- developer
- Lori Vornoy
- composer
- Lori Vornoy
- platform
- PC
- released
- May 27, 2024
- genre
- Dungeon Crawler
- ratings
- 96% Positive
Summary
Dungeons of Blood and Dream is a randomly generated dungeon crawler with roguelike elements in which the player will wield an array of bladed weapons and harness wondrous spells to fight through hordes of skeletons, zombies, slimes and other disgusting creatures that dwell in the dungeons. No two playthroughs are the same!
Back Story
Following a horrific incident, The Blood Wizard ends up trapped within the Mind Prison of a dangerous entity. With his powers crippled, he is forced to resort to fickle and unreliable sleep magic to attempt his escape. To earn freedom, he must fight his way through perilous dungeons of Dream, seek advice from mysterious locals and discover secrets.
Gameplay
You play as the Blood Wizard, with the singular goal of progressing through room after room, floor after floor killing enemies to ultimately defeat the powerful wizard responsible for entrapping the Blood wizard in the world of Dream. You start with a broken sword and a magic shield eye capable of blocking all incoming damage for a small period. To enter a room you must open a gate, which are sometimes locked and can be opened with keys found in other rooms. Once inside a room containing enemies, all gates will be blocked by magic, requiring you to defeat any enemies inside. Some rooms contain traps, chests, and other hazards or beneficial centerpieces, while other rooms have specific dedicated purposes and do not contain threats of any kind. Along the way, you may find things like potions, weapons, and rings that provide unique effects and can impede or aid you in battle. At the end of each floor lies a powerful boss that must be slain to open a portal to the next floor.
Community tips for new players
- The starting Shield Eye grants a moment of invulnerability. Players say it is triggered with Q.
- Kicking and attacking at the same time (kick plus a slash or stab) is a popular way to deal more damage, and some rings add effects to kicks.
- Circle-strafing enemies is a common way to avoid being hit.
- Drink unknown potions to reveal their effects, since the same smells keep the same effects between runs.
- Ring effects depend on which finger they are worn on, and the effect is revealed once you try that finger.
- See Achievements and Endings for goals to aim for.
- A review describes kicking enemies into hazards such as spikes and acid as part of combat, alongside ordinary slashing and stabbing.
- The same review describes the hands shown at the side of the screen as what tells you where your rings sit.
- A strategy guide lists the controls: W, A, S and D to move, Space to jump, Ctrl to crouch, X to kick, left mouse to cut, right mouse to thrust, Q for the eye power, E to interact, N for the notebook, Tab for the map, H for the hands and rings screen, mouse wheel to pick a sigil and the wheel button to cast it.
Community-sourced (added October 2026, not yet verified in-game). Sources: Steam thread: I don't know; Vice review of Dungeons of Blood and Dream; Steam guide: How easly win almost all your runs by GettyX.
From the official manual
- Backstory: humans created the Jesters, who lusted after their flesh and began the Feast, driving humanity close to extinction. Those who managed to control Jesters became the True Humans, the new gods of the universe. To rebuild the world they made puppets, demi-humans who could not harness Jester powers. The Sorcerer, one of the True Humans, created Blood Magic as a mirror of his own powers and gave it to his puppets, whose minds were strong enough to grasp great mysteries. The game is the story of one such puppet, a Blood Wizard, imprisoned by another creature jealous of his powers.
- Premise: you control the Blood Wizard, trapped in someone's Mind Prison. Your powers are crippled in the waking world, so your only way out is the magic of Dream.
- Controls: directional keys to move, mouse to look, E to interact, right click to thrust, left click to cut, Space to jump, Ctrl to crouch, H to view your fingers and equipped rings, X to kick, Q for the eye power, mouse wheel to select a spell symbol, mouse wheel click to commit it, N for the notebook and Tab for the map. Xbox and PlayStation controllers are supported, and the main menu has Collection, Start, Settings and Quit.
- The game screen shows committed spell symbols, the masks of poor souls within your Mind Prison (whose disposition changes as your power grows), your lifeblood, the currently selected spell symbol, the map, and your gold.
From the game's official manual. Unlike the rest of the notes on this page, this is a primary source: it is the developer's own documentation, not community research.