Dungeons

The graphics are nice, a well-built dungeon is a sight to behold, and there's a little bit of fun here, but ultimately you'll master everything you need to know in short order and be done with this game soon afterward.

Disappointing, but not necessarily boring.

At the end of the day, we can't consider Dungeons a legitimate successor to Dungeon Keeper. In particular, the final evaluation has to consider the price of the game: on Steam, you can find much more complex and fun products, for a lesser price.

Dungeons may not be for everyone, but it will more than satisfy the needs of anyone who takes a shine to it. Better yet, it probably won't imprison you and drain your life energy afterward.

So, if I had to pick a single word from the roughly 1000 that I have written above, it would have to be disappointed. I was completely primed for Dungeon Keeper, and what I got instead was kind of Diablo meets Rollercoaster Tycoon. Not good. Worse than not good.

Dungeons' biggest problem is really the up-front investment it requires.

It has its flaws, but if you have a hankering for some classic evil dungeon master gameplay with a nifty new twist, Dungoens will satiate your hunger.

Quotation forthcoming.

Still, Dungeons has enough humor and variety to overcome its shortcomings, and the campaign throws enough curve balls at the player to make up for its strategic shallowness. It could have better pacing and a little more variety, but as it is, Dungeons is a very witty, very enjoyable surprise.

Dungeon Keeper started with a good idea, but then it backed up that idea with some enjoyable gameplay. Dungeons takes that same idea, but misses on just about every point of execution. It's certainly time that gamers had another dungeon master type of game to play, but they'll just have to keep waiting for a good one.

The developers preferred to concentrate on and perfect a few basic gameplay-elements, rather than cram so many of them into the game, that there's no time left to polish everything. Basically a good thing, but unfortunately not the best way to maintain a high level of variety and diversification for the player. Therefore, Dungeons feels pretty repetitive after some time, which makes it hard to really recommend it, despite its interesting genre-mix.

In the end, if you are looking for a modern day Dungeon Keeper, this isn't it, whether or not Realmforge tried to design that game or not is immaterial.

Dungeons' mind-numbing, repetitive gameplay never reaches the greatness of Dungeon Keeper, its classic inspiration.

As a pure idea the game is very interesting, but poor execution held this one back.

The game switches from too difficult to boring all the time. In the end we had to force ourselves to keep on playing. A perfect example for game mechanics gone wrong.

Combat quickly grows repetitive, even with talent trees and new abilities. Advancement is slow, and many missions and challenges seem more like busywork than fun.

Dungeons is not what we were expecting, and that's completely fine with us. With clever and enjoyable gameplay that turns the tower defense genre on its head, this one is a real keeper.

This action-RPG/dungeon builder hybrid fails to live up to the predecessors it so carefully tries to emulate.

Overall though, this game is a serious mixed bag. Great graphics and an interesting concept, but the execution was sloppy at times, cumbersome and just plain frustrating.

Dungeons could be a fun game if it weren't for the repetitive gameplay and lack of use for most of the gimmicks. After a few levels, it becomes a grind, which works in massively multiplayer games, but not in this context. I believe the constant comparisons to Dungeon Keeper hurt this title, building it up to represent a game that it isn't. If you enjoy RTS titles and conquering maps, you may be able to find entertainment here. If you're looking for the next Dungeon Keeper, keep looking.

If you don't expect DUNGEONS to be Dungeon Keeper III, there are not many things you could possibly criticize. This game is more about taking care of yours heroes than of your creatures. Nevertheless, the mission of creating a fun title has been well completed.

Dungeons lost its chances for success due to errors of graphical and technical nature. The gameplay (especially at the beginning) gives some satisfaction - but so what? Programmers' sloppiness prevents you from having real fun and the graphics make this game look 6 or 7 years old. It's a mediocre game at best even though the mechanics and story are really good. The developers had ideas for 3 hours of game and lethal monotony can kill even the most patient gamer. It's not tragic but with that kind of content, without any multiplayer and with a boring campaign it wastes our time.

A fun but deceptively shallow Sim-RPG-thing that would have benefitted from pushing the envelope for either genre a little more.

The spark of a fine idea, extinguished by fussy mechanics, jumbled ambitions and tonal inconsistencies.

Catchy mix of several genres offers a slick campaign with many hours of fun. A lot of unpleasant things and the lack of multi-player unfortunately spoil the overall score. [Issue#201]

Dungeons is a good strategy game mixed with tower defense and RPG elements, but it fails due to some technical issues and repetitive gameplay.

Really intriguing gameplay, if the player involves himself he maybe forget the poor technical side.

Won't stop you dreaming of Horned Reapers and Dark Mistresses, but still fills a gap that's been empty for far too long.

The worst thing about Dungeons: it's an extremely slow game. And when the pace changes, it fails to provide any challenge. [Apr 2011, p.101]

Apart from that fairly strong central concept, everything else is distinctly bargain-bin quality. [May 2011, p.60]

A title with good potential that can entertain and give some satisfying moments, but that inevitably feels as a good opportunity wasted.

While Dungeons is a unique take on being an evil mastermind, it's not without flaws. However, the charm of the gameplay and tormenting of souls keeps you wanting more. The appeal might fall with time, but if you enjoy the first hour, you'll enjoy the next thirty easily.

A good game with some innovative features, although unfortunately it doesn't include a multiplayer mode, and gets repetitive soon.