War for the Overworld

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 130 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 85 out of 130
  2. Mixed: 27 out of 130
  3. Negative: 18 out of 130

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  1. Babutto
    Jul 28, 2022
    6
    Pros.:
    - A further development of the Dungeon Keeper ideas.
    - Comfortable to play. - Variability. - Is not very engine consuming. Cons.: - No match to DK's story. - Many things are unnecessary or excessive. You never use them. - Problems with the missions' difficulty. Some may be easy, next may be much harder. No gradual growth of them. - Need to buy expansions when they could    Pros.:
    - A further development of the Dungeon Keeper ideas.
    - Comfortable to play.
    - Variability.
    - Is not very engine consuming.

    Cons.:
    - No match to DK's story.
    - Many things are unnecessary or excessive. You never use them.
    - Problems with the missions' difficulty. Some may be easy, next may be much harder. No gradual growth of them.
    - Need to buy expansions when they could actually make a sequel - a full game.
    - Not much of a background story.
    - Same stupid minions like flies - here beholders. There are many 'killed' units like vampires, 'killed' mechanics like training - minions just go away all the time.    … Expand
  2. pandalard
    Dec 21, 2020
    7
    A worthy spiritual successor to Dungeon Keeper, but far from perfect. While it does great in copying the original it doesn't expand much upon it. The art direction is fairly bland and generic which is a shame since DK had such iconic and fun designs for everything. The campaign is a also a bit heavy on time-based challenges which didn't feel very creative. What made this game good is whatA worthy spiritual successor to Dungeon Keeper, but far from perfect. While it does great in copying the original it doesn't expand much upon it. The art direction is fairly bland and generic which is a shame since DK had such iconic and fun designs for everything. The campaign is a also a bit heavy on time-based challenges which didn't feel very creative. What made this game good is what they successfully could mimic and what made it lacking was its own inability to innovate.

    However in the end I still felt like I was playing DK again, which is a much welcome feeling!    … Expand
  3. Drakman
    Aug 12, 2020
    8
    This is one of the best love letters to the Dungeon Keeper series(R.I.P. and shakes fist angrily at EA ). It has it's flaws, but overall I love the hell out of War for the Overworld, and if you liked Dungeon Keeper, or similar styled games, you need to check it out.
  4. mightyducks
    Jul 18, 2019
    5
    Ive been playing through the original DK1 and Deeper dungeons expansion from good old games so I thought I'd give this another shot.

    When I bought the original Deeper Dungeons expansion campaign at release (Im old) I remember being disappointed as a kid because it contained no new creature types, room or mechanics, just new levels. However, going back and playing that game as an adult,    Ive been playing through the original DK1 and Deeper dungeons expansion from good old games so I thought I'd give this another shot.

    When I bought the original Deeper Dungeons expansion campaign at release (Im old) I remember being disappointed as a kid because it contained no new creature types, room or mechanics, just new levels. However, going back and playing that game as an adult, the levels you get are all very smartly designed and challenging. They do a lot to test your knowledge of how the games mechanics work.

    WFTO is like if 10 year old me had designed a dungeon keeper - tonnes of new mechanics, bad basic gameplay and level design. Theres tonnes of "stuff" happening but it doesen't feel refined or challenging in a satisfying way.

    Money is the perfect example, in DK1 there are levels where you occasionally get access to infinite money in the form of a gem seam, however the game will ration it out so you're poor until the late stage of the level when you finally get it, or its in contested enemy territory, or its not that big so the income you get is a slow trickle.

    In WFTO gold is just scattered around haphazardly, gem seams are on every level, you can just use alchemy to make gold or get a spell that turns creatures into gold or whatever.

    Also the fact that you can build your own walls for low cost right from the start suggests the devs dont really get how DK worked on a strategic level- the original devs didn't forget to include that feature, they decided that once a space was opened, it was open no take backs.

    WFTO is an interesting nostalgia trip but it doesnt hold a candle to the originals.    … Expand
  5. The_Good_Critic
    Dec 9, 2018
    10
    Good game if you liked Dungeon keeper 2, albeit not as good
    only giving it a 10 because all the other "sequels" are terrible and this is the only good one that could be called a "successor" to the original.
    If there were other actually good Dungeon keeper clones out there i might not call this a 10.but rather a 9.
  6. Can7onaLegend
    Oct 22, 2018
    9
    This is Beautiful.. as a BullFrog fan from the very Beginning and still a regular player of Dungeon Keeper 2 i admit to feeling sceptical about this game and worried it would be a cash in, i was wrong. It 100% Delivered. All that charm remain's along with some massive improvement's.
    My Genuine only Criticism would be the Metacritic Trailer above does not do anything for this game.
  7. Csefff
    Jun 22, 2018
    9
    A solid and expansive dungeon management sim with deliciously dark comic tone.

    + Main campaign pushes players through lots of different play styles and strategies. + Atmosphere created by VO characters is excellent throughout, especially the main campaign. + Great AI and difficulty levels for engagement of any experience level. - Cool modes like the 1st person 'possession' can be a    A solid and expansive dungeon management sim with deliciously dark comic tone.

    + Main campaign pushes players through lots of different play styles and strategies.
    + Atmosphere created by VO characters is excellent throughout, especially the main campaign.
    + Great AI and difficulty levels for engagement of any experience level.

