Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know!
Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! | |
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![]() European box art | |
Developer(s) | WayForward Technologies |
Publisher(s) | D3 Publisher |
Director(s) | Tomm Hulett |
Producer(s) | Simon Lai Aaron Blean |
Designer(s) | Michael Herbster Brody Brooks Dwight Spaulding Barrett Velia |
Programmer(s) | David Ollman |
Artist(s) | Jason Wright |
Writer(s) | Pendleton Ward Tomm Hulett James Montagna |
Composer(s) | Jake Kaufman Ian Stocker |
Series | Adventure Time |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Wii U Nintendo 3DS |
Release | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Microsoft Windows
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Genre(s) | Action-adventure, dungeon crawler[split screen] |
Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! (stylized as Adventure Time Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW!) is a 2013 video game directed by Tomm Hulett and developed by WayForward Technologies with the help of Pendleton Ward under license from Cartoon Network Interactive. It is published by D3 Publisher for Microsoft Windows, Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo 3DS. This is the second game based on the animated television series Adventure Time after 2012's Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!!. The game was announced on May 14, 2013. The game includes voice acting from major characters and four-player cooperative multiplayer, except in the 3DS version, which has no multiplayer.[1] Upon release, the game received unfavorable reviews.
In December 2016, Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! was removed from digital stores.
Plot
The game begins with Princess Bubblegum entreating the player (as one of the various playable characters) to investigate the large and secret Royal Dungeon that lies below the Land of Ooo.[1] Several prisoners have been escaping, but as the prison is supposed to be impossible to escape, Bubblegum is stumped as to how the prisoners are escaping and entreats the player to explore the dungeon because "I don't know". As the game progresses several characters are unlocked and become playable characters through various situations. It is briefly suspected that Ice King is releasing the prisoners, but he is shown to have only been in the dungeon to create large Fionna and Cake ice statues. The game eventually leads up to a battle between the player(s) and a giant pink blob that is revealed to be Princess Bubblegum's parents.[2] About a thousand years ago she was gestated within the blob and was later expelled from its mass. Bubblegum explains that she grew up to become more independent and became a princess. She kept the blob in the Royal Dungeon, but over time the mass expanded and inadvertently released the prisoners. This causes the Ice King to angrily demand to know how old Bubblegum is and she replies that she is 827 years old, which horrifies him. Finn questions Bubblegum's rationale for covering up the secret of her parents, only for Marceline to defend Bubblegum by saying that the others would have done the same for their parents. However, as a result of the player's fight against the blob, it is unable to reform and turns into a set of bubbles, one of which kisses Bubblegum on the cheek.
Gameplay
Playable characters
Players are able to play as Finn, Jake, Marceline, Ice King, Cinnamon Bun, Flame Princess, Lumpy Space Princess, and Lemongrab. Peppermint Butler, Gunter, and Abraham Lincoln were released as DLC for users that purchased the game via Steam.[3] Each playable character has their own special attack, which can be used to various effects, such as damaging enemies or regaining health. Peppermint Butler, Abraham Lincoln, and Gunter were later added as DLC in the console versions.[4]
Gameplay
The game is a top-down, isometric hack and slash dungeon crawler, similar to games in the Diablo franchise.[5] Players can collect treasure while in the dungeon that they can later use to upgrade the stats of the various playable characters, interact with other characters, and purchase goods from the game's ubiquitous item vendor; in this case played by one of the cartoon's minor characters, Choose Goose.[5]
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
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GameRankings | (PS3) 37.80%[6] (X360) 50.71%[7] (Wii U) 46.33%[8] (3DS) 32.25%[9] |
Metacritic | (PS3) 40/100[10] (X360) 47/100[11] (Wii U) 40/100[12] (3DS) 33/100[13] |
Publication | Score |
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Destructoid | 2/10[14] |
Eurogamer | 4/10[15] |
GameSpot | 2/10 |
GamesRadar+ | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
IGN | 3.5/10[17] |
Official Xbox Magazine (US) | 4.5/10[18] |
Hardcore Gamer | 3/5[19] |
Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! received "unfavorable" reviews on all platforms besides the PC according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. The most common criticism centers upon the repetitive gameplay, the lackluster story, the poor graphics, and an overall lack of depth.[20] Destructoid panned the game, writing that the 3DS version's "presentation is lazy, lackluster, and shameful" and that it was overall "a disaster".[14] Carolyn Petit of GameSpot was also highly critical of the game, calling it "dungeon-crawling at its dullest and most rudimentary" and stating that "the much bigger I DON'T KNOW here is why anyone would play this game."[21] GamesRadar criticized the game's map layout system, as they felt that it was "very easy to lose track of where you've already been" and that it made the game more tedious due to players having to retread the same area in order to discover the level's exit.[16] Hardcore Gamer was impressed by the game's initial charm but disappointed in most other aspects criticizing the "barebones plot, veritable lack of [overall] charm and frustrating hit detection"[19] Eurogamer expressed disappointment over the game's treatment of the "surprisingly deep lore that has grown around [Adventure Time]", as it "simply drapes an Adventure Time skin over established gameplay tropes, reflecting the source material without truly adapting it."[15]
References
- ^ a b "New Adventure Time Game Announced". IGN. 2013-05-14. Archived from the original on 2015-02-18. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ^ "Adventure Time: "James"". AV Club. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- ^ "Adventure Time Steam pre-order bonus: Peppermint Butler". Destructoid. 15 October 2013. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- ^ "Adventure Time gets new playable character DLC on Xbox 360 and PS3 today". Polygon. 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Exploring Adventure Time's dungeon because I DON'T KNOW". Destructoid. 17 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-08-22. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
- ^ "AT:ETDBIDK (PS3)". GR. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ "Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! (360)". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ "AT:ETDBIDK (Wii U)". GR. Archived from the original on 25 October 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ "AT:ETDBIDK (3DS)". GR. Archived from the original on 23 November 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ "AT:ETDBIDK (PS3)". MetaCritic. Archived from the original on 9 December 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ "AT:ETDBIDK! X360". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
- ^ "AT:ETDBIDK!". MetaCritic. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
- ^ "AT:ETDBIDK!". MetaCritic. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ a b Carter, Chris (25 November 2013). "Review: Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon (3DS)". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ a b Whitehead, Dan (15 November 2013). "Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ a b "Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! review". GamesRadar. 25 November 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ "Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! Review". IGN. 6 December 2013. Archived from the original on 9 December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
- ^ Lee, Alania (10 December 2013). "Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know review". Official Xbox Magazine. Future plc. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ a b Vincent, Brittany (23 November 2013). "Review: Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know!". Hardcore Gamer. Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ "Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW! for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ "Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
External links
- 2013 video games
- Adventure Time video games
- Action-adventure games
- Bandai Namco games
- D3 Publisher games
- Nintendo 3DS games
- Nintendo 3DS eShop games
- PlayStation 3 games
- Video games based on television series
- Video games scored by Jake Kaufman
- Video games developed in the United States
- Wii U games
- Wii U eShop games
- Windows games
- Xbox 360 games