Naheulbeuk's Dungeon Master
- November 15, 2023
- Artefacts Studio
- 12h median play time
In "Naheulbeuk's Dungeon Master," take on the role of Reivax, the steward of the Dungeon of Naheulbeuk, and build, develop, and populate the dungeon according to your evil master Zangdar's demands. Customize your dungeon, attract patrons, level up, and protect your treasures in this simulation game set in the universe of The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk. Hire personnel and expand your dungeon to dominate the world.
Reviews
- The game features a fun and humorous storyline with engaging dialogue and character interactions.
- The dungeon management mechanics allow for creative room building and resource management, providing a satisfying gameplay loop.
- The art style and graphics are charming, contributing to an enjoyable atmosphere.
- AI pathfinding issues lead to minions frequently quitting due to unmet needs, even when facilities are available nearby.
- The game lacks clear communication regarding minion needs and room requirements, making it frustrating to manage a growing dungeon.
- There are numerous bugs and glitches that disrupt gameplay, including issues with room placement and minion behavior.
- gameplay76 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, featuring engaging dungeon-building mechanics and a fun storyline, but marred by excessive micromanagement and poorly designed mechanics that detract from the overall experience. While players appreciate the humor and customization options, many find the pacing of the tutorial cumbersome and the gameplay loop repetitive, leading to frustration with clunky mechanics and a lack of challenge. Overall, the game shows potential but suffers from design choices that prevent it from fully realizing its engaging concepts.
“The campaign starts off with explaining some of the basics, which are very important to understanding the game's mechanics.”
“Its blend of satirical humor, strategic depth, and engaging gameplay makes it a standout title.”
“Fun dungeon builder with engaging mechanics.”
“Some downers for the title are: too much trivial micromanagement, the dirty vs clean game mechanic is not fun or creative, traps are useless or unnecessary, awful room quality mechanics, heroes entering the dungeon are boring and can enter on any level, and there are just too many inconsequential game mechanics.”
“This game was actually simple but boring, and the mechanics are clunky and obtuse, the AI is anything but intelligent, and the fun was over in less than 10 hours.”
“Was looking forward to this after seeing some early videos from channels like SplatterCat on YouTube, but I have to say that for a dungeon-type game, it has some baffling and nonsensical design choices that just lead to really boring gameplay.”
- humor49 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with many players finding it enjoyable and fitting within the whimsical context of the gameplay. While some appreciate the satirical and light-hearted writing, others note that the humor can become repetitive and is often tied to scripted interactions. Overall, the game successfully blends humor with its management mechanics, though some players feel that the comedic elements could benefit from more depth and variety.
“The humor is right up my alley and the game loop is enjoyable.”
“A perfect mix of management and humor, with a bit of RPG features.”
“The game has a great sense of humor and the campaign does a good job of teaching game mechanics as well.”
- story45 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized by a humorous and light-hearted tone, with engaging voice acting and witty dialogue that some players find enjoyable, while others feel it falls flat or becomes annoying. Although the campaign offers a fun storyline, it is often criticized for being clunky and more akin to a lengthy tutorial than a compelling narrative, leading to a sense of disconnection from the quests. Overall, while the story has its entertaining moments, it suffers from pacing issues and a lack of meaningful progression, leaving some players wanting more.
“The story is humorous and light-hearted.”
“Its more silly than the last, but maintains a very fun and engaging story.”
“Just like its predecessor, this is a decently good game in terms of story and ambiance, but with a surprisingly solid gameplay.”
“The story mode voice acting is okay, but on balance, what is supposed to be witty or funny dialogue is just annoying.”
“There is also very little sense that you're actually making a dungeon, and the story, which is based on a comedic premise, really falls flat 95% of the time (at least for me).”
“I finished the lackluster campaign, and the story isn't any good.”
- stability22 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- -9 % neutral mentions
- 95 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting persistent bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder the gameplay experience. While some aspects, like graphics and mechanics, show potential, the overall execution is marred by issues such as AI pathing problems and unresponsive game elements. Many users express frustration over the game's unreliability, suggesting that it remains unpolished even after several weeks post-launch.
“The game runs great with pretty good graphics and is well put together.”
“The stability of the game allows for a smooth and enjoyable experience.”
“I appreciate how stable the game is; it rarely crashes or has major bugs.”
“I found myself getting very frustrated with this game as bad, annoying, and buggy things just happened all the time and there was no way to address them.”
