Despot's Game: Dystopian Battle Simulator
- September 29, 2022
- Konfa Games
- 19h median play time
Get on SteamDespot's Game: Dystopian Battle Simulator is a turn-based strategy game where players equip gladiators with weapons and send them into battle. The game features procedural generation, creating unique weapons, enemies, and environments in every playthrough. Players must navigate the dystopian world, manage resources, and make tactical decisions to lead their gang of gladiators to victory.
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Reviews
- Fun and engaging gameplay with a unique blend of roguelike and autobattler mechanics.
- Great art style and soundtrack that enhance the overall experience.
- Humorous writing and pop culture references add charm and entertainment value.
- gameplay402 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of simple mechanics and a deeper strategic layer, appealing to fans of roguelikes and auto-battlers. However, many players find the hunger mechanic frustrating and unnecessary, detracting from the overall experience and introducing artificial difficulty. While the core gameplay loop can be enjoyable and humorous, it often feels repetitive and lacks meaningful depth, leading to mixed reviews on its long-term engagement.
“But later the game delivers an awesome combination of game mechanics, stories, geek references, tons of humor, and challenges.”
“The mechanics look quite simple, but it will take your best tactics to beat this game.”
“The gameplay is very simple yet has a deeper level of strategy to it, almost like a game of chess.”
“The food mechanic is just artificial difficulty; the combat has no depth, pretty boring overall.”
“The gameplay didn't really hook me, and the music, aesthetic, and humor were also not really hitting for me.”
“The gameplay loop unfortunately gets stale very fast, at least for me as a generalist gamer.”
- music216 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The music in Despots Game is widely praised for its catchy and energetic soundtrack, often described as a standout feature that enhances the overall experience. Many players appreciate the unique style and variety of the music, although some note that it can become repetitive over time. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant draw for the game, with many recommending it even to those who may not enjoy the gameplay itself.
“The soundtrack is absolutely great though, the writing is charming and the art direction and animations are just excellent.”
“The music is easily one of the best aspects of the game.”
“Captures all of the magic of despotism 3k with terrific gameplay and a kicking soundtrack to boot.”
“The gameplay didn't really hook me and the music, aesthetic, and humor were also not really hitting for me.”
“There seems to be only a few tracks, so music becomes repetitive very fast; gameplay doesn't really change much no matter how many things you unlock, and overall there aren't that many relevant decisions to make throughout a run.”
“I had to turn down the music to even start hearing the sound effects, which weren't that punchy.”
- humor176 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, featuring a mix of quirky, dark, and pop culture references that many players find entertaining and engaging. While some reviews note that the humor can be hit-or-miss or overly random, the overall consensus is that it adds a lighthearted touch to the gameplay, making it enjoyable and memorable. The combination of funny dialogue, creative missions, and humorous weaponry contributes to a unique experience that resonates well with fans of the genre.
“Build a team with many options to choose from, some funny, some just insanely cool, and fight your way through an increasingly harder dungeon, with multiple hilarious sidequests along the way as you get stronger and stronger.”
“Masterpiece, perfectly captured what it was trying to do, hilarious content that doesn't at all feel out of place.”
“The writing is funny and keeps the constant death and dreariness very lighthearted.”
- graphics140 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming pixel art style, vibrant colors, and engaging animations, which evoke nostalgia and enhance the overall aesthetic experience. While many players appreciate the unique art direction and humor, some feel that the visuals alone cannot compensate for gameplay shortcomings. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal, making it visually enjoyable despite mixed opinions on its mechanics.
“The graphics are charming; it reminds me of my childhood with the stick fight animations on YouTube or that 3DS note game.”
“Despot's game is a nice little auto battler with beautiful graphics and fourth-wall breaking humor.”
“The art style is unique and very nice to look at.”
“I don't go in for auto battlers and, being old, I find pixel graphics a bit silly given the state of the art.”
“All the game has to offer is neat pixel graphics to look at, but if you are looking for some actual game aspects, you won't find them here.”
“The game itself is just a loop of going to a few rooms, clicking a few things, clicking a door, then watching armies fight; that much in itself is hollow and you see it as soon as you get past the aesthetic of the style and graphics.”
- replayability116 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many players noting a significant amount of replay value due to various modes, customization options, and PvP elements. However, some reviews highlight limitations in content variety and suggest that replayability may diminish over time, especially if updates do not introduce new features. While many find the game enjoyable and engaging enough for multiple playthroughs, others caution that it may not sustain long-term interest without further development.
