Impire

 PC
User Score
5.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 148 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 47 out of 148
  2. Mixed: 40 out of 148
  3. Negative: 61 out of 148

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  1. Taziar
    Feb 16, 2013
    5
    I have actually played the game and and after seeing the delusional reviews here, I felt compelled to chime in. (8.3? Really?) The atmosphere in the game is fine, and the humor, while a bit simple, is also fine. The real problem is the game-play. It isn't fun. In fact, it can be rather tedious. Basically the game consists of 5 parts. Building your dungeon, defending your dungeonI have actually played the game and and after seeing the delusional reviews here, I felt compelled to chime in. (8.3? Really?) The atmosphere in the game is fine, and the humor, while a bit simple, is also fine. The real problem is the game-play. It isn't fun. In fact, it can be rather tedious. Basically the game consists of 5 parts. Building your dungeon, defending your dungeon from heroes, adventuring, raiding, and maintenance. No, it is not as exciting as it sounds.

    Building your dungeon is basically rotating and dropping a pre-sized room next to a corridor. Layout is unimportant because you generally teleport your units everywhere. Other than perhaps a cluster of kitchen's as you will spend a fair bit of time feeding your minions. It is generally unsatisfying and happens at a fairly slow pace. It feels more like the base building in a RTS, you do it just to get the buildings deployed to unlock functionality, not because you are actually designing a base.

    Defending your dungeon, now here is one of the tedious parts. Every couple of minutes, 2-4 (depending on stage of the game) ladders will randomly appear scattered within your dungeon. If you don't destroy them, a group of heroes will come out of one of them roughly twenty seconds later. You can setup patrols to destroy the ladders, but you rarely bother, because if you do, the heroes will simply come in through the dungeon entrance and attack your base anyway. So you teleport your squads back and attack the ladders and then teleport them to the entrance to attack the heroes. Then you send your minions to feed, and teleport them back to where they were before you were attacked.

    Adventuring is wandering around a too-dark area doing simple quests with mediocre combat. It is the best part of the game, and you can't enjoy it because you have to stop and teleport your minions back every couple of minutes to deal with the heroes. Or feed your minions.

    Raiding. Basically, you switch to a world map with a couple dozen locations on the map. There are 3 different types, each gives a different resource, and sometimes quest specific locations as well. But all you do is right click on one and select a single squad to send. Your squad leaves the dungeon, and comes back a minute later and you get resources, and possibly lose units. That is it. The quest ones are basically the same, just with a quest update thrown in. There is no real interactivity. It adds a little something to the game, but nothing to write home about.

    Maintenance. Ugh. You have to send your minions to feed. Often. When you lose a unit, you have to go through a couple of screens to create a replacement, send him to training to level two, go to a squad menu, add him to a squad, purchase upgrades for each unit separately (basically armor/weapons lvl 1-3, no real customization) and then send the squad for feeding. You can have replacements on hand, but still have to do all the same micromanagement.

    The UI has issues and needs to be streamlined, and there is too much micromanagement. Like you can tell an imp to repair a building, and he will, then just sit there. You have to wait until the repair is complete to then manually request an Imp go to work in said building. The same with ladders. Unless you set squads on patrol mode (which you generally don't want as they will wander off) when you teleport a squad next to an invading ladder, you have to manually select the squad you just sent, and manually tell him to destroy the ladder he is basically standing on top of. When you have to destroy 4 ladders, it is teleport, select, target ladder, repeat. 4 times. Every couple of minutes.

    Beyond the tedium, there is no real tactical depth and combat is kinda boring. Squads (which consist of 4 units) get bonuses depending on unit composition and level, but only with 4 different units. So, for example, if one of your bonuses is extra healing and you replace a DPS unit with a second healer, you lose the healing bonus. Odd logic. So the game encourages you to throw together squads from random groups of units. And combat is basically swarming the enemy with all your squads. There is no strategic reason not to, as you can instantly teleport your squads to wherever you want them. (albeit one at a time, as the UI has no streamlining) There are also reports of a few bugs, though I have not personally encountered any. To be fair, the developers have been active on Steam forums and I suspect the bugs will actually be fixed rather quickly. They have also promised to address some of of the other game issues, like the UI and constant need to feed your minions. With a couple of patches, they could get the game to a 6-7 rating, which is respectable for a $20 game in a genre with few other options. But as of right now, playing the game is a chore.    … Expand
  2. ogre
    Mar 2, 2013
    2
    Don't buy it if you expect Dungeon Keeper. In fact, just don't buy it.
    The gameplay is extremely tedious, and it's just a sad waste of time. It feels and looks like a lot of effort went into its production, but it doesn't matter because the gameplay isn't cohesive, and it's not fun at all.
    I have a serious feeling that the "10" reviews are friends and family of the developers...
  3. Zardoz998
    Feb 20, 2013
    3
    Complete rubbish. Nice graphics and voice acting, but that's all. Stupid campaign that's just a linear tutorial, no option to avoid it, no sandbox mode. Unless you're a complete moron you'll be bored silly within minutes. A cut-down version of Dungeon Keeper. Very buggy and crashes often. Stupid over-powered boss fights as a substitute for mission design.
  4. wubala
    Feb 21, 2013
    3
    units are kinda unresponsive, really not a smooth game a lot. super repetitive nothing new or special about it that sets it aside from other games, not really worth the money at the moment feels like an early version of what could of been a good game.
  5. Boom-Mage
    Mar 4, 2013
    7
    A fun strategy game, neat idea, nice graphics.
    Controls and micromanagement are pretty annoying.
    WADS controls the camera nicely but mouse movement in menues to manage squads and such is awkward and laggy. The icons on the map are too large and won't always hide when put on hide. When trying to select single items on the map while zoomed out and you get a magnifying screen of whats    A fun strategy game, neat idea, nice graphics.
    Controls and micromanagement are pretty annoying.
    WADS controls the camera nicely but mouse movement in menues to manage squads and such is awkward and laggy.
    The icons on the map are too large and won't always hide when put on hide. When trying to select single items on the map while zoomed out and you get a magnifying screen of whats happening on mouse over, its annoying and sometimes in the way.
    the concept is great, I think with a few control and management tweeks this could be a great game    … Expand
  6. AlexB138
    Feb 17, 2013
    3
    More time with this game has just made it less likable. Way too much micromanagement, poor squad control, poor balance and bugs. Might be a fun game after some patching, but as it stands it's not worth it.
  7. Rugz
    Feb 17, 2013
    1
    A mix between Dungeon Keeper and Evil Genius, with none of the features that made them games classic.

