Dunk Lords

“Finally, the dunk slowdown cuts out the music temporarily, which made some of the awesome tracks harder to hear fluidly, particularly the lobster miniboss theme.”

“Oh, and that soundtrack?”

“Listening to the soundtrack later, and then watching someone else play, I was able to more fully appreciate how each song perfectly fit the theme of the stage.”

“The story itself is just the right amount of ridiculous fighting-game improbable shenanigans that all the characters take for granted, ranging from alien pirates to the supernatural plane.”

“While playing the game, you can easily tell that this was a labor of love - the gameplay mechanics feel 'just right', the pacing of the gameplay is perfect, the game is quite challenging but never cheap, and the story mode is varied enough with twists and turns that make it a very engaging experience.”

“The story mode has a bunch of different victory scenarios for the games and gives a good amount of backstory to the characters and world.”

“Well, what a disappointment. I'm someone who really likes to search through the Steam catalog during a sale looking for underrated indie games that are cheap and fun. Dunk Lords, from a quick look at the images and videos on the store page, seemed like a simple basketball indie game. With its cartoony and colorful visuals, I expected a fine sport game that would be fun and easy to get into. The sad thing is that this game just feels off. The controls are unresponsive and messy, the gameplay lacks polish, and it feels way faster than it has any right to be, making every match a confusing mess that's hard to focus on. The maps are too small for the chaotic gameplay, and as soon as everyone gets their upgrades and special moves, it feels like a very unbalanced cluster where every character can hit the ball multiple times without being stopped. Even the moves responsible for taking the ball back from an opponent or blocking their launch feel useless and unresponsive. It all comes down to a rush to see who can 'dunk' faster, making it feel like a half-assed indie basketball game. I didn't expect it to be a top-notch sports game, but I just wanted it to be fun, and it isn't. It feels poorly designed, unbalanced, and messy, so I can't recommend it at all.”

“Dunk Lords is pretty clearly inspired by NBA Jam, but with a ton of additional layers and mechanics like character-specific abilities and game-changing gear. It lacks polish, but it's such a cool little arcade basketball game that it's hard not to recommend it to anyone who feels nostalgic for NBA Jam.”

“In a time when basketball is not on TV, Dunk Lords not only fills the gap but provides quick, quirky gameplay that makes you wish the NBA was just 2v2 and filled with buff strawberries.”