Lord Ambermaze Impressions
Combat becomes a puzzle in grid-based dungeon explorer Lord Ambermaze.
Lord Ambermaze from Potata Company and HeroCraft PC is a turn-based dungeon crawler. It takes the "time moves when you do" concept, but without the rhythms of Crypt of the Necrodancer. The player, as Zeyn, gets trapped on a mysterious island where time doesn’t flow. He must wield the legendary Sword of Motion, and navigate grid-based dungeons where every step triggers enemy movement.
The strategic combat is initially interesting, as different enemies require specific approaches, turning encounters into puzzles. The combat puzzle formula gets a bit tedious not too far into the game. Minigames and more grid-based puzzles do add some variation, however, and I do appreciate that every room is hand-crafted rather than randomly generated. Exploration yields extra rewards, so there’s good motivation to search every room you can.
The pixel art looks competent if unremarkable; I’m not a big fan of the game’s chunky, cartoony style. The visuals are flatter than they need to be. Even in a game that relies on grid-based movement, there are ways to add some depth while maintaining spatial clarity. The game could also use some more juice that would make killing enemies feel more satisfying. It should be crunchier.
Lord Ambermaze doesn’t quite have what it takes to make it addictive or compelling. It has solid fundamentals, but lacks the spark that would make it great. I plan to spend more time with it, but the first few hours I’ve played haven’t impressed.
Lord Ambermaze is available now on Steam.
Played on: Steam Deck