    So many things need to be said about this game. Firstly, the core idea of the game and its humour are interesting, but really fail to entertain. Textures are fairly tacky, and the voice acting is fairly bad, but that isn't what makes this game awful. The core mechanics seem to defy the    A mix between Dungeon Keeper and Evil Genius, with none of the features that made them games classic.

    So many things need to be said about this game. Firstly, the core idea of the game and its humour are interesting, but really fail to entertain. Textures are fairly tacky, and the voice acting is fairly bad, but that isn't what makes this game awful. The core mechanics seem to defy the genre of the game. Room placement is static and unchangable, you only choose where to place them, which would still matter if enemy heroes came from set directions or were predictable in any way, or at very least, you'd need to create an efficient interlinking of rooms in order to have your minions perform well. This is not the case with Impire, units can be teleported anywhere at will (you rely on this pretty much 100% of the time) and to make matters worse, ladders spawn semi-randomly into your dungeon, which heroes use to get into your dungeon if not taken out. This renders any and all strategy in relation to base building completely pointless, given the heroes ability to get where-ever they like, and your ability to teleport. After removing the strategy and simulation aspect of any reasonable game of this kind, they feel it necessary to fill the game with nonsensical amounts of impractical micromanagement. The squad screen (the primary way you will group and control your units) is completely separate from your unit creation menu, so if your squad has suffered casualties, you must look at the squad menu, memorise what unit has died so that you can replace it, close that menu, change to the spawn menu, wait for the unit to spawn, then back to the squad menu and drag it into place. On the topic of the units, it is incredibly imbalanced. The scout for instance, relies on range to do average-high damage, but you'll find more often the enemy will run past your other units and kill him straight away. On top of that, he isn't created with the same type of resource most other units are created (mushrooms, which are generated via the mushroom room, a non-buildable room that produces mushrooms at a slow rate) which makes his death a useless waste of resource.

    The tutorial does not inform you of anything important, and is a drag to go through as you watch your workers do meaningless tasks until the game decides to move the tutorial on, and on top of that, the guardian at the end of the level is very difficult, and you are not told in any way how to defeat him. The controls of the squads make it extremely difficult to issue precise commands, often your units will just disregard them anyway. And finally to leave that bitter taste in your mouth, the game will crash often, with stages lasting a rather long time depending on whether or not you do the side quests (which seem to have no real reward) so you make it through an hour and a half of this tedious game only to have it crash on you and force you to start from the beginning. No thanks. Do not buy this    … Expand
  8. Dozmo
    Feb 17, 2013
    2
    A poor game. Bugs have so far forced me to repeat all of Act I, as well as my current mission 3 times over due to seemingly random freezing up. Even frequent saving did not help saves turned out to be unusable. Their tech support forum says these are "known bugs", but IMHO these things should have been fixed before the game was released to the public. I could forgive the technical issuesA poor game. Bugs have so far forced me to repeat all of Act I, as well as my current mission 3 times over due to seemingly random freezing up. Even frequent saving did not help saves turned out to be unusable. Their tech support forum says these are "known bugs", but IMHO these things should have been fixed before the game was released to the public. I could forgive the technical issues if the gameplay is good, but, frankly, it isn't. The strategy element of the game is severely lacking in depth, and appears poorly thought through. Example: treasure chests can spawn mobs that take 4 squads to kill, and reward 25 treasure. A basic treasure quest also offers 25 treasure, but only requires you fight a single level 1 mob. That isn't remotely balanced. Another example: squads can restore themselves by eating food at a kitchen, but even when they're starving they will never eat without explicit orders to do so from you. Even then you have to order each squad individually. Makes no sense, and heavy on the micromanagement. Overall, this is a game with many bugs, but little strategy, and these two things combine to ruin it. It does have some upsides like the great character dialogue which while cheesy is fun to read, but they aren't enough to save a poor game like this.… Expand
  9. thvaz
    Feb 17, 2013
    5
    There is almost no AI of note the squads won't even eat when they are hungry, making the game a micromanagement hell. Monsters freed from their rooms won't run rampant through your dungeon, making the game boring.
    The cut scenes are a pain to watch, the humor is very bland.
    I will give a 5 because despite all these flaws, the game is playable enough, though it still has an unfinished    There is almost no AI of note the squads won't even eat when they are hungry, making the game a micromanagement hell. Monsters freed from their rooms won't run rampant through your dungeon, making the game boring.
    The cut scenes are a pain to watch, the humor is very bland.
    I will give a 5 because despite all these flaws, the game is playable enough, though it still has an unfinished feeling about it. It could be a better game, even if different from Dungeon Keeper, but is failed in being so.    … Expand
  10. Eskaton
    Feb 15, 2013
    7
    Its been described as Dungeon Keeper meets Dawn of War 2 and they seem like accurate reference points. Don't expect a straight modern era version of DK, its not that and it hasn't pretended to be. The gameplay is pretty good, and it runs well but for me, I found the level of micromanagement needed for your troops was a bit irritating, it could also be a little easier/quicker to navigateIts been described as Dungeon Keeper meets Dawn of War 2 and they seem like accurate reference points. Don't expect a straight modern era version of DK, its not that and it hasn't pretended to be. The gameplay is pretty good, and it runs well but for me, I found the level of micromanagement needed for your troops was a bit irritating, it could also be a little easier/quicker to navigate around the map. Voice acting and dialogue seem above average. 7/10 from me is well above average and equates to worth buying.… Expand
  11. Cytokinesis
    Feb 16, 2013
    4
    I thought it was borderline between good and mediocre. The storyline and campaign is pretty garbage but the gameplay is alright. I originally expected it to be a lot like Evil Genius or Dungeon Keeper but it really isn't that similar. There is some base building but there is very little resource management or planning. With the way you control your units it plays a lot like an rts/rpgI thought it was borderline between good and mediocre. The storyline and campaign is pretty garbage but the gameplay is alright. I originally expected it to be a lot like Evil Genius or Dungeon Keeper but it really isn't that similar. There is some base building but there is very little resource management or planning. With the way you control your units it plays a lot like an rts/rpg hybrid kind of game. I bought it because I was desperately looking for anything to play and it doesn't really fail in that regard. I am kind of disappointed in spending 20$ but it's not like I feel robbed, just sort of let down because my expectations were probably way too high. Also the humor and writing in the game is pretty atrocious. It's not even cheeky or ironic it's just plain bad.… Expand
  12. MuhOo
    Feb 17, 2013
    3
    The strategy part is boring and you lack control and the base management ist partly to complex and partly to boring. Overall it plays like a cheap clone trying to combine Evil Genius, Dungeon Keeper and Dungeon Lords. I played all those games and this is the must boring of all of them, the only good point about the game is the price with 20 its ok.
  13. Noruka
    Feb 19, 2013
    2
    Gamers have to stop accepting and buying games that are poorly developed and published as money grabbing items. This game is boring and the AI is non-existent. You build a dungeon but your minions just stand around until you tell them to do anything (unlike dungeon keeper games). This game is similar to the aliens:colonial marine game where the developers do not actually develop the gameGamers have to stop accepting and buying games that are poorly developed and published as money grabbing items. This game is boring and the AI is non-existent. You build a dungeon but your minions just stand around until you tell them to do anything (unlike dungeon keeper games). This game is similar to the aliens:colonial marine game where the developers do not actually develop the game play into an unique experience. The structure of your dungeons does not matter at all as you can just teleport your troops everywhere. It is an unfinished game and released to grab easy profits.Please stop buying these terrible releases. A continuation of the genre called "unfinished masterpiece" that started with Warz and Aliens.… Expand
  14. Mellemhund
    Feb 20, 2013
    0
    Warning! Do not spend you money on this garbage,
    This game is so terrible, that I even made an account on MC to let you know. Looking for dungeon building fun? You won't have any. This game feels like a tedious chore.
    Want to construct dungeons? Well, you can place pre-designed rooms, with fixed entrances, that can't be destroyed. Limits your choices severly. Want to level you    Warning! Do not spend you money on this garbage,
    This game is so terrible, that I even made an account on MC to let you know. Looking for dungeon building fun? You won't have any. This game feels like a tedious chore.

