With the release of Tunnel of Doom rapidly approaching – it's out next Tuesday, 23 November – we wanted to shine some light on what you can expect to find when you dig into it on launch day.
Price: $13.99
Launch discount: 10% off for the first week
Launch time: 23rd November, 10am PT/ 7pm CEST (add it to your wishlist and you'll receive a notification as soon as it's available)
TRAILER
GETTING STARTED
Every run in Tunnel of Doom starts in the daylight outside the entrance to the underground mine. Before heading in to begin your run, you can choose from one of three amulets, which will grant you your first perk. In subsequent runs, the number of amulets you're allowed to pick can change, depending on how far you get in the preceding run.
Once inside, the first chamber provides a great opportunity for familiarising yourself with the jump-roll. This is a move you'll be using a LOT, not just to dodge attacks and traverse gaps, but as a quick way to gather all-important resources. Rolling around and crashing into chairs, crates, tables, lamps, bottles etc., will start your stockpile of wood and glass, which can be used as weapons, or ammo for traps and cannons.
The first chamber of each of the mine's three levels is also the place where you'll find the level's corresponding map, which is an absolutely essential item.
THE MAP
The layout of the mine is randomly generated, so is different for every run. Each of the mine's three levels has its own map, which can be collected from the relevant level's entry chamber.
Check your map often as it's marked with important/useful locations, such as where stashes of supplies can be found, or particularly bountiful mining spots for topping up your rock resources. Each level also has an altar room, where you can replenish health and purchase new perks; a shop, where you can buy weapons, traps, and other items; and potential exits that might lead to the next level.
You can fast travel around the map between locations you've already visited. It's also worth noting that not all rooms are marked on the map...
WEAPONS & TRAPS
There are a range of dedicated and makeshift weapons you can use against the monsters that have infested the mine. Each weapon has its own set of stats, such as damage, speed, knockback etc., all of which are available to check via the inventory once a weapon has been acquired. Here are some of the weapons on offer:
- Pickaxe: dual-purpose tool that can be employed for both mining rocks, and as a melee weapon.
- Revolver: gun ammo is one of the rarer resources, so you might prefer to keep this handy six-shooter for emergencies only.
- Rifle: much slower than the revolver, but deals more damage, has double the knockback, and can shoot through multiple enemies.
- TNT: primarily used for mining larger rocks that are too hard for your pickaxe, but is also incredibly effective against enemies if you're in a squeeze.
Your arsenal is bolstered by a variety of traps, which you're able to set-up in Build Mode before you begin a battle. Here's what you have at your disposal, although remember these all require resources to either build or use as ammo:
- Wood, Glass, and Rock Barricades: strategically place these hazards around a battle stage to make things as difficult as possible for monsters.
- Wood Cannon: shoots wooden stakes towards the nearest enemy. Can fire across the whole room, but can only fire over low obstacles.
- Rock Cannon: unlike the Wood Cannon it can only fire in a straight line, but it can shoot through multiple enemies. Can only fire over low obstacles.
- Fire and Water Cannons: they don't use any collectible resources, but they do require fire and water sources respectively, and these aren't always available in every room. The Fire Cannon's flaming missle homes in on a random enemy, while a blast from the Water Cannon can extinguish fires (handy if your cannons or wooden barricades are ablaze) and slow down enemies. The missiles from both cannons bypass all obstacles.
- Glass Cannon: uses your glass supply as ammo. Each shot targets all enemies within a 360° radius.
CRITTERS & MONSTERS
You'll find a mix of regular earthly creatures and otherworldy demons waiting for you inside the mine. Whenever you encounter a new beasty, information such as its strengths and weaknesses is added to a bestiary, which is accessible through the inventory.
Before every battle, a list of the incoming enemies you're about to face appears on the left-hand side of the screen. Be sure to check it and plan your strategy accordingly. These are some of the enemies you'll be up against:
- Spiders: these venom-spitting creepy crawlies can be found in almost every room. While you might be tempted to clear them out before starting a battle, it can be worth keeping them around as they make surprisingly useful allies against monsters.
- Goblins: be sure to learn the attack tells of these fast-moving monsters, otherwise their jump claw attack can take you by surprise. Like many of the creatures you'll encounter, they are dark-dwellers and contact with any kind of light can hurt them.
- Rippers: a flying demon that spits fire balls, which it uses to burn down your barricades and traps. Can be a tricky target for cannons to hit, although it doesn't have any close-quarter attacks, so is relatively defenceless if you want to give it a whack with your pickaxe.
- Hoppers: this bouncing beast is able to go over low obstacles, so can make light work of destroying traps or reaching any miners you're meant to be protecting if your defences are inadequate.
PERKS
There are a total of 50 different perks available, and each one grants a different kind of buff or modifier. As well as being able to choose a perk/s at the start of each run, you can purchase them in the mine from the shop and at altars. Miners do also on occassion leave behind a perk if you manage to rescue them successfully. Here are some examples of the perks you can find:
- Rock Collector: 25% chance for an extra rock resource when mining
- Mighty Miners: Miners have 100% more health
- Recycler: 20% chance to salvage cannon ammunition
- Haggler: 20% shop discount
- Well Oiled Machine: Cannon reload speed +50%
- Armor Plated: Cannon health +2
- Russian Roulette: Guns: 50% chance for +2 damage, 10% chance for misfire
- Strong Hands: Pickaxe damage +1
- Arachnophobia: Spiders are plentiful, with attack damage +100%
DIFFERENT MODES & STEAM ACHIEVEMENTS
In addition to the main story, there are two other modes to keep you busy after completing the game:
Doomed Story: the ultimate test of your skills! This challenging mode gives you no starting gear, half the health, more enemies, hides the list of incoming enemies, and a blank map!
Dream Mode: Doze off and enter the mine in your dream! Stay alive as long you can to keep dreaming, but it's not easy – every room is random, all types of enemy can appear from the start and their health increases every 15 stages.
If you enjoy a challenge, trying to obtain all 10 Steam Achievements will also keep you occupied for a while. These are the 10 Achievements up for grabs:
- Fearless: Complete the tutorial
- Relentless: Complete the game
- Tireless: Complete the game without using any respawns
- Dauntless: Complete the game having visited every room seen on the map
- Flawless: Complete the game saving all miners you encounter in battle
- Heartless: Complete the game without health dropping below the starting health
- Perkless: Complete the game without any perks
- Trapless: Complete the game without using any cannons
- Hardiness: Complete the game in hard mode
- Restless: Reach stage 30 in dream mode
YOU'RE READY FOR TUNNEL OF DOOM!
So that's some of what Tunnel of Doom has in store. Thanks for all your support along the way, and we can't wait for you to play it when it launches next week!
WISHLIST & FOLLOW!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361840/Tunnel_of_Doom/