Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! Review - Screenshot 1 of 4

D3Publisher, Cartoon Network and WayForward were definitely onto something in last year's Adventure Time: Hey, Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! Though the title was over too soon, it took players all over the Land of Ooo on a true-to-series nonsensical quest using Zelda II-like gameplay, with a top-down overworld and side-scrolling towns and dungeons. We'd hoped Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! would expand on the strengths of its predecessor and solidify Adventure Time as a strong licensed game series, but unfortunately this simplified dungeon crawler is a disappointing step back. While not without its charms, it manages to feel smaller in scope than Ice King and will grow old fast due to its lack of variety and surprise.

"Explore the Dungeon" is certainly on the nose. Bubblegum Princess calls for Finn, Jake and other Adventure Time favourites to travel deep into her secret dungeon to stop a prison riot, and before long they're traversing floor after monster-infested floor, picking up treasure and sub-weapons along the way. The single setting of the Candy Kingdom wouldn't be so bad if the dungeons were varied and fun to actually "explore," but each floor is randomized, and the theme (ice, for example) only changes every ten levels. Every five floors, the player is given the option of returning to the surface to spend treasure on items and character upgrades, complete side quests (which usually amount to killing a certain number of enemies and getting a rudimentary reward) and deposit sub-weapons.

Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! Review - Screenshot 2 of 4

A boss awaits the player on every tenth floor, and these battles are the most satisfying moments in the game; running from a frantic prison break while collecting treasure, destroying the Ice King's latest ridiculous creation and more feel like classic Adventure Time, and it's here where WayForward's signature creativity is able to shine through. Following each boss battle is an 8-bit styled cut-scene, with all the characters voiced by the show's actors. These silly interludes are funny and welcome, but we couldn't help but wish the entire game showed that personality.

Gameplay is simple, sometimes to a fault. Each character — Finn, Jake, Lumpy Space Princess and more — has a default weapon, a special attack, slots for power-up tokens and a sub-weapon slot. Certain characters have ranged attacks, while others are melee fighters, but sub-weapons add some balance to each character; Finn, for example, uses his sword, but with a sub-weapon like a Kitten Gun, can also fight from afar. Sub-weapons drop randomly and players will have their own preferences. Some characters, like Marceline and Lumpy Space Princess, can float over chasms and get treasure and items inaccessible to other characters, while tokens provide the most strategy and customisation in the game. Special attacks are built up with a meter, meanwhile, and can be very funny; Lumpy Space Princess, for example, makes an annoyed phone call that damages every enemy on-screen. Some tokens will give the player a health boost, while others prevent certain curses, speed the characters up, prevent recoil from being hit and more.

Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! Review - Screenshot 3 of 4

Treasure that is collected in dungeons can be used on items and on character building, but early in the game players may be agitated by the high price of boosting stats like health and strength, since treasure isn't as frequent in the early dungeons. In a frustrating twist, a "candy tax" prevents the player from keeping treasure after going back down into the dungeon, which makes collecting treasure a chore. Dying in the middle of the dungeon sends the player back up to the surface with half their treasure, and going back down means starting at the first of the five levels the player was traversing. Mercifully, players can retry boss battles, but will lose half their treasure in the process. The consequences of dying make for a challenge, but can also be very irritating when spending a lot of time playing only to die at the worst moment.

For a game based on a property with so much character and personality, Explore the Dungeon has a disappointingly generic presentation. Aside from the cut-scenes, the top-down 3D environments contrasted with pixelated character sprites isn't especially pleasing on the eye. While the voice acting is top-notch the characters' repetitive phrases wear thin, while the background music is without any flair or distinguishable trait. Thankfully the story, written by series creator Pendleton Ward, will please fans of the cartoon with a surprising twist ending that plays into the show's mythos (and is considered canon, according to D3Publisher).

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The game supports local multiplayer, and while it's fun to play with friends, the simple, Gauntlet-style gameplay doesn't make for the most exciting time. Explore the Dungeon also allows for play on the GamePad, but the default setting puts BMO (the talking Game Boy-like character) on the GamePad screen to periodically talk to the player about power-ups or dangerous enemies, which is novel but far from useful. We were disappointed that the GamePad wasn't used for more practical purposes.

Conclusion

Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! is not a complete failure, but it's also not the game that Adventure Time fans deserve or should expect from a developer like WayForward. While the story takes some fun turns, the gameplay is too dull and one-note to keep players interested in the long term. While multiplayer will extend the experience and provide for some laughs — characters do say some funny lines, even if they get repetitive — this title is recommended primarily for the most devoted Adventure Time fans.