    Want to construct dungeons? Well, you can place pre-designed rooms, with fixed entrances, that can't be destroyed. Limits your choices severly.

    Want to level you minions? Well, you can level them to level 3, they still never become badass and die off rather quickly. Mind you, that you still have to micro every single one of you minions, from replacing armor to when it goes to eat! why, oh why?

    Want to fight heroes? Well, you can teleport your squads in and watch them slug it out. There is no real feeling of big battels going on, as troops on each side is very limited.

    Go to the game forums for more wrongs with this game. Again I can only say, your money will be better spent on almost anything else!    … Expand
  15. Comradepinko
    Feb 16, 2013
    7
    The general flavor and theme of this game is a nice continuation of the Dungeon Keeper games of old, and at 20 dollars on release it's not a bad price, but it does suffer from a clunky interface (a inexplicable time delay on mouse scrolling, reseting your camera view if you open menus, and generally awkward in game menus).

    If you want an interesting RTS-DK hybrid this game is for you.    The general flavor and theme of this game is a nice continuation of the Dungeon Keeper games of old, and at 20 dollars on release it's not a bad price, but it does suffer from a clunky interface (a inexplicable time delay on mouse scrolling, reseting your camera view if you open menus, and generally awkward in game menus).

    If you want an interesting RTS-DK hybrid this game is for you. If you were looking for a modern reboot of DK then you may want to pass or wait for this to drop to something more like 5 dollars.    … Expand
  16. Timson
    Feb 16, 2013
    1
    This game is absolute disappointment and disgrace for Dungeon Keeper legacy. While being graphically appealing it lacks so much in gameplay department that it made it unplayable to me. Dialogues are stupid and main two characters are nothing but annoying. Combat system are imbalanced making 90% of units totally useless (all except melee dps and healers). Heroes spawning all over youThis game is absolute disappointment and disgrace for Dungeon Keeper legacy. While being graphically appealing it lacks so much in gameplay department that it made it unplayable to me. Dialogues are stupid and main two characters are nothing but annoying. Combat system are imbalanced making 90% of units totally useless (all except melee dps and healers). Heroes spawning all over you dungeon makes usage of traps and complicated dungeon layouts absolutely pointless.… Expand
  17. Chomag
    Feb 16, 2013
    6
    Your 1st impression would be that the game is a Dungeon Keeper remake. It's not. At least not really. In DK you didn't have direct control over the minions and they generally did their own things, which gave that game its charm. In Impire you do have direct control and it resembles an RTS more than a "social manager" kind of game.

    The game also has a strong aura of "low budget". I    Your 1st impression would be that the game is a Dungeon Keeper remake. It's not. At least not really. In DK you didn't have direct control over the minions and they generally did their own things, which gave that game its charm. In Impire you do have direct control and it resembles an RTS more than a "social manager" kind of game.

