Dungeons
- February 4, 2011
- Realmforge Studios
Wont stop you dreaming of Horned Reapers and Dark Mistresses, but still fills a gap thats been empty for far too long.
Get on Steam"Dungeons" is a single-player Fantasy Real Time Strategy game with a good plot and plenty of humor. As a powerful Dungeon Lord, build your own underground lair, command goblin workers, and trick heroes by luring them with treasures before taking it all away. The game offers lots of grinding as you annihilate heroes and create more devious traps. Available now on Steam, with "Dungeons 4" out and "The Inquisitor" on wishlist.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a unique take on dungeon management, allowing players to lure heroes in and harvest their soul energy.
- The dark humor and quirky narrative add depth to the gameplay, making it entertaining for those who enjoy a comedic twist.
- The graphics and design create an immersive atmosphere, reminiscent of classic dungeon-themed games.
- The game suffers from technical issues, including crashes and a problematic launcher that requires unnecessary account creation.
- Gameplay can become tedious and repetitive, with a heavy reliance on micromanagement and a lack of clear objectives.
- Many players feel disappointed as the game does not live up to the legacy of Dungeon Keeper, lacking the depth and strategy of the original.
- gameplay106 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its clunky mechanics and steep learning curve, particularly in managing heroes and resource collection. While some appreciate the strategic elements and dark humor, others criticize the repetitive nature and lack of intuitive design, leading to a tedious experience. Overall, the game offers a unique twist on the dungeon management genre, but struggles with execution and coherence in its mechanics.
“The core gameplay involves luring heroes into your dungeon and strategically harvesting their soul energy.”
“The gameplay is fun, balanced, and, as far as I experienced, not buggy at all.”
“The missions evolve your understanding of the dungeon and its mechanics nicely, providing ample opportunity and explanation of what to do and not do, and generally provide you with a glimpse of many different ways to go about running your dungeon.”
“The gameplay is confusing and overly dependent on micromanagement.”
“A cheap, nasty, tedious knock-off of Dungeon Keeper with some of the mechanics but none of the charm, and isn't even difficult, just rote and boring.”
“Gameplay is pretty repetitive and requires a bit of micromanagement and attention since you have to keep track of the heroes' soul energy meter and then dispatch them before they manage to leave.”
- story81 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story of "Dungeons" centers around Deimos, a dungeon lord seeking revenge against his ex-girlfriend Calypso, featuring a mix of dark humor and whimsical elements. While the narrative includes engaging twists and a variety of missions, it is often criticized for its lackluster writing and repetitive gameplay, with some players finding the humor forced and the overall story predictable. Despite these shortcomings, the campaign serves as a vehicle for teaching game mechanics and offers a unique, albeit flawed, experience for fans of dungeon management and strategy games.
“The story of Deimos, the dungeon lord, is a tale of revenge and cunning.”
“The narrative revolves around Deimos, the main dungeon lord, and his quest for revenge against his ex-girlfriend Calypso.”
“The story behind the game is quite unique and to the point, keeping things simple and clear: take revenge on your ex-girlfriend for betraying you and kicking you out of your own dungeon.”
“The story is predictable, the jokes are 'meh' (a little too 'on the nose'), the game becomes somewhat repetitive, and for some parts simply feels as if the playtime is being artificially extended.”
“Too much lost potential in customizing the dungeon, not enough explanation on what is happening, humor and story seems forced and heroes just burst into your lair like it's a freaking amusement park.”
“Lame story, characters are ridiculously annoying, and the gameplay is terrible.”
- graphics44 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered outdated, with many reviewers noting that they show their age but still manage to create an immersive atmosphere. While some elements, like the design of dungeons and customization options, are praised for their detail, the overall visual presentation is described as generic and uninspired. Despite these criticisms, the graphics are deemed sufficient for gameplay, with a mix of fun aesthetics and humor that some players still find enjoyable.
“Despite this, the game’s aesthetic successfully creates an immersive and foreboding atmosphere.”
“If you couple that with the gorgeous objects that you can buy to customize your dungeon, you have a potent combination, each item is beautifully drawn with a lot of attention to detail, giving them each a unique and beautiful appearance.”
“Lots of people compare this game to the classic 'Dungeon Keeper' game and while they have some similarities, Dungeons has far better graphics, the gameplay is more modern, and overall the game is different.”
“The game engine can’t scale graphics, so I ended up having to set the native resolution to 1080p to be able to play correctly.”
“The graphics certainly haven’t aged well since the game released, but that’s not my main gripe.”
“The visuals are uninspired.”
- humor29 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its dark and twisted comedic elements that enhance the strategic gameplay, while others find the humor forced and lacking charm, often resorting to clichéd video game references. Many reviews highlight the presence of funny dialogues and quirky characters, particularly enjoying the voice acting, but some criticize the humor for overshadowing the game's darker themes and strategic depth. Overall, the humor can be entertaining for those who enjoy a lighthearted approach, but it may not resonate with everyone, leading to a polarized reception.
“The game’s dark humor and twisted narrative add depth, making it more than just a strategy game; it's a saga of power plays and deception.”
