Daniel (@dungeondive) continues his exploration of Domain of Mirza Noctis after gaining hands-on experience with the dungeon system. He positions it favorably against Valley of the Dead King while acknowledging both games excel in different ways. The dungeon minigame receives particular praise—he describes it as the perfect encapsulation of everything he’s always wanted in a game: an overland hex crawl combined with meaningful dungeon exploration. Daniel walks through his specific dungeon encounters, showing how rune collection, stat checks against traps, and treasure rewards create emergent storytelling. His analysis reveals why this volume represents excellent design: it maintains the hex crawl’s open feel while the focused win condition (defeat Mirza Noctis directly or before blood reaches 100) makes it more cohesive than Sands of Shurax.
Have you played other games combining overland and dungeon exploration? How does Hexplore It’s approach compare to your expectations?