    The game also has a strong aura of "low budget". I haven't played it for that long but the voice acting is minimal and lacking, lots of cheesy animations that would make anyone above 14 yo facepalm. And the interface is...average. It's not bad but functional and that's that, nothing to go crazy here. It's worth the price on Steam but buy if you got nothing else to play, which is very probable considering the market's current lack of games that aren't complete garbage.    … Expand
  18. dubesor
    Feb 19, 2013
    4
    Huge disappointment. I was so looking to another DK spinoff, liked the graphic-style and thought I'd try it out. The game itself is one of the least fun experiences I have ever had. They literally managed to exclude completely everything that would be fun about a dungeon manager. There is no managment at all. You can not design your dungeon properly, as enemies will spawn randomly anyway,Huge disappointment. I was so looking to another DK spinoff, liked the graphic-style and thought I'd try it out. The game itself is one of the least fun experiences I have ever had. They literally managed to exclude completely everything that would be fun about a dungeon manager. There is no managment at all. You can not design your dungeon properly, as enemies will spawn randomly anyway, sizes and shapes of rooms are entirely predetermined. The dungeon always feels empty and dead. There is literally no AI, you'd think your minions and units would do stuff say eat, sleep, wander around, visit various rooms or anything like that: no. They are braindead standing waiting for you to port them onto enemies so you can watch them autoattack a bunch of units until they wait some more until you send them to a kitchen to feast. That's it. Oh there is an overworld map where you can gather resources. This has been done in the most boring event I could possible think off. You can't see where they are raiding, they just despawn and come back after 2 or so minutes and that's it. There is absolutely zero management in this game. The micromanagement in this game is dumb and tedious. The total lack of AI ruins it. The campaign is boring, long and tedious. Multiplayer and Coop is still in beta and doesn't function properly. I hade several bugs where I would get error messages having to alttab to cancel them. The UI and controls are simply annoying, everything has a delay. Unit responses aren't instant but rather take a second as well as even opening the wheely menu or scrolling with your mouse has a default delay. Why? Don't ask me. The game contains literally not a single aspect of what a dungeon manager should have, other than it's looks. It's not fun, it's tedious, it's unfinished and it's simply boring.… Expand
  19. djvampyre
    Feb 19, 2013
    0
    Some huge things missing from this game killed it for me.

    1.) There is no AI whatsoever. Minions don't wander your dungeon on their own. They will literally just stand there and starve to death not interacting with anything unless you tell them to go eat something even if they are STANDING IN THE KITCHEN!!! How lulz worthy is that? How can you possibly make a game playtest it yourself    Some huge things missing from this game killed it for me.

    1.) There is no AI whatsoever. Minions don't wander your dungeon on their own. They will literally just stand there and starve to death not interacting with anything unless you tell them to go eat something even if they are STANDING IN THE KITCHEN!!! How lulz worthy is that? How can you possibly make a game playtest it yourself and not be frustrated by that??? You'd have to be the most simple minded person ever to not view that as a huge problem.

    2.) Enemy has no AI and no challenge. They don't attack things using a strategy it's just a random location enemy spawn. Yep that's right so your traps and unit placement are useless. No building defenses or anything like that. Enemies spawn in a random location... you teleport your squad to that location DONE... that's the whole "challenge" behind this game. Once again it's either rushed and not play tested or just plain evil money grab to allow a game to be shipped like this.

    3.) Overworld resource gathering is horrendously bad. You send a squad to a location on the overworld then 5 minutes later you get a pile of resources. You have no control over them after they are sent. The simplest Facebook games execute this mechanic better. WHY!? Why did you guys do this!?

    4.) Multiplayer and PVP are still in beta! Surprised? I'm not because this game is obviously unfinished.

    5.) Dungeons aren't customizable!!! You missed the biggest aspect of these games. Building a personalized death trap maze for the heroes that enter just isn't possible with this.

    There's so many other issues telling me this game is unfinished it's really not even funny. It's sad. Just very very sad to see the state of gaming come to this when an unfinished game just gets squeezed out and sells copies anyway encouraging the next group of developers to do the same. WAKE UP PEOPLE!    … Expand
  20. birdbrain5
    Feb 19, 2013
    3
    This game is brutal. It is lacking so many mechanics that old games like dungeon keeper had. For example, the heroes can come into any place in your dungeon instead of coming in the entrance. This means that you can not make your dungeon defensible.
  21. Zicious
    Feb 16, 2013
    8
    This is a great game by itself. I give it an 8 because I have a lot of fun playing it. Impire has launched with basically a Quasi-Beta status. Lots of random bugs and game play mechanics that need to be balanced. A lot of people compare it to Dungeon Keeper and Dawn of War. It isn't very much like DoW except for the "squads". Squads are a must too, because if you just have units (not in aThis is a great game by itself. I give it an 8 because I have a lot of fun playing it. Impire has launched with basically a Quasi-Beta status. Lots of random bugs and game play mechanics that need to be balanced. A lot of people compare it to Dungeon Keeper and Dawn of War. It isn't very much like DoW except for the "squads". Squads are a must too, because if you just have units (not in a squad) they get slaughtered by squads of heroes. Its based on Ardania which is actually from Majesty. So I would say it is more of a Dungeon Keeper (base building style), Majesty (lore of the game and silliness), and RTS (more simplistic than DoW). I love the idea of how they tied everything together, you can Cooperatively play with others and skirmish. Developers are very active on the forums collecting logs and screenshots of crashes/bugs. I believe they will promptly patch and balance the issues others have outlined here. If you want a better idea of the game, definitely watch a play through video.… Expand
  22. EmperorZoltan
    Feb 16, 2013
    5
    Impire just doesn’t feel like a finished game. It’s buggy as hell, corners have been cut and key features such as combat and base design feel rushed and poorly executed. Still, it’s better than DUNGEONS, but unless you are a diehard fan of the genre I’d steer clear of this one. Do yourself a favour and head to GOG.com and buy yourself a copy of the classic bullfrog game Dungeon Keeper.
  23. Sanius
    Feb 16, 2013
    3
    Taziars review has all the details a good review needed...but for loving dungeon keeper so much and felt nothing at all playing Impire i would rate it 3 by max.
  24. giskarduk
    Feb 28, 2013
    6
    Impire is a fun game and at the price it is worth buying. It has its funny moments but the game is best described as nothing outstanding and slightly buggy. Some of the missions are drawn out and rather dull and there is no real base building involved. Just a combination of defending your dungeon and attacking the surface world. The rooms are always the same size and not scalable but canImpire is a fun game and at the price it is worth buying. It has its funny moments but the game is best described as nothing outstanding and slightly buggy. Some of the missions are drawn out and rather dull and there is no real base building involved. Just a combination of defending your dungeon and attacking the surface world. The rooms are always the same size and not scalable but can be rotated, Skirmish is actually multiplayer and not Skirmish at all and the makers plan to sell you upgrades as optional extras.

    I enjoyed it the game, I think its worth the price but it is not going to win any awards but that does not mean you should avoid it. I personally would follow this rule based on what you have read about it. If you think you may like it, you probably will. If you think you will not like it, you probably will not.