“Its blend of dark humor, strategic gameplay, and unique perspective was a refreshing change from typical RPGs.”
“I like it because it's everything I enjoy...planning, diabolical evil, and a sense of humor.”
- grinding22 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, with many players finding the gameplay to be a chore rather than enjoyable. The need for constant micromanagement and the lack of dynamic action contribute to a sense of boredom, making the experience feel more like a tedious task than an engaging adventure. Overall, players express frustration with the grindy mechanics that detract from the game's potential fun.
“The game can feel tedious and repetitive, lacking the dynamic action of other dungeon games.”
“Dungeons is a decent game but is bogged down by a forced launcher, mandatory account sign up with an unreliable verification email requirement, wonky settings that are broken on modern systems, and tedious, grindy, repetitive missions.”
“The fatal blow is it's not only tedious in preparation, but also in execution.”
- music11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate how it complements the dark atmosphere of dungeon crawling, others find it unmemorable and poorly mixed, with the title music overshadowing the in-game soundtrack. Overall, the audio elements contribute to the game's vibe, but inconsistencies in sound mixing detract from the experience.
“The sound and music match the grimness and darkness of dungeon crawl type games.”
“The combination of sounds and music here goes beautifully together.”
“The in-game sounds add to the liveliness of the game, along with the battle sounds and creature noises; it all adds to the vibe that the game creates. If you take all of that and combine it with the music elements of the game, you have the perfect setting for any dungeon lord.”
“The soundtrack and creature effects aren’t a strong point in the game.”
“The audio itself is decent, though the default sound mixing makes no sense and makes it so that the intro title music is leagues louder than the actual in-game music.”
“The audio itself is decent, though the default sound mixing makes no sense and makes it so that the intro title music is leagues louder than the actual in-game music.”
- stability9 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 89 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is a mixed bag; while some players report a fun and balanced experience with minimal bugs, others encounter significant issues such as freezing during saves, random crashes, and overall sluggishness. The game's performance appears to deteriorate as the campaign progresses, leading to frustration for many users. Overall, while there are enjoyable aspects, the stability concerns detract from the experience for a considerable number of players.
“The gameplay is fun, balanced, and, as far as I experienced, not buggy at all.”
“Game freezes for 10-20 seconds anytime it saves.”
“Buggy, laggy, crashing mess.”
“Dungeons is a colossally buggy mess of a game, and this only gets worse as the campaign progresses: the game crashes randomly during levels, and whilst this would not be such a big deal, the game also sometimes crashes when you save, and sometimes it will not save at all.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability, with missions that can be replayed multiple times and clever design elements that enhance the experience. However, some players find it repetitive and lacking in variety, which may deter those who prefer a single playthrough. Overall, it caters to both completionists seeking perfect runs and casual players.
“The game has quite a bit of replay value; each mission can be replayed numerous times if you wish.”
“Lots of replayability, very clever design.”
“Challenges that unlock both necessary skill points and unnecessary scrolls give the game replayability for the 'perfect run' type of gamer, but not so much as to scare off a 'one and done' playthrough type.”
“This game is boring, repetitive, and has very little replay value.”
“The game has quite a bit of replay value in it; each mission can be replayed numerous times if you wish.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's aesthetic effectively establishes an immersive and foreboding atmosphere that enhances the storytelling experience. In contrast, the sequels, Dungeons 2 and 3, significantly diverge from this original atmosphere, leading some to view the first game as a non-canon entry.
“Despite this, the game’s aesthetic successfully creates an immersive and foreboding atmosphere.”
“They just match the game's atmosphere.”
“The sequels, Dungeons 2 and 3, moved away so much from the atmosphere of this game you could pretty much call this game a non-canon entry, even if it's the first game.”
“The sequels, Dungeons 2 and 3, moved away so much from the atmosphere of this game that you could pretty much call this game a non-canon entry, even if it's the first game.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including frequent crashes and slow performance, which detracts from the overall experience. However, players appreciate the unique and visually appealing design of the monsters and heroes, indicating that there is potential for enjoyment despite the technical shortcomings.
“The monsters that you can build along with the heroes that venture into your dungeon have all received the same amount of love and affection. Each creature and hero type looks simply amazing, unique in appearance, and performance.”
“The game runs slowly and the character movements feel sluggish.”
“Performance issues make the gameplay experience frustrating.”
“Optimization is lacking, resulting in frequent lag and stuttering.”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is perceived as mediocre, with voice acting described as unremarkable and character designs lacking distinctiveness. Overall, players feel that the characters do not leave a strong impression.
“The voice acting is firmly 'eh, alright' and the character designs are... there.”
“Character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression.”
“The characters are one-dimensional and fail to evoke any real emotional connection.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users express frustration with the monetization model, highlighting the inconvenience of needing to create an account on a suspicious platform to access a game they purchased on Steam. This raises concerns about the legitimacy and accessibility of the game's distribution.
“I had to create a new account on a suspicious platform just to play a game I bought on Steam.”
“The monetization strategy feels exploitative and ruins the overall experience.”
“It's frustrating to see so many paywalls in a game that I already paid for.”
