Dungeon of the Endless is a positively reviewed indie roguelike tower defense game that's popular on Steam, and it just landed on Android as Dungeon of the Endless: Apogee. You can pick up this new mobile version today for $5, which is currently 30% off the future retail price. This purchase includes all of the title's DLC, so it's a complete package that offers a revamped interface for mobile. Sadly this port still feels pretty rough. Not only is the game too dark to see anything, but the text is too small, the tutorial is painful, and there's no controller support.

The above trailer offers a solid glimpse of what Dungeon of the Endless has to offer. It's a pixel-based affair where you'll delve into the depths of dungeons endlessly. Essentially you'll create a team to then explore an endless dungeon by collecting resources, battling enemies, and powering the game's dark rooms so that you can see, all in a top-down view. Sadly this is a chore on mobile.

There's nothing fun about a game that's this dark, even if it is a mechanic

You have to control each character individually by tapping on them each time you want to move one, and they are tiny. You have to interact with objects that are tiny. Plus, you can't see a damn thing since none of the rooms are powered when you start, and so they are all unlit, which is a horrible introduction to any game. The tutorial does walk you through a lot of this stuff, such as lighting the rooms, but really it feels tacked on, and I absolutely hate that it pauses gameplay for each and every popup. While I'm sure the game's mechanics are enthralling on PC, they only serve to make for a very annoying experience when playing on a phone, especially if it's your first time playing.

None of this is made better by the game's tiny UI, and sadly there is no way to make it bigger, just as there is no way to adjust the game's gamma levels to adjust the brightness. Perhaps if you're familiar with Dungeon of the Endless, this stuff will be less of an issue, but man alive, I certainly do not have the patience for something this poorly designed. Clearly, more attention should have been paid to the revamped interface, because it sucks.

There was also a recent issue where the game would not boot on Android 11, with many complaints on the Play Store, but this bug appears to have been squashed quickly, and so version 1.3.7 should work with Android 11 devices. Having tested the game on my ROG 5 that's on Android 11, it booted fine.

On the positive side, all of the game's DLC is included with your purchase, and cloud saving is available. It's also worth noting that the tiny UI is less of a problem on tablets, though the dark rooms are still annoying, even when considering it's supposed to be a game mechanic. All in all, this is a challenging port to recommend despite the fact it's monetized appropriately. In no way does it feel like it was designed for mobile play.

Of course, if you'd prefer to make up your own mind, you can snag a copy of Dungeon of the Endless: Apogee for $5 through the Play Store widget below.