of early 2000s operating systems. But any similarities on the surface are immediately dismissed the moment you enter your first playthrough, where Identifile manages to combine the familiar and unfamiliar to create something wholly unique.
Instead of the typical dungeon rooms, Identifile has you navigating through their version of File Explorer, where you are immediately greeted with the manual task of clicking through every file and folder on your desktop. The task isn’t as tedious as it sounds, especially when each file name comes with a fun reference to internet history, from Caramelldansen to Coffin Dance. Each level is also procedurally generated, making each run completely unique.
Once you click around your desktop enough, you’ll begin to find folders locked behind combat stages. Battles are marked with difficulty ratings on the folder itself, so you’re not blindly rushing into a difficult battle, but even then, combat mechanics have a slight learning curve. It takes awhile to get used to your cursor being your “character” in the game, which you control using your mouse instead of WASD like most games.
Meanwhile, the attack mechanic for your first cursor in the game is definitely unique. Instead of auto-attacking or clicking to attack like you would expect, the default cursor requires you to draw circles around viruses in order to identify and defeat them. Between frantically drawing circles and dodging a bullet hell of enemy attacks at the same time, battles are delightfully fast-paced and intense.
To their credit, Identifile does equip you with a few items to help you along the way. There are basic Mods that act as temporary buffs within the run, and powerful EXE files that you can activate for a significant boost. EXE files are generally much harder to find, and often comes down to the luck of the draw. There are extremely overpowered ones, like Disc Launcher that launches 3 large discs into the battlefield, but there are also many chance-based ones, like Three D6 that grants you a random effect only if you match 3 dices in a roll.
Although the chance-based EXE files make for a good laugh the first few times, it does get a little frustrating if you’re having an unlucky run. All you can do is focus on what you can control, such as buying items in the Shop or the ability to pick your battles. Whether you decide to attempt the optional challenge levels, or jump straight to the boss fight, the choice is yours.
Where Identifile really gets interesting is the process of refining your playstyle. At the start of each run, you get the option to swap cursors which changes your combat style. Most of the cursor variants are already available in early access, including a Clicking cursor that was powerful but carpal tunnel inducing, to a Punching cursor that dealt high damage as long as you could handle the knockback.
There’s also cursors that are accessible for those who want to avoid wrist damage, such as the Selection cursor that only requires you to hover over the enemy to deal damage over time. Not all cursors are equal in power, but the key is to find the cursor that works best for your playstyle. On top of that, the game offers permanent buffs and difficulty modes that allow you to adjust your player experience, and hopefully help you overcome some of the more luck-dependent elements.
On a lighter note, Identifile boasts a long list of cosmetics for those who want to spice up their desktop display. Using Data Fragments that you earn from playing the game, you can unlock new cursor cosmetics and even desktop buddies to keep you company while you face down virus after virus. You may already notice some familiar characters from other indie games, which I couldn’t resist unlocking right away.
Although Identifile is still in early access at the point of writing this review, the game already feels like a fully fledged experience. Even with a few cursors, stages, and quality of life features that have yet to be released, there’s more than enoughcontent to captivate your attention for a few hours. Each run ranges from 5 to 45 minutes depending on how far you get, which makes it easy to hop in and out of the game throughout your day. That is, if you can pry yourself away from its addictive gameplay loop long enough to get back to whatever you were doing.
To that, we wish you good luck and happy clicking.
Verdict
Identifile: Desktop Dungeon combines a familiar setting and unfamiliar mechanics to create an addictive gameplay loop that you won’t be able to stop repeating. Featuring unique cursor mechanics that refresh your playstyle, and a long list of equipment to spice up your runs, it’s hard to believe that the game is only in early access with even more to come.
