Dungeon Clawler is a new deckbuilding roguelike where it’s all up for grabs, quite literally, out now

• Dungeon Clawler is out now on early access for iOS and Android
• It sees you journeying into the depths of a dungeon while using claw mechanics to grab gear and loot
• Play as a lucky rabbit whose paw has been stolen by the devious dungeon lord

I don’t think it’s controversial to say that claw machines are kind of a rip-off. They’re slow, they never pick up what you want them, and worst of all the prizes always tend to be quite crummy for what you end up spending. But at the same time, they’re so very enticing, so it’s little wonder then that Dungeon Clawler translates that into a roguelike, deckbuilding adventurer so well!

In Dungeon Clawler, you play a rabbit that’s had its foot removed to give an evil dungeon lord luck, but you’re not taking it lying down. Armed with your trusty claw you venture deep into the dungeon, using claw-machine mechanics to grab new and more powerful gear, lining up the correct combo to destroy your enemy before they destroy you.

Along the way, you’ll meet a wide cast of characters and enemies, utilise new and crazier gear combinations and more. You’ll be able to slowly upgrade your pool of items, grabbing perks and other abilities as you build extremely powerful item combos. Still, there’s always an element of exciting randomness in Dungeon Clawler, as is typical for the genre.

The Claaaw

Dungeon Clawler is out now in early access, and while that may be unusual for mobile, at least for a port, I reckon it makes sense since I’ve never seen a studio translate claw mechanics onto touchscreens. Still, Stray Fawn Studios might be on to a winner here, because as I said, everyone likes claw machines no matter how frustrating they may be; so pairing that kind of enticement with its own independent RPG mechanics and more is a great combo.

And if playing Dungeon Clawler gives you a taste for roguelikes, well, be sure to check in on our list of the top 25 roguelikes for mobile on both Android and iOS!