    Nice game, nothing exciting, worth buying.    … Expand
  25. swooshxx
    Feb 15, 2013
    9
    True to the genre, plus some very nice RP perks. Those that are familiar with Dungeon Keeper will see it as a direct, and welcome, addition to the genre.
  26. Ionflux
    Feb 15, 2013
    9
    This game brings back fantastic memories of playing Dungeon keeper 2. its simple enough to grasp, and intuitive enough to get you thinking. Great graphics and awesome voice acting abound. Gameplay is smooth and defined. no issues here. having a blast!
  27. Penguin2121
    Feb 15, 2013
    9
    This game is a very solid example of what this genre has to offer. The game can be quite humerus at times as well. The graphics are surprisingly good for a small development studio. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who is on the fence and is interested in simulation/economy games with a twist.
  28. Hrothgaar
    Feb 15, 2013
    10
    One of the most atmospheric dungeon-based games I played,
    the graphic style, the mood, the neat sound effects all add nicely :-)
    You can, for example, zoom the 3d-view out until you get a top-down map like view with different symbols for your rooms, if you hover the mouse over these room symbols a new window suddenly apears and shows whats going on in these rooms. In good old rpg-    One of the most atmospheric dungeon-based games I played,
    the graphic style, the mood, the neat sound effects all add nicely :-)

    You can, for example, zoom the 3d-view out until you get a top-down map like view with different symbols for your rooms, if you hover the mouse over these room symbols a new window suddenly apears and shows whats going on in these rooms.

    In good old rpg- style you can upgrade and level your units, grow your avatar with things like bigger wings, stronger claws and later branch out into the mage, commander or warrior path with different visualisations :-)

    And one more point to add: the developers are very active in communicating with their player base and listening at their wishes in the forums!

    To sum it up, great game, please deliver more content     … Expand
  29. Scritty
    Feb 16, 2013
    6
    It's not a bad game, but it certainly not a patch on DK or even the slightly below par DK2, which are available for a lot less than this and still play as well. MY fave part of DK was designing very specific traps and plans, rooms of different sizes etc. With the prebuilt rooms and no real Imp customization and direct control of the Imps, the game is more of a lite RTS that requires twitchIt's not a bad game, but it certainly not a patch on DK or even the slightly below par DK2, which are available for a lot less than this and still play as well. MY fave part of DK was designing very specific traps and plans, rooms of different sizes etc. With the prebuilt rooms and no real Imp customization and direct control of the Imps, the game is more of a lite RTS that requires twitch reactions than a true successor to DK. Only game that offers what DK had (and a LOT more of course) is probably Dwarf Fortress. Possibly Gnomoria. Not bad, but 15 years on you'd have thought SOMEONE could have done a decent modern take on DK...but this is another decent enough game that fails to live up to the past classics in terms of depth of gameplay.… Expand
  30. Vracko
    Feb 27, 2013
    10
    When i have read couple of reviews here i had to comment. This game is NOT a dungeon keeper clone. It actually has nothing similar to dungeon keeper. If you want a dungeon keeper clone, play Dwarfs which is amazing. This game is different, basically. It's a RTS game with some interesting features. Campaign is fun, humor is amazing. It is especially compelling to the people with goodWhen i have read couple of reviews here i had to comment. This game is NOT a dungeon keeper clone. It actually has nothing similar to dungeon keeper. If you want a dungeon keeper clone, play Dwarfs which is amazing. This game is different, basically. It's a RTS game with some interesting features. Campaign is fun, humor is amazing. It is especially compelling to the people with good knowledge of metal bands, movies and music in general. For me it was hilarious! I see that people are having a problem with enemies showing everywhere which is not true. They announce themselves via ladders that are present in your dungeon (which you can destroy). If you are not quick they will mess you up!Here is an interesting micromanagement of units which is always fun. When ladders start coming down, you have no other choice but build a nice passageways with a lot of traps. So expanding your dungeon is based on DEFENSE because you can teleport your troops through your dungeon. You have to wait with raiding because you don't know when enemy wave is coming and this is only in first few missions! And i gave 10/10 to compensate for rage on the game by other reviewers. Also i saw no bugs, or anything. Game runs smoothly. It is 19e game, so it is fair to try it. I find it fun. Generaly i would give it 8/10 because of the hud which is too small IMHO and unpractical. I believe that using the kitchen to feed your armies will be improved in future patches. It is a minor thing.… Expand
  31. ShadowDweller
    Feb 17, 2013
    8
    Let's say it first. It is not Dungeon Keeper! But quite a good and fun game. At first, I also wanted to criticize the game is that it is not the Dungeon Keeper, as I remember it, but then I noticed that the game is addictive and I don't want to throw it away! Yes there is enough bugs, but they are small enough not to spoil the gameplay. There is too much micromanagement and a certain lackLet's say it first. It is not Dungeon Keeper! But quite a good and fun game. At first, I also wanted to criticize the game is that it is not the Dungeon Keeper, as I remember it, but then I noticed that the game is addictive and I don't want to throw it away! Yes there is enough bugs, but they are small enough not to spoil the gameplay. There is too much micromanagement and a certain lack of balance, but this is what patches are for. Check unit balance, automate feeding, make patrols and traps useful and it will be the hit! But for now it's 8.0.… Expand
  32. RaidenHitsu
    Feb 17, 2013
    6
    NOTE: THIS IS NOT A DK CLONE PEOPLE. I had great expectations and they didn't fall short. Let's start talking about some minor things, the humor is funny, the story is engaging and the graphics, well, I personally like them a lot, it's no new gen but it's pleasant to the eye with a little cartoonish in it. In this game you find yourself managing a dungeon, you form squads of units that actNOTE: THIS IS NOT A DK CLONE PEOPLE. I had great expectations and they didn't fall short. Let's start talking about some minor things, the humor is funny, the story is engaging and the graphics, well, I personally like them a lot, it's no new gen but it's pleasant to the eye with a little cartoonish in it. In this game you find yourself managing a dungeon, you form squads of units that act as a single unit and they learn new skills, which depends on the units you used. These squads will be used outside of your dungeon when you send them on missions to gather resources raiding places or inside your dungeon to defend it, patrol it or liberate it from monsters inhabiting them. You build corridors, rooms and customize your dungeon whatever you like, there is even a points system that acts as a sort of "research" that allows unlocking stuff during a game. All in all I'm having a blast with this title, I never played DK, but I played Dungeons (which was, hey build a luna park for heroes essentially). I'm not saying Dungeons is not nice, they're different and similar in some aspects and I did enjoy both, althought I think I enjoyed more Impire. There is a story mode that can be played up to 4 players (4 players campaign!!!) or a skirmish mode. Last but not least, from one mission to another, your avatar "hero" or whatever you call it, gets permanent experience so you can upgrade him with new wings, or skin which are stats/abilities upgrades all visible on your char, it feels nice to see the little guy grow and become different. Anyways, the only downside that I can think of is that it can be a little repetitive after some time, but the formula is highly replayable, simple and relaxing so I don't mind. It suffers from some minor bugs from launch and there are some rough edges that could've been smoothed for a better gameplay (for example teleport to eat would've been nice, instead of teleport near kitchen and then order to eat) but the developers' team seems to be community friendly so I think those things will be ironed out in no time. Recommend it! I would give it an 8/10 but I feel like putting in a 10 because of those awful zeros.… Expand
  33. EMPulse
    Feb 19, 2013
    9
    Got this game about 3 hours ago loving it so far, funny as hell and a direct descendant of dungeon keeper 1 and 2 at least in spirit, well worth the E19.99 on Steam, its visually a very attractive game, plots hilarious dialogue even more so and like the other guys said the voice acting is superb, all in all givin a 9 just for the sheer fun im having with my lil blue devil!!!! if you likedGot this game about 3 hours ago loving it so far, funny as hell and a direct descendant of dungeon keeper 1 and 2 at least in spirit, well worth the E19.99 on Steam, its visually a very attractive game, plots hilarious dialogue even more so and like the other guys said the voice acting is superb, all in all givin a 9 just for the sheer fun im having with my lil blue devil!!!! if you liked Dungeon keeper or theme hospital or anything like that you'll love this!!!… Expand
  34. Blammage
    Feb 16, 2013
    10
    I don't typically write online reviews, for anything really. Which is odd, because I use them all the time. But, when I saw some of the negative reviews for Impire, I felt compelled to chime in. There is nothing to NOT like about this game. First off, the dialogue is absolutely hilarious! I watched Force Strategy Gaming's "First 40" Youtube video of this title, and found myself laughingI don't typically write online reviews, for anything really. Which is odd, because I use them all the time. But, when I saw some of the negative reviews for Impire, I felt compelled to chime in. There is nothing to NOT like about this game. First off, the dialogue is absolutely hilarious! I watched Force Strategy Gaming's "First 40" Youtube video of this title, and found myself laughing out loud several times at the outrageous and "naughty" dialogue. Priceless, really. And not only that, it is delivered expertly, and with aplomb. A nice change of pace from the stilted disasters that pass for voice acting nowadays... even in some triple A titles. Second, I game on a laptop (Macbook Pro Retina 15"), so not a gaming powerhouse by any stretch, and this game runs like butter.... No, not down my chin, but smoothly! Third, the graphics and animations are some of the best I've seen in quite some time. Although, I don't play first person shooters, which tend to be the standard bearers in this area, so take that with a grain of salt. Your standards may be (and in all likelihood, probably are) higher than my own. And finally (and most importantly in my mind), IT'S GENUINELY FUN! All in all, playing it has been time very well spent, in my opinion. You could certainly blow twenty bucks on something much less rewarding. Give it a go, you won't regret it.… Expand
  35. Zeev
    Feb 17, 2013
    9
    The cutscenes are full of humor and very funny, the levels seems to be same but got different and not so boring quests. It is very fun to build and upgrade your dungeon, place traps, manage your monsters.

