Despot's Game

About

Despot's Game is a single player casual strategy game. It was developed by Konfa Games and was released on September 29, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Roguelike, auto-battler, deep progression, gratuitous violence, pretzels!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

62%

Audience ScoreBased on 301 reviews

gameplay7 positive mentions

stability11 negative mentions

The game features a unique art style and engaging gameplay, with clever humor that enhances the experience.
It has great potential with fun mechanics and a variety of strategies, making it enjoyable and replayable.
The game is well-designed with smooth animations and a fresh concept that keeps players engaged.

The game is plagued by frequent crashes and bugs, particularly when managing larger teams, leading to lost progress.
Many players find the price point of $20 for a mobile game to be excessively high, especially given the limited content available without purchase.
Controls are often frustrating and not well-optimized for mobile, making gameplay difficult and less enjoyable.

gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
36%
14%
The gameplay is widely praised for its unique mechanics, dark humor, and engaging roguelike elements, offering a fun and challenging experience with high replayability. However, some users noted issues with crashes and the potential for repetitiveness, particularly in the free version, which limits access to the full game. Overall, the art style and evolving mechanics contribute to a compelling gameplay experience that many hope will continue to improve.
- “The mechanics are genius, diabolical, and constantly updated/evolving.”
- “Gameplay is really fun, and I love the dark humor.”
- “I finished the free levels quite fast; the game has a lot of interesting mechanics like hunger, same class buff, new ability if you get three of the same class, mutations, the shop system for new humans or weapons which determines the class, plug-ins, all in all very unique.”
- “No ability to watch videos and prolong gameplay, or continue PvP play.”
- “Crashing after 3 minutes of gameplay; for those 3 minutes, I didn't even see the real game potential... can it be fixed?”
stability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs affecting controls, UI elements, and loading times. Players frequently experience glitches that hinder gameplay, such as freezing and issues with room transitions, leading to frustration and disappointment, especially given the game's price. Overall, while the concept is promising, the current state is marred by significant stability issues.
- “This seems like it would be a really cool game, but the controls are far too buggy in this version.”
- “Ui elements often wouldn't disappear, and room transitions were extremely buggy.”
- “Can you guys please fix the freeze bug? My units can't even move and got stuck on a level. It happens every time I have 20 units on my team. I've spent 20 dollars for a buggy game.”
graphics
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
29%
14%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their amazing art style and polished visuals, particularly in the context of its roguelike and RPG elements. However, some players express concerns about the mobile controls and balance issues, which detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, the visual appeal remains a highlight, contributing to the game's charm and enjoyment.
- “If you like roguelikes, stylish violence, and very polished visuals, you won't regret getting the full version.”
- “Amazing art style and gameplay, hope this game grows and devs don't stop working on it.”
- “Love from Egypt liked the gameplay and graphics thanks for bringing this masterpiece to mobile ❤”
- “Pretty much a top-down RPG team-based game, quite graphic and makes you think a lot.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
60%
The humor in the game is characterized by a blend of dark comedy and clever dialogue that complements its bleak themes, with many players appreciating the funny and intriguing items and quests. However, not all users found the humor effective, indicating a mixed reception overall.
- “Love the art, music, and dialogue; it serves the hilariously bleak premise/theme so well.”
- “Gameplay is really fun, and I love the dark humor.”
- “The items are awesome, both funny and intriguing; quests are funny and gameplay runs very well.”
- “Not funny.”
- “The jokes fell flat and lacked originality.”
- “I expected more clever humor, but it was mostly cringeworthy.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is highly praised for its ability to complement the art and dialogue, effectively enhancing the hilariously bleak theme. Reviewers highlight the fantastic soundtrack as a standout feature, noting that it adds significant value to the overall experience.
- “Love the art, music, and dialogue; it serves the hilariously bleak premise/theme so well.”
- “Art and music are amazing.”
- “This is a fantastic soundtrack that comes with a free game!”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Players appreciate the game's class system and perk mechanics, which contribute to a fresh and engaging experience, enhancing its replayability. While the roguelike elements offer variety, some users note a potential for repetition, though this may be mitigated in the paid version. Overall, the game is considered fun and highly replayable, particularly on Xbox.
- “Good roguelike mechanics with replayability have the potential to be a bit repetitive, which might have been addressed in the paid version.”
- “Played on the Xbox; lovely game, loads of fun and replayability.”
- “The class system works well; each serves a different purpose but can function in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways via a perk system that keeps things fresh and replayable.”
- “After completing the game once, I found little incentive to go back and play again. The story doesn't change much, and the side quests feel repetitive.”
- “While the initial playthrough was enjoyable, I quickly realized that the lack of meaningful choices and consequences made replaying the game feel pointless.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues on mobile devices, including a small user interface and performance problems across various tested devices. While the gameplay itself is praised, the lack of proper optimization detracts from the overall experience.
- “The user interface is compact, but I encountered some performance issues on the majority of the devices I extensively tested in my gaming lab. Overall, it's an average port, but the game itself is amazing.”
- “The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end devices.”
- “I appreciate how the developers focused on optimization, ensuring that the game runs well across a variety of hardware configurations.”
- “I would pay for the whole game, but it's not optimized for mobile.”
- “The user interface is small, plus there are some performance issues on the majority of the devices that I extensively tested in my gaming lab. Otherwise, it's an average port, but an amazing game.”
- “The game is not optimized for mobile.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
Players express frustration with the monetization model, particularly the requirement to purchase the full version for $20, which hinders their ability to enjoy the game. Some suggest implementing ads instead, as it would allow them to continue playing without the financial barrier. Overall, there is a desire for more accessible options for those unable to afford the full game.
- “It's $20 because it's a whole game with no ads or microtransactions.”
- “I would buy the full game if it's not in the 'in-app purchase'.”
- “I really love this game and have been playing it for a while now, but I'm having a hard time continuing because of the buy full version requirement. It's making me stop playing. Can you instead put in ads? It would help players like me who can't afford to buy the full version to continue playing the game much longer.”
- “I would buy the full game if it didn't require in-app purchases.”
story
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story is characterized by its humorous and intriguing elements, with engaging quests that enhance the gameplay experience. Overall, players find the narrative enjoyable and well-integrated into the game.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect tedious, particularly when it requires starting over to unlock features on a different device.
- “It's tedious that I have to start all over to unlock features on another phone.”