Combining two of my favourite things – fantasy themed dungeon delves and the game of Pool – Billiards Dungeon looks like a game that’s going to be incredibly fun.

One of the main draws of Pool is the satisfying, almost Pavlovian clunking of the balls, as well as the feeling of achievement from sinking a ball into a pocket. Video games have done well to replicate this in the last few decades despite the lack of tangible, physical objects being hit and hurtling into each other – and Billiards Dungeon looks like it’s nailed that physics-based fun brilliantly.

Of course, there’s also the matter of the game being based around the player’s cueball character (starting off as a Knight, with other, D&D-esque character classes becoming available to unlock when progress is made) making its way through procedurally generated dungeons in an attempt to reach – and defeat – the evil dark lord Ulzaark.

Defeating enemies will require players to knock them into holes in the dungeon floor, as befits the billiards theme – without being sunk into holes themselves. Enemies have different skills and abilities – but the player is able to collect numerous items and weapons to assist them on their physics-based quest.

The game has an appealingly cartoony aesthetic that only adds to the unique charm of its concept. Impressively, the game’s creator, William Cleveland, spent his time learning coding when the COVID-19 pandemic first struck and only began developing Billiards Dungeon back in December 2020 – after spotting a gap in the roguelite market, where no one had previously thought to combine Pool and procedurally generated dungeon delving.

It genuinely does look and feel like a concept that is as well-implemented as it is unique. You’ll be able to see for yourself when Dungeon Billiards launches on the 30th July on Steam, itch.io and VoxPox.

https://youtu.be/UAL4P5IvD90