Dungeons
Review
A satisfying blend
by Davneet Minhas
reviewed on PC
Dungeon Tycoon, (cntd)
But with adequate foresight and constant vigilance, I always overcame any early frustrations and eventually achieved that wonderful equilibrium where a constant stream of heroes would fatten themselves on gold, books, equipment, and battle, and then die to my monsters. I could sit back with my arms crossed and watch my gold and Soul Energy continuously increase. That’s true satisfaction, more akin to Rollercoaster Tycoon than Evil Genius. In fact, Dungeons is surprisingly similar to Rollercoaster Tycoon. Both are about luring guests into your establishment, satisfying them with attractions, and then murdering them.
I never sat back for very long. Incoming heroes periodically level up, as do their needs, so I had to periodically upgrade my measly piles of gold, add to my equipments rooms and libraries, and level up my monsters. And of course, there’s more to being a vengeful dungeon lord than basic dungeon management.
Give Me Story
More so than its predecessors, Dungeons incorporates story-based objectives – and is better for it. Each of the twenty missions in the campaign is built around some end goal. In one mission I had to break into a few neighboring cellars, in another I escorted slime monsters into a slime cannon, and a third mission tasked me with intercepting underground shipments. And of course, there are a few missions that call for the destruction of another dungeon lord’s Dungeonheart.
There are also side missions, provided by superior dungeon lords who delight in being bothersome. These missions are optional, but if not done, the superiors may grow angry and will send monsters to assault the Dungeonheart. It’s a tradeoff, one distraction or the other?
But while seemingly unique, almost all missions revolve around expanding an area of influence or gaining prestige, by littering a dungeon with decorative Prestige Gimmicks, or some combination of the two. Still, the story-based objectives keep the campaign refreshing; no two missions feel alike. And such goal-oriented gameplay adds to the sense of satisfaction already had from creating a stable dungeon.
Action RPG
Dungeons also has a strong RPG component in its manifestation of the dungeon lord. Unlike the goblins, the dungeon lord is fully controllable and useful for taking down powerful heroes as mentioned before. He gains attribute points, which can be spent on upgrading his strength, agility, intelligence, or constitution, and has a personal skill tree. He can gain additional combat and magic abilities, like Sweeping Blow and Magic Missile; he can learn to move faster, heal himself, and shoot fire; he can even become an “ace bargain hunter,” reducing prices on all items. The skill tree is very comprehensive, and it’s impossible to achieve everything, even though all attributes and skills carry from mission to mission. I spent a good amount of time staring at the options, deciding what direction to take with my dungeon lord.
At times, Dungeons really feels like an action RPG, especially during drawn-out boss battles and attacks on enemy Dungeonhearts. In fact, there’s a spell that changes the game’s camera angle to a close-up of the dungeon lord’s back and boosts all of his attributes, really emphasizing the action element. But while the graphics are surprisingly good, the change in view really highlights the game’s repetitive animations and flaccid combat. I avoided it as much as possible – better to stay in the zoomed-out, traditional top-down view. It still feels like an action RPG, just more Diablo than Elder Scrolls.
Satire
The RPG genre also pops up in the game’s humor – Dungeons, after all, seeks to satirize RPGs and fantasy in general. The game pokes fun at Diablo, the action-RPG series, and gives monsters a similar treatment: My goblin guide once tried to eat a slime monster, thinking it would taste like lime Jell-O, and gave a full report on the matter. He was disappointed, while I was amused.
But most amusing are the over-enthusiastic heroes. At one point, while dueling a hero, I’m sure I heard him yell “Expelliarmus!” He probably should’ve practiced his wand technique a bit more – the battle didn’t end well for him.
Satisfying Blend, with Flaws
Outside of the campaign, there’s also a sandbox mode, which allows for any sort of dungeon – within preset conditions. But it lacks some of the humor and the story-based objectives that add so much to the campaign, and it becomes mundane quickly. A better addition would’ve been competitive multiplayer, pitting two dungeon lords and their Dungeonhearts against each other. I imagine some interesting and thoughtful strategies would result. But alas, there is no multiplayer component.
There is, however, one major bug in the version I played. In one scenario, I had to pull a lever to satisfy a side mission, but when I did, the game froze. I restarted, and tried again, to the same result. After two more attempts, I decided to ignore the side mission and deal with my boss’ wrath. No matter, the campaign was still a very enjoyable affair.
Despite some flaws and the lack of quality gameplay outside the campaign, Dungeons’ simulation core, story, humor, and role-playing elements make it quite unique. I think. It could be exactly the same as Dungeon Keeper, its supposed spiritual predecessor. Either way, I don’t really care. This game is fun.
8.3
fun score
Pros
Satisfying blend of dungeon management and action RPG mechanics, Humorous
Cons
Nothing of quality outside the campaign
