Dragon Riddler – Press kit
Factsheet
Developer
SandorHQ
Based in Hungary
Release date:
Demo: 20 Apr 2025.
Full game: coming soon.
Platforms:
Website:
https://
Regular Price:
TBD
Description
Dragon Riddler is not a word game. It’s a heroic fantasy adventure powered by dynamic word‑based systems that blend the adventurer’s abilities with the player’s skill.
Qui aurum draconis quaerunt, parati sint resistendi eius malis.
Sed qui debiles sunt, peribunt tamen.
Esto audax! Esto fortis! Obviam ire draconi!
English Translation
Those who seek the dragon's gold, let them be prepared to resist its evils.
But those who are weak will perish nonetheless.
Be bold! Be strong! Go and face the dragon!
In this turn‑based word‑puzzle adventure, you are a Dragon Riddler: an adventurer seeking fabled dragon gold.
Journey through a fantasy land where words hold power and reality is scattered into mythic Regions. Each Region is guarded by a powerful foe, protected by magical Gates, and patrolled by monsters and ruffians of all kinds. As you fight your way forward, every Gate you open reveals a prophecy describing the possible breed of the final dragon. The prophecy is hazy at first but becomes clearer as you progress. Each dragon breed has its own strengths and weaknesses, so prepare wisely.
Both the combat and magic systems rely on a word‑based mechanic that creates synergy between the adventurer’s abilities and the player’s skill, with a healthy dose of luck and mastery. By choosing the right combat stance, you can shift between defensive, balanced and aggressive styles, and a Blackjack‑like preparation phase plays a crucial role in breaking the magical Gate seals.
Improve your adventurer by earning XP for building strong words and spending it on various boons. Your foes come with their own buffs, debuffs, and traits, and circumstances may trigger both beneficial and harmful effects on the hero.
History
After my previous game, Words of Yendor, I wanted to explore a different idea for a word duel system, so in July 2024 I started working on what became Dragon Riddler.
The demo was published on 20 April 2025, then due to the surprisingly low interest (under 300 Steam wishlists) I put the project on hold. A few months later, after considering what could have gone so wrong, I decided to prune what I thought to be problematic and redesigned the entire game from scratch by focusing on what worked. I releasesd the updated demo after three months of very intensive crunching, and I’m currently working on this project.
Features
- Turn-based, procedurally generated adventures
- Classic heroic fantasy world
- Lots of monsters to defeat in word duels
- 6 dragon breeds, each with unique powers and weaknesses
- 7 dragon age categories
Images
Logo
Monetization Permission
SandorHQ allows for the contents of Dragon Riddler to be published through video broadcasting services for any commercial or non-commercial purposes. Monetization of videos created containing assets from Dragon Riddler is legally & explicitly allowed by SandorHQ. This permission can be found in writing at https://sandorhq.com/games/dragon-riddler.
About SandorHQ
SandorHQ is an ongoing experiment of Sándor Szigeti, a veteran game designer and IT professional hailing from Hungary, Europe. After designing and publishing the cyberpunk tabletop role-playing game “Armageddon 2092 – Mars” in 1995, it certainly took him a long time to start making computer games, but with so many interesting, quality project ideas it’s only a matter of time before they become reality for everyone to enjoy.
Credits
Sándor Szigeti – Game design, programming, graphics.
Music by Alexander Nakarada and Ovani Sound.
Built with the Godot Engine.
Contact
Sándor: sandor@sandorhq.com