    There are many complains about some crashes bugs. I have tested this game on an old laptop: Acer aspire 5740G i7 640m 2.6 GHz, 4 GB RAM, ATI 5650 mobility HD, and new desktop PC: i5    The cutscenes are full of humor and very funny, the levels seems to be same but got different and not so boring quests. It is very fun to build and upgrade your dungeon, place traps, manage your monsters.

    There are many complains about some crashes bugs. I have tested this game on an old laptop: Acer aspire 5740G i7 640m 2.6 GHz, 4 GB RAM, ATI 5650 mobility HD, and new desktop PC: i5 3.4 GHz, 8 GB RAM, GTX660TI and the game works perfectly without any bugs or crashes. In my laptop I even have Windows8, and the game still works without any problems.

    The only few problems I found with the game is:
    1. Squads sometimes attack ladders and sometimes not after teleporting them near enemy ladder.
    2. Squad sometimes go to different location and not where I ordered them to go.    … Expand
  36. Ameno
    Feb 20, 2013
    10
    Inspired by dungeon keeper but has his own unique genre and style. Don't expect Impire to be a dungeon keeper clone, If you like the mixes of Strategy, RPG and dungeon management game, you should play it! Yeah, the game is not perfect but if you take time to learn how to play this game, this could be a lot of fun. My score should be 8/10, but I put a 10/10 only to compensate a little toInspired by dungeon keeper but has his own unique genre and style. Don't expect Impire to be a dungeon keeper clone, If you like the mixes of Strategy, RPG and dungeon management game, you should play it! Yeah, the game is not perfect but if you take time to learn how to play this game, this could be a lot of fun. My score should be 8/10, but I put a 10/10 only to compensate a little to all ridiculous troll and too absurd low score. Again, it's not a dungeon keeper clone, don't hope for it, you should try it totally in mind to be a different kind of a game. For an Indie dev, and 20$ buck, it's a good game.… Expand
  37. fireskull98
    Apr 4, 2013
    9
    I really enjoyed playing this game, I'm not sure why everyone else is rating it so low. Impire was really fun in my opinion, and I would recommend it to anyone who liked dungeon keeper.
  38. metalslug
    Feb 20, 2013
    10
    This is a good game... Yes it need improvement but all the people who's whine about the fact this is not DK are just haters and should make a game by them self just to have exactly what they are waiting for! I'm giving a 10 just to be fair with them, against all those 0 or 1. They shouldn't trash someone else work like this, this is impressive how the devs remains calm. I'll be glad to seeThis is a good game... Yes it need improvement but all the people who's whine about the fact this is not DK are just haters and should make a game by them self just to have exactly what they are waiting for! I'm giving a 10 just to be fair with them, against all those 0 or 1. They shouldn't trash someone else work like this, this is impressive how the devs remains calm. I'll be glad to see them react to a customer like them at their job.… Expand
  39. Dethstar
    May 4, 2013
    6
    A poor comparison with Dungeon Keeper or any other classic of that genre. However, not a terrible game if taken at face value. There have been one or two other dungeon keeper type games lately that were on par with this. Unfortunately, it simply lacks feature and content. It is very linear and there is little real strategy involved. The dungeon design is largely irrelevant. Having saidA poor comparison with Dungeon Keeper or any other classic of that genre. However, not a terrible game if taken at face value. There have been one or two other dungeon keeper type games lately that were on par with this. Unfortunately, it simply lacks feature and content. It is very linear and there is little real strategy involved. The dungeon design is largely irrelevant. Having said that, it runs without crashes or glitches and has its moments. No depth whatsoever. The bones of a decent game without the feeling that you doing more than following a formula. A very polished shame of a game.… Expand
  40. Notger
    Feb 21, 2013
    5
    Humor is nice, artworks are great, but this game grows old quite fast.
    The main points are simplistic mechanics, lacking build freedom and lots of micromanagement (and I mean lots: ladders popping up, minions having to be fed and so on).
    See Taziars review for more details.
  41. Doconicus
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    Once again we go underground to discover a disgruntle evil force who preys on heroes and uses miniature demons to tunnel. I have always scaled a game based on this formula. Price vs quality vs how much time I would have spent playing pinball in a seedy bar vs entertainment (graphics, sound, playability/replayability) For $19.00, Impire isn't a bad deal. Yeah, it ain't Dungeon Keeper, andOnce again we go underground to discover a disgruntle evil force who preys on heroes and uses miniature demons to tunnel. I have always scaled a game based on this formula. Price vs quality vs how much time I would have spent playing pinball in a seedy bar vs entertainment (graphics, sound, playability/replayability) For $19.00, Impire isn't a bad deal. Yeah, it ain't Dungeon Keeper, and only when Peter Molyneux makes a new version, will I even try to make the comparision. But it did keep me entertained, though it did leave quite a bit to be desired. A manual would have been nice and so would being able to participate some of the 'out of dungeon' quests. Also, a considerable more customization of Hell Slayer would have been a welcome event. All in all, this isn't Black and White, Quake, or Shogun Total War, no new ground is being broken, But, it is fun and I feel, worth the $19 clams for the game. Oh, and John Pinett should have been given a lot more lines and been allowed in the monster's kitchen and been force to leave. Now that would have been funny.… Expand
  42. Jockedamus
    May 4, 2013
    0
    This game is so insanely boring I don't even know where to begin. No part of it is entertaining in any way and I feel so foolish for buying it and even more so for pre-ordering. What the hell was I thinking? Everything you do in this game is a chore. Destroying the enemy is in no way gratifying as you really have no part of it. Just warp your units in in greater numbers and see the bigThis game is so insanely boring I don't even know where to begin. No part of it is entertaining in any way and I feel so foolish for buying it and even more so for pre-ordering. What the hell was I thinking? Everything you do in this game is a chore. Destroying the enemy is in no way gratifying as you really have no part of it. Just warp your units in in greater numbers and see the big mess of a slugfest that is the combat. Then feed your units. God forbid that they would consider eating when they are hungry! Then replace your losses and warp them into a fight again. Do a facepalm, feed them and replace losses. Repeat this for the rest of the level and the next and the next and also the next. Traps are utterly pointless and boring. It isn't so much a dungeon as it is a camp for the not so gifted.
