Away: Shuffle Dungeon (2008). Play online

Summary

Away: Shuffle Dungeon pushes the DS dual‑screen layout into a moving puzzle‑like labyrinth. When you drop into a dungeon you have only a few seconds to maneuver Sword across both screens before the map shuffles, opening fresh monster‑filled chambers and closing off the ones you lingered in. Get caught in the shift and you lose HP and are slammed back to an earlier floor, forcing you to keep moving.

The shuffle mechanic turns each run into a frantic race, yet the same dungeon can be revisited after exiting, letting you grind for better gear and stats while hunting the hidden chests that appear after every shuffle. Bosses await on the final floor, and saving points let you plan the next push without starting from scratch.

The title is a joint effort by Artoon and Mistwalker, published in the West by Majesco after AQ Interactive’s partnership brought multilingual support to Europe. Critics were split: Metacritic landed on a middling 65 / 100, with praises for its innovative layout tempered by comments that the combat stays simple and the difficulty modest.

Storyline

Away: Shuffle Dungeon drops you into a quiet village haunted by a strange curse. Every year the curse known as “Away” claims a resident, making them vanish without a trace. The player’s goal is to uncover the mystery behind these disappearances and break the cycle. As you explore the dungeon‑like layout of the town, clues reveal how the curse operates and who might be responsible.