“I love this game, I'm not that far and I beat the campaign on my second run, but I can already tell this game will have so much content and replayability!”
“It's addicting, rewarding, funny, creative, easy to understand, hard to master, infinitely replayable.”
“A very entertaining game with lots of variety and replayability!”
“There is no story and very limited replayability unless you want to chase achievements, but even those are pretty uninspired.”
“The content doesn't vary a lot though so unless you really love the PvP at the end there isn't a ton of replayability.”
“Things start feeling familiar quickly, seems very lean on content, this is where the replayability takes a nosedive.”
- story50 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely considered secondary to its gameplay, with many players noting a lack of depth and coherence in the narrative. While there are creative and humorous quests with well-written dialogue and pop culture references, the overall experience feels more like a vehicle for gameplay mechanics rather than a compelling story. Players appreciate the fun side missions and unique character interactions, but many feel that the story lacks substance and replayability.
“A lot of the quest dialogues are well written and feature nice references.”
“Pop culture references, really funny dialogue, stupid (in a good way) quests and a tone that's just fun.”
“There are many cool dialogues, texts, and quests you might encounter during the gameplay; don't skip them, they're pretty fun.”
“It's seriously to the point where it seems like the game and story is just a shallow vehicle for the devs to spout over 9000!!!11!”
“There is no story and very limited replayability unless you want to chase achievements, but even those are pretty uninspired.”
“But the game tries to mask RNG events as 'story'.”
- grinding30 mentions
- 3 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 87 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, detracting from the overall enjoyment. Many players feel that the mechanics, such as the food system and resource management, add little value and often punish experimentation, leading to a frustrating experience. While some find redeeming qualities in the game, the consensus is that the grind significantly hampers gameplay.
“The game is puny-human-friendly, not grindy, and only took me about 3-4 attempts to beat it on normal difficulty.”
“This game feels tedious rather than fun.”
“It's not fun anymore: it's repetitive and grindy.”
“There's a lot of good in the game but it's overly punishing, and the food system only works in theory because in practice it's just tedious crap that adds almost nothing to an already shallow game.”
- optimization20 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is currently a significant issue, with players experiencing frequent frame stuttering, especially in busier areas, and some bugs requiring restarts. While the potential for deep squad optimization exists, many users feel that the game is unoptimized and recommend waiting for improvements before diving in. As it is still in alpha, performance issues are expected, but there is a desire for gameplay to focus more on creativity rather than just optimization.
“Even with all the rogue-like wackiness, things get a little repetitive after your first full run, but then the semi-PVP aspect comes into play to really give you an incentive to delve deeper into the insane amounts of optimization you can do for your squad!”
“The game is in alpha, so performance issues are expected.”
“But, it is so unoptimized it's painful.”
“Performance struggled on the busier rooms with some stuttering.”
“Had a few issues of frame stuttering when a lot of sprites were on screen and one bug I had to restart the game for when one of my guys got stuck mid-transition between rooms.”
- stability12 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with players reporting persistent bugs and game-breaking glitches even years after its release. Many users have experienced freezing during battles and problems with saving progress, leading to frustrating resets. While the game shows potential, the overwhelming number of technical problems detracts from the overall experience.
“An okay game, but unfortunately still buggy years after release.”
“Good game, lots of potential, but tons of bugs and game-breaking glitches that ruin the game. I'll change the review when these get fixed.”
“I just had two runs in a row end early because the battle froze (the enemy freezes in place and my team just walks around unable to do any damage) and the game couldn't load the save, making me start over.”
- atmosphere10 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its engaging humor, impressive art, and immersive animations, creating a fun and addictive experience. Players appreciate the blend of tactical gameplay with a whimsical tone, although some note that the atmosphere can become somewhat repetitive over time. Overall, it is described as a captivating environment that enhances the gameplay experience.
“I like the humor and the atmosphere, and the fact that you are leading this hopeless rag-tag crew of puny humans through high-tech dungeons makes you actually fond of them once they win some battles and manage to survive to the next room, ready for whatever mechanical horror is waiting.”
“Very addictive, the animation and atmosphere are great.”
“Great chill tactical game with an awesome music atmosphere that is also pretty funny.”
“The art and atmosphere are 11/10, though it does settle in after a while and become a bit monotone.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report a heightened emotional experience upon revisiting the game after a long break, suggesting that time away enhances the game's impact and resonance.
- character development2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is enhanced through skill upgrades, allowing players to customize and evolve their characters over time. This feature adds depth to the gameplay experience, encouraging players to invest in their characters' growth.
“The skills can be upgraded, adding depth to character development.”
