Are you a fan of TTRPGs or fantasy games? What if instead of wielding a sword or casting spells you slow it down a bit and take on the role of an NPC? Dungeon Inn by Cat Society is a charming and quirky blend of management and simulation elements that allows players to step into the shoes of a humble innkeeper in a world full of adventurers. Instead of slaying monsters or delving into dungeons yourself, your goal is to manage an inn catering to the very adventurers who undertake these heroic quests.
The premise of Dungeon Inn is simple but highly engaging. Set in a medieval fantasy world, players take on the role of innkeeper Sara, who along with her cat friends Bami and Butter, made a deal with a dragon to open an inn by a mysterious dungeon. Which consequently is near the dragon’s lair. Over time, your inn becomes a hub for weary adventurers"”warriors, casters, and heroes"”who come to rest, grab a hot meal and supplies, even fine tune their skills.
Mechanics
Dungeon Inn cleverly mixes inn management with RPG concepts. Your inn starts very modest, with two different guild sides. Upgrade and expand your inn and make it a one stop adventurer destination. The better the inn, the more money you bring in.
Your main challenge of this game is keeping competing groups from crossing paths and reducing suspicion on double dealing. Rival adventurers travel from both The Seaside and Mountain Guilds. Sometimes conflict can't be avoided and leads to brawls on your doorstep. You can use resources to counterbalance the fight in order to avoid suspicion. Too much suspicion and game over.
Special situations and events do pop up as you expand. How you decide to proceed in those circumstances impacts the inn's income and popularity. Do you charge the famous wizard for an extra pillow, or allow him to have it for free in exchange for a popularity boost? WIll your choices help or hinder the inn?
Dungeon Inn uses various tools as turn based strategies to help game play. Is your suspicion meter looking a little high? Need to slow down a guild so they don't clash for the third time today? Deploy the Lucky Wheel! Need to drum up more business? Put out the signboard! There are many strategies to help your business thrive!
Early Access
Its been just over a month since Dungeon Inn's release into early access and in that time devs have been actively listening to players. From bug fixes to UI optimization and localization, developers from Cat Society have been on fire, and with plans for MORE!
In their 2025 road map, Cat Society developers plan to add Steam Cloud, as well as Steam Deck Support. New mode additions, more customization of rooms, as well as seasonal in game events. By Q3/4 of 2025 Cat Society plans to have a full release of Dungeon Inn with approximately 20 hours of gameplay. Early release only has ¼ of full game intended content.
Bright Spots
I think my favorite part of this game is the auto save feature. In certain games, you can go a whole chunk of time without saving to only find you have failed and you have to start over from the beginning. To some that may be a plus, but to me it’s a BIG reason I put games on the shelf. In Dungeon Inn, each day is saved during a round. (which lasts one week or 20 turns) If you find a certain day was your downfall, you can zip back in time and start from that checkpoint, rather than start the week over. I love this so much. I can alter my strategy and pick up where I dropped the ball.
Another strong feature is the visual style of Dungeon Inn. The game has a charming, cartoonish aesthetic with vibrant, detailed environments that bring the world to life. I am very excited to see what 2025 brings for Dungeon Inn and the Cat Society devs. The roadmap looks promising, and I am excited for it's full release.
If you want to get your hands on this adorable turn-based strategy management game, it is currently for sale on Steam for PC and Mac.
Gamer Social Club was provided a review code for this review.
