It's the classic tale: rabbit goes into casino, loses their left hand gambling, puts a mechanical claw in its place and starts using the power of old beachside arcade cabinets to defeat monsters in the hope of getting their lost limb back...
Alright, maybe it's not THAT common a setup, but nevertheless that's the pitch given to us in the new trailer for upcoming RPG Dungeon Clawler in the Mobile Gaming Show, revealing that the game won't just be on PC, but in player's pockets too.
Drawing upon the classic claw machines that so often denied us our prizes as kids, gameplay shows "Sir Bunalot" and a host of other claw-wielding rabbits drawing weapons, spells and armor from those machines in the midst of battle to wield against all manner of fantasy monster – leading to a surreal, if fascinating visual of a rabbit snatching at arcade rewards to sling at the dread octopus god Cthulhu himself.
Welcome to Mobile Gaming Week 2024, where we explore what's hot, what's best, and what's next in the world of mobile gaming following the Mobile Gaming Showcase.
Meanwhile, you can see other elements coming into play throughout – making choices as you adventure through enemy terrain, tile movement reminiscent of old-school dungeon crawlers, deck-building elements, other mechanics based on fairground games like Pachinko, and deck-building based on the prizes drawn with your claw. Frankly, I'm not sure it'll feel the same as it used to if the prizes don't unfairly fall out of the machine's grip just before they reach the chute... but maybe that's for the better.
Dungeon Clawler has yet to have a firm release period announced for mobile yet, but players can sign up for a beta right now. It's also scheduled for a release in Q4 2024 on Steam, with a playable demo there you can try out right now!
