I completed one dungeon in Dragon’s Crown with a party of four adventurers. I was the fighter who is an all out attacker. You can do different kinds of sword slashes by pressing left or right on the analog stick while hitting attack. The fighter’s most powerful move is a downward sword slash that has a small area of effect. When you use this move his sword gets stuck in the ground and he has to fight with his bare fists for a little while. That’s not really a problem for the fighter who deals about as much damage, but has less range.

A elf, dwarf, and sorceress were also in my party. The sorceress is essentially a support character. She can create a protective aura on the party that soaks up damage and she has some attack spells. However, the dwarf, fighter, and speedy elf were the main attackers. It was a balanced combination of characters that cut through lizardmen and stomped on scorpions (you actually squish scorpions) without any problems. I think we may have been over-leveled for this particular dungeon.

Dragon’s Crown encourages players to revisit dungeons because loot is random. Similar to Diablo or a roguelike, loot is created by the game with various magical properties. You also need to appraise magical items to find out what you have, which you do after completing a dungeon. Players can’t actually open treasure chests in Dragon’s Crown. You have to call Rannie the thief over by using the right analog stick to control a mouse cursor. Rannie can also open doors which lead to more treasure or alternate paths. One door I opened led the party into a room with two treasure chests… and like 50 scorpions.

As we progressed through the level, I ran into a small fire-breathing dragon that started out as an enemy, but became a mount when I knocked it out. Mounts have their own HP meter so while you’re riding the dragon your character will not take damage. Your main attack is also replaced with the dragon’s fire breath which inflicts multiple hits.

A Wyvern was waiting at the end of the dungeon and the dragon’s fire-breathing ability was really handy here since I could keep my distance. When the Wyvern knocked me off the dragon I used the fighter’s air juggle combo where he spins his sword vertically. He jumps pretty high for wearing a full set of plated armor. Midway through the fight the Wyvern called for reinforcements, but even with help the Wyvern was easy to defeat. Our reward was a cache of experience points and a couple of magical items.

While Dragon’s Crown is designed to be played with friends, you can solo through the game. Players will find piles of bones in dungeons which they can transform into NPCs. Loot will be scaled so you’ll get more items for the class you play as. You won’t get staves if you’re a fighter, for example.

Dragon’s Crown is slated for release on August 6 in North America.