    Best part: when you have uninstalled it successfully. (at least the uninstaller works)    … Expand
  43. pedrofrancab
    Jun 25, 2013
    8
    I'd like to start by saying this is NOT a Dungeon Keeper game! I've seen the major complaints about this game, and it seems that micromanagement and ladders are the most commented. Well, to pick up from there, ladders (at least now) are customizable. You can set the game with random, fixed, or no ladders at all! But I personally have the best experience by using fixed ladders, since theyI'd like to start by saying this is NOT a Dungeon Keeper game! I've seen the major complaints about this game, and it seems that micromanagement and ladders are the most commented. Well, to pick up from there, ladders (at least now) are customizable. You can set the game with random, fixed, or no ladders at all! But I personally have the best experience by using fixed ladders, since they can appear near a important room and that adds up to the challenge. Making the heroes go through the main entrance is just too easy in this game. Ok, now, this game is like a RTS with added management. I can't see all those micromanagement issues people talk about, since you make your own pace here, and that for me is one of Impire strongest points. You have a main mission, and you can finish it whenever you like, with no penalties! There is not this rush like in usual RTSs. About bugs, I have seen none! I just can't get these low scores, unless Impire was a chore at release. In that case give it a second try! With bland games like Dungeon Siege III getting 7s, I think this game deserves an 8/10… Expand
  44. RoofieColada
    Apr 18, 2013
    3
    There are so many issues with impires gameplay that I dont think I could cover them all if I tried with the space allotted. Besides everyone else has collectively covered it all, so I will touch on the one thing that disappointed me the most the lack of one ingredient that makes games great.....the fun. The game bored me....after about 10 hours or so I was forcing myself to keep playingThere are so many issues with impires gameplay that I dont think I could cover them all if I tried with the space allotted. Besides everyone else has collectively covered it all, so I will touch on the one thing that disappointed me the most the lack of one ingredient that makes games great.....the fun. The game bored me....after about 10 hours or so I was forcing myself to keep playing just to find something to really like about the game other then the animation and graphics.It just dragged on and really got worse the more I played it. I took a break and came back to it a day or so later. Trying to clear my mind of its initial impression, and just give it an honest view from a fresh new perspective.
    the problem was,I was comparing this game to dungeon keeper the first time around.Which disapointed me beyond belife, cause lets face it DK was a great title. But even then, playing the game and letting it stand on its own merits and not comparing it to previous title in the genre I still got bored and frustrate. Wondering the whole time why they elected to use....well just about all the gameplay mechanics. The part that makes me want to pull my hair out though isthat there really is soooo much potential there. It really could be a good game but the potential is completely squandered. And considering Cyanide studios put this out, I would be completely amazed and shocked if they actually did anything with this title.
    Now this one was gifted to me, and when I saw it was 10 dollars I thought ok 50% off so 5 bucks isnt a total waste..I spend more on lunch. But then realized it was 10 bucks with the 50% off, I myself would not spend 5 dollars on this title...let alone the full 20. Hell I just checked ebay and amazon and you can get dungeon keeper cheaper then this title at full price, shipping included.
    Anyway...rating this game on potential...I could give it a 6 or 7, but I dont rate on potential...and also as I said earlier Cyanide is the dev. Maybe Cyanide will pull there heads out of there back ends...but there track record speaks for itself so Im not holding my breath.. Replayability and fun factor are the most important things for me, and as you can see the score I gave it really reflects on this title.
    If you really want to try this genre I would have to say to buy a copy of Dungeon keepers as it would be cheaper then this title at full price in the steam store(at this time 20 dollars) as Ive already said. But also its a title that will keep you entertained for hours on end. Not to mention that it wont make you want to throw your monitor out the window in frustration XD    … Expand
  45. TheReject
    Mar 16, 2013
    2
    Dull, repetitive, shallow, and buggy. The voice acting is fun but is not enough to save the title from the horrific flaws with the game play. The game taunts you with an appealing story and hints at a satisfying dungeon-builder, but never quite delivers. The constraints on building prevent you from truly designing your dungeon freely and the endless cycle of hero invasions and ladderDull, repetitive, shallow, and buggy. The voice acting is fun but is not enough to save the title from the horrific flaws with the game play. The game taunts you with an appealing story and hints at a satisfying dungeon-builder, but never quite delivers. The constraints on building prevent you from truly designing your dungeon freely and the endless cycle of hero invasions and ladder attacks quickly turn into endless drudgery.… Expand
  46. GodEmperor47
    Apr 28, 2013
    6
    Impire suffers from one major flaw: it's incredibly tedious. Research and party formation occupy most of your time, and once you've created a tank/2 dps/healer combo in a few monster parties, the game is too easy. Customizing your dungeon lord can be cool, but it takes several missions to gain anything and the combat isn't any more satisfying when using your demon avatar than it is withImpire suffers from one major flaw: it's incredibly tedious. Research and party formation occupy most of your time, and once you've created a tank/2 dps/healer combo in a few monster parties, the game is too easy. Customizing your dungeon lord can be cool, but it takes several missions to gain anything and the combat isn't any more satisfying when using your demon avatar than it is with the parties of imps. It's mechanically sound (aside from an option to have your monsters automatically feed themselves, having to do it manually every five minutes gets old), but doesn't bring enough innovation or entertainment to the table. Not a horrible Dungeon Keeper knock-off, but I wish it'd been a bit more like DK and a bit less like Evil Genius (imagine all the boring parts of both games mashed together, and that's what you get here).… Expand
  47. ThePhysGun
    Jul 8, 2013
    3
    Very poorly made, simply.

