Press [Start] to Game: ‘Adventure Time: Explore the dungeon because I DON’T KNOW!’ Yeah, I don’t know either.

Adventure Time’s dungeons change themes to change the experience. (Courtesy of D3 Publisher)

 “Adventure Time” is one of the few franchises on television that you would think would transfer over to video games well. However, “Explore the dungeon because I DON’T KNOW!” (ETDBIDK!) is an uninspired waste of a great franchise.

For Windows PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS

Review Score: 1/5

The plot for the game is not a retelling of a storyline from the show, but rather an original storyline that deals with the fact that protagonists Finn, the human boy and Jake, the dog, have locked up too many villains in the Candy Kingdom’s dungeon and they have begun to escape.

It’s the player’s job to clean up the mess as they have to explore 100 levels of “Gauntlet” style dungeon crawling. The set up would be great if the game could deliver some variety, but most levels keep a similar layout and even keep the same theme. It took 20 floors to reach the ice themed levels, and even then the layout had become repetitive and familiar.

Players are better off running from one end of each level to the other rather than wandering around defeating enemies, since there is no reward. Players can find treasure on the dungeon maps, but defeating enemies yield nothing since there is no leveling system.

Players can upgrade skills from the Choose Goose in the hub world, but they’re granted access only every five levels. Problems with this formula are with the fact that upgrades are expensive; it’s better to wait until reaching the later dungeon floors in order to afford anything. Also the fact that when you return to the dungeons you’re charged with a candy tax that takes the rest of your unspent treasure, making window shopping a stressful experience.

The few redeeming factors of the game come from the cute 16-bit visuals, voice acting featuring the show’s cast and multiplayer. However, no amount of pixels and voice acting can save this repetitive and boring game.

Pendleton Ward, the series’ creator, has promised that there would be a big plot reveal in the game’s ending, but players are better off waiting for the internet leaks or piecing it together from the show’s future episodes.