Dunjungle is a 2D action roguelite full of pixel-art monkeys, which started as a solo hobby project in 2020, and now is coming to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC on December 11!

What is Dunjungle all About?

The title is a portmanteau of “Dungeon” and “Jungle,” in case you’re wondering!

I aimed to keep a lighthearted and humorous vibe to the game. I believed “Monkey protecting the jungle” allowed for that, and if I make you laugh or smile at least once at a funny item description or NPC dialogue line, I’ll consider myself successful.

In terms of gameplay, my goal with Dunjungle was to make an action roguelite that’s easy to pick up and play for 30-to-50-minute sessions. 

I’ve been a fan of the old Castlevania games for a long time, so I wanted to make a combat system inspired by it, but faster paced. You might notice some references in game!

Run variation was also a top priority, so you’ll currently be able to find 33 main weapons, 39 sub-weapons, 100 relics, and 15 classes (affecting the monkey’s appearance and abilities). This lets you mix it up every run and try many different playstyles, keeping the game fresh for dozens of hours.

Evolution of the Monkey

While new to consoles, the PC version of Dunjungle has been on Early Access for a year. During this time, the community was super important for improving the experience, inspiring many of the system changes, new content and overall balancing that the game has gone through, and you’ll be able to enjoy the benefits from day one on Xbox consoles!

Having smooth controls and game flow was a cornerstone for making the monkey roguelite experience as fun as it can be, and having players play the game over and over really helped me refine the experience to get to that sweet spot we were looking for.

Counting the one I’m preparing now, a total of 24 updates were released in a span of one year (that’s about a new update every two weeks!). With content ranging from character control tweaks, to Baby Monkey meta-progression, random events, classes, relics, weapons, quality of life adjustments, and balancing, balancing, so much balancing!

3 whole new biomes were added during this year, each with distinct enemies and bosses. The newest of the biomes is still unreleased and will be available on day one of full launch!

How was Dunjungle Born?

Dunjungle started as a hobby project in 2020, almost 6 years ago (how time flies!).

While making this game, a lot of changes happened in my life. I went from full-time software engineer (making Dunjungle in my free time), to part-time, then finally to full-time game dev after signing with my publisher, Astrolabe Games, 2 years ago.

I moved from London (United Kingdom) to Buenos Aires (Argentina), my hometown. My partner and I moved houses 4 times, we adopted a dog (an abandoned greyhound that found us), and recently, our first child was born!

I was also honored to have Dunjungle selected for the Xbox’s Developer Acceleration Program. The lovely folks at ID@Xbox believed in this journey from the beginning and helped us bring it to Xbox – turning the passion into a platform launch with direct support tailored for indie developers.

The Monkey is Ready for You Now

If you decide to pick it up, I truly hope that knowing a bit more about my journey makes your time with Dunjungle even more special. This game was made with a lot of love, and I’m thrilled to be able to bring it to Xbox. I can’t wait to hear what your experience is like on the console!

Dunjungle

Astrolabe Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Overview

Dunjungle is an action-packed roguelite about a monkey hero, adventuring into a jungle under the menace of a corruptive power that is transforming its peaceful creatures and destroying everything on its way.
You’ll explore continuously changing dungeons, temples, crypts, and other mysterious places, where you’ll find all sort of weird enemies and an arsenal of weapons, spells, and relics, granting you a different experience every time you play.

Features

Lots of weapons, spells and relics with unique effects.
Equipment can also be merged with several elements, to create new and powerful versions.
Burn monsters with fire, use ice to slow them down, shock them with thunder, or just get them off you using wind to blow them away!

Classes to customize your runs
You will unlock several classes with a variety of strengths and weaknesses. You can choose the class before starting the run and play in your preferred style!

Dungeons are procedurally generated, made from big collection of hand-crafted rooms.
These rooms are filled with all sort of weird creatures, valuable treasures, dangerous traps, and of course, challenging bosses!

Fast Game Loop

There are no checkpoints in Dunjungle. You die, you start over. Die again, try again!
But don’t worry too much. Several things will remain for your next run.
Maybe you unlocked a new weapon? Maybe a new spell? Maybe you saved a trapped character, who will now lend you a hand.
Along your way, you may find characters who are lost, trapped, or maybe just chilling in there. Help them out, and you might become friends!

More importantly, each time you die, you’ll know more about Dunjungle’s world, so don’t despair, and use what you’ve learned to get further on your next adventure.