“It is a shame because it's a beautiful looking game with some very interesting mechanics and ideas, but AI pathing, crashes, freezes, and game locking up due to scripting all hamper the experience.”
“Only issues I have is the game seems to have a memory leak, so after about 2 hours of play I have to save because things start to get buggy before crashing.”
- graphics18 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's graphics receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the art style and aesthetics as appealing and well-suited to the gameplay, while others criticize the graphics as dated and prone to glitches. Performance issues, such as frame rate stuttering on high settings, particularly with certain graphics cards, detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, many appreciate the intuitive interface and the game's visual design, suggesting a solid foundation that could benefit from further polish.
“I really like the aesthetics of the game!”
“Love the graphics and interface around the various menus, super intuitive.”
“Challenging, fun, well designed with a great art style, entertaining voices and script.”
“Frame rate starts to stutter after you populate a full floor, even with a GeForce RTX 4090 on high graphic settings.”
“Graphics are a little dated too.”
“Graphically, I thought the game was poor.”
- music10 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for being catchy, charming, and full, contributing significantly to the overall experience. Players appreciate the identifiable and fun tracks, with some noting that even non-gamers find the music enjoyable. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, enhancing the game's appeal.
“Fun dungeon keeper style game with a really good soundtrack and regular updates.”
“The soundtrack is charming and full.”
“My wife even commented on the music a few times while I played, which says a lot since she's not a games or music person.”
- replayability10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
Overall, the game suffers from very low replayability due to limited possibilities and a singular optimized strategy for dungeon management, leading to repetitive gameplay experiences. While some players find enjoyment in the core mechanics and content, many express that the lack of variety and polish significantly diminishes the incentive to replay.
“Replayability: 9/10”
“It's story, gameplay, user-friendliness, length, and replayability, along with other overall content, are enjoyable and fun enough.”
“There is one main problem: the very low replayability. The possibilities are quite limited, and there clearly is one optimized way to manage the dungeon.”
“This game is pretty fun for a weekend or two, but I'm not sure there's a lot of replay value.”
“The core game itself doesn't last very long, so lacking the replay value, I don't see it worth purchasing.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the repetitive nature of upgrading room prestige through decoration spamming and managing a large number of units. The lack of direct control over minions and the need for constant micro-management contribute to a gameplay experience that feels more burdensome than engaging, undermining the overall enjoyment of the game.
“Upgrading your room's prestige is tedious and I just end up spamming decorations to boost the score.”
“You must decorate your rooms with things that are pure appearance items to increase prestige and level up your dungeon, and it's tedious every single time.”
“The room system, what they do, the star rating, that you have to place the same ones over and over... it's just more tedious than fun.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate its solid sound design and complex dungeon-building mechanics, many report significant issues such as game-breaking bugs and limited replayability due to a singular optimized strategy. Overall, the game requires further polishing and optimization to enhance the player experience, particularly in addressing AI and room-related bugs.
“Complex dungeon building, excellent writing that made me laugh quite a few times, very good sound design, and a very well optimized game.”
“After almost 30 hours, I can say the game is a fun concept; however, it has some frustrating unoptimized aspects about it, making it very frustrating to play past 40 minions or 2 floors.”
“It just needs a little more optimization, and once that AI patch rolls out, as well as a few room bugs, it will greatly improve the experience.”
“Sadly, the game is not quite polished, not properly optimized, and contains game-breaking bugs that make it really frustrating.”
“After almost 30 hours, I can say the game is a fun concept; however, it has some frustrating unoptimized aspects that make it very difficult to play past 40 minions or 2 floors.”
“It just needs a little more optimization, and once that AI patch rolls out, as well as a few room bugs (e.g., an irremovable staircase), it drove me nuts and it's the first one they have you place in the campaign.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users expressing their love for its engaging environment and humor, indicating that it significantly enhances their overall experience.
“I love the atmosphere of the game; it really enhances the overall experience.”
“The atmosphere is fantastic, filled with humor and charm as usual.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game is criticized as a cash grab, with users recommending that potential players wait until the game is fully developed before spending any money.
“Save yourself from this cash grab and wait until the game is finished; at least then you will have something that is worth spending money on.”
“The monetization model feels exploitative, making it hard to enjoy the game without constantly being bombarded by ads and in-game purchases.”
“It's frustrating to see a game that could be great turned into a pay-to-win experience, where players who spend more money have a significant advantage.”