Once again the ragtag group of adventurers is back into the full swing of things. This time with the new second DLC release for The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos, Splat Jaypak’s Arenas. This is the first DLC that will be made available for console players.
The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos has become my go-to game when I want a challenging turn-based tactical RPG with a sense of humor that keeps me enthralled for hours. Artefacts Studio and Dear Villagers have me hooked again with this new DLC drop and I couldn’t wait to find out what Splat Jaypak is all about.
Unlike the first DLC, The Ruins of Limis, you don’t get to choose how you start the new content. This starts you right back into a prison cell and the Dwarf complaining about the ranger talking in his sleep. These characters are really thought out and each has their own style and thought process, so again I love hearing the nitpicking and insults that they thrash at each other.
The story starts when you are teleported out of the jail and back into the halls of the endless dungeon. However, the ranger quickly notices that it is not the same dungeon and oh look all the group is here. His sarcastic thoughts pour through my headset as they start bickering all over.
Quickly they are interrupted by a new villain named Splat Jaypak who appears to be the being in charge of the Arenas. He informs you that you will be participating and there are only one of two ways to leave the arena once the fighting begins: drug out by your feet or walk out. However, the latter has never been accomplished before, then he disappears. Then there is a quick little intro to the market, the battle board, and the lockers before your first fight.
The market is where you can purchase equipment and boost your clan of war-bound brothers and sisters with healing potions, mana potions, new gear, and so forth. The battle board is where you can plan out your attack. The board gives you an idea of where the enemies will start so that you don’t go into the arena completely blind. The lockers are where you can switch out one or more of your crew for other characters. What is nice about this, is even if they are not in the fight with you, you still get experience points for them. So this means you get to try out whomever you want without losing anything.
Now our heroes have not changed since the last DLC. There is still a bunch of squabbling and the unlikely group that surely would slaughter one another if they had a chance. The Dwarf still hates the Elf and vice versa. The Ogre is still your friendly tank, and your Barbarian is still a moron with a sword fetish. The characters still had great one-liners and zingers to keep you entertained. And the new villain Splat Jaypak was on point too. He even had ads for his battles, so if you want to raise the most vicious fighting chickens you can get the one with goblin flour. I laughed more than I should have at this and other ads for his sponsors.
For the arenas, I believe there are 15 battles that you can partake in. I am only on number 10 because quite a few of these get very challenging. I mean the first one alone took me a while to figure out placing and battle strategy. In the first battle, you take on 2 chicken farmers and their flock of man-eating chickens. These birds to summersault kicks and beak pecks and other powerful moves. I was flanked and surrounded by them quickly and was swiftly overran. This was the first battle in the arena, and it was very hardcore for your first time. I am glad I was already familiar with the mechanics of the game or I may have become upset and walked away.
Each battle becomes harder and harder, hence the reason for the use of the market. Healing potions and belts are a must for most matches just so ya know. Also even when you get gold after you win, I had to be very picky about what I was purchasing.
There is not enough gold to level up everyone’s equipment at the same time. You need to take that into consideration and plan. I also enjoyed the fact that I could leave some of my teammates in the locker for them to bicker it out there, while I tried out the paladin and the bard. Using the other characters brought more banter to the fight and different conversations as well.
The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: Splat Jaypak’s Arenas is a refreshing DLC with a straightforward plan. There isn’t much to be added to the story but by swapping out characters, I was still entertained by some of the best insults and one-liners that I have heard in any game. I love the game and the 2 amazing companies that brought this world to us.
For the price and the content that they brought to this DLC, I can say this was a better improvement over the last one. I am now looking forward to the 3rd and final DLC that comes out in 2022. The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: Splat Jaypak’s Arenas will be available on Steam, Epic Games Store, and Windows for PC for $7.99 on December 3rd, 2021. It will also be available for consoles as well on December 3rd, 2021.
This review was written based on a digital review copy of The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: Splat Jaypak Arenas for PC provided by Dear Villagers and Artefacts Studio.