    The control scheme is exceedingly awkward and counter-intuitive, which leads to such horrible mistakes such as wanting to move a squad of units and ending up teleporting your main imp to the exact wrong place. The voice acting, and it's writing, is annoying with rather lame attempts at humor. The most notable issue is when you come across the first boss    Very poorly made, simply.

    The control scheme is exceedingly awkward and counter-intuitive, which leads to such horrible mistakes such as wanting to move a squad of units and ending up teleporting your main imp to the exact wrong place.

    The voice acting, and it's writing, is annoying with rather lame attempts at humor.

    The most notable issue is when you come across the first boss battle. A boss is supposed to make you use everything that's been taught to you up to that point making for more of a challenge. This however, does something completely different. It introduces a new mechanic without even showing that it's there. Four healing items around the room, boss can use healing item to regenerate all health at once, unit must destroy healing item before boss can use it. This can cause an issue when the boss does absurd amounts of damage and immediately kills all of your units and consume a healing item. The incredibly awkward control scheme makes it just about impossible to micro-manage correctly and is unfortunately frustrating.

    It looked fun, but must have been beta-tested by some four-armed spider people with computer mice from the future.    … Expand
  48. Type4101
    Sep 8, 2013
    1
    People have been clamoring for a remake/reboot of the Dungeon Keeper series for decades, and have been met with bitter disappointment time and time again. Enter Impire, perhaps the worst of them all. Imagine a group of film makers who absolutely adore the movie Jaws, announce they are making the spiritual successor to their favorite movie. Then, with great fanfare, they roll outPeople have been clamoring for a remake/reboot of the Dungeon Keeper series for decades, and have been met with bitter disappointment time and time again. Enter Impire, perhaps the worst of them all. Imagine a group of film makers who absolutely adore the movie Jaws, announce they are making the spiritual successor to their favorite movie. Then, with great fanfare, they roll out Sharknado. That's Impire. The game version of Sharknado (not Jaws). Don't support this crap.… Expand
  49. Voyou
    May 20, 2021
    4
    Dungeon Keeper knock off number 411, this one made a great effort on the presentation. For naught. What seems like a sophisticated UI at first rapidly shows it cracks and inadequacies. Most jarring is the whimsical responsiveness of the mouse. Most mysterious the way you fail to send units anywhere you want.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
45

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 28
  3. Negative: 13 out of 28
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Jun 10, 2013
    80
    A charming strategy, with pleasant gameplay, some original ideas and humorous wackiness. A must have for old friends of Dungeon Keeper. [April 2013]
  2. CD-Action
    May 7, 2013
    50
    A game similar to Dungeon Keeper but worse in every aspect. [CD-Action 05/2013, p.76]
  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Apr 15, 2013
    58
    Impire would be below average strategy game in the spirit on Dungeon Keeper, but thanks to really awful, long-winded and unfunny attempts of humour, it becomes something much, much worse. [Apr 2013]
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