    - Cool modes like the 1st person 'possession' can be a little hard to find - it's a spell...
    - Loads of content and play modes - can get a little lost sometimes.
    - Some optimal pathways and game exploits, however somewhat mitigated by relentless 'Master' Ai setting.    … Expand
  8. snodgrass
    Jan 8, 2018
    10
    Runs pretty well now. Great fun, very much the spirit of the original. I can think of things I'd like to tweak but it doesn't stop me wasting far too much time playing it. Team have added a lot of major content since the launch which has added greatly to the whole experience.
  9. Klewer
    Sep 18, 2017
    7
    It's a pretty solid game this now that is has been updated and patched properly. While I couldn't quite get fully in to it and hadn't played Dunegon Keeper, it's a nice RTS which is different to the norm and worth taking a look at.
  10. sh4dow
    Jul 6, 2017
    4
    I'm not sure where all those high ratings come from because I still find this too buggy to be enjoyable.
    Most importantly - when your creatures are in a fight, you can't pick additional creatures that are not in a fight from your panel because the "these creatures are involved in a fight" thing simply doesn't work. Most of the time, the creatures are in the category "other".
    One would    I'm not sure where all those high ratings come from because I still find this too buggy to be enjoyable.
    Most importantly - when your creatures are in a fight, you can't pick additional creatures that are not in a fight from your panel because the "these creatures are involved in a fight" thing simply doesn't work. Most of the time, the creatures are in the category "other".
    One would also think that it's pretty simple to only play a certain phrase only ONCE, not repeatedly until you finally finish a level.
    Finally, I find it pretty annoying how regularly you get hit by enemy waves in this game. There is barely any time to simply explore and plan one's dungeon. And sometimes not even for your creatures to get food and payment. I guess if that "creature activity" panel actually worked, you could pick creatures that are idle to fight. But... that's simply not possible.
    And you can't even pause to study the HUGE skill/perk/whatever tree in peace! Who the hell thought that that is a good idea?!    … Expand
  11. Giorgio84
    Jan 22, 2017
    4
    Good attempt to revive the series but gameplay is bad, campaign is not good and I'd say this is a let down unfortunately...such a shame really...
    I wanted this game to be a huge success. The guys did a good job to revive the DG series but unfortunately they did not capture the spirit.
    The game is not well polished and I did not enjoy the campaign at all. I am very sad to give a negative    Good attempt to revive the series but gameplay is bad, campaign is not good and I'd say this is a let down unfortunately...such a shame really...
    I wanted this game to be a huge success. The guys did a good job to revive the DG series but unfortunately they did not capture the spirit.
    The game is not well polished and I did not enjoy the campaign at all. I am very sad to give a negative review... as Dungeon Keeper I was my first PC game.    … Expand
  12. vuckoland
    Dec 5, 2016
    9
    This is so underrtaed game by reviews. Its a fun well made game and I have a feeling that I am playing Dungeon Keeper 3. I recommend it to all Dungeon Keeper fans this is a must play !! Welcome back Underlord :)
  13. frankcub2
    Jul 17, 2016
    10
    Wow. What a great game! I've been playing the DK series since its inception, and this version captures the spirit of the game and so much more!! Bugs have been squashed, development team is definitely in tune with needs and desires of the community. ENJOY!!
  14. Vnetherlands
    May 26, 2016
    10
    A lot of negative comments below are from last year when they launched in a Beta stage. Now they are at the point that it all works (no bugs etc.) and even an expansion on the 26th of may 2016. It's a really good and fun game and if you like DK, then this is really one you should purchase !
  15. Lich_Master
    Jan 8, 2016
    10
    Great game.
    True successor to DK franchise + A LOT of features which were missing in DK 2 are now implemented (also great ideas).
    I bought the game in December, so I missed bugs present at release.
    Anyhow: buy the game! Developers are still polishing it and adding new content
  16. TheBlue_Dragon
    Dec 24, 2015
    10
    Subterranean Games is working hard on this game. Bug and optimisation issues are fixed. Game is in much better state than at release. Sadly most of reviews and irritation from start cannot be undone.

    Gameplay is great, recalls old DK. Recently developers introduced third major patch which introduced map editor. Game goes in good direction and deserves better reputation.
  17. ogre
    Dec 14, 2015
    10
    It's Dungeon Keeper in all its glory. If you loved DK1 and DK2, this is the DK3 you were waiting for, except definitely with a lot more of an indie feel.

    I've been waiting for a good remake, and this is it. You build the rooms, put up traps, perform dark rituals, cast spells... everything you remember and more, with modern graphics. Comes complete with vile narrator, giving you silly,    It's Dungeon Keeper in all its glory. If you loved DK1 and DK2, this is the DK3 you were waiting for, except definitely with a lot more of an indie feel.

    I've been waiting for a good remake, and this is it. You build the rooms, put up traps, perform dark rituals, cast spells... everything you remember and more, with modern graphics. Comes complete with vile narrator, giving you silly, morbid facts.

    It has a very indie feel. Don't except a AAA title, expect a very well polished DK remake from an indie studio.

    To everyone complaining about bugs, I've yet to run into any. Maybe upgrade to windows 10 and have decent hardware, but the graphics are great, the game is performant, and I've yet to run into a bug and I've been playing since early access.    … Expand
  18. EagleSoar
    Dec 8, 2015
    0
    Played it till my fingers bled. Deleted it after the 17th attempt of level 12.
    Idiotic game. Till then, it was tricky, lvl 12 is impossible. Enemy has unlimited units, used the kuros spell or whatever its called, beat 2, 3rd is unkillable. Even when I got close, game lagged out and crashed (on a Nvidia 960 and 4770k oc'ed with 12gig ram)
    dont bother playing this rubbish. Absolute waste of space
  19. brightestabyss
    Nov 25, 2015
    7
    TL;DR - This is very much like Dungeon Keeper 2 and not like 1. If that is still acceptable to you, feel free to get it

    Is this game the Dungeon Keeper we've been waiting for? (Not the Mobile one we dare not speak of) Well I would say 'Kind of'. Its more like Dungeon Keeper 2 and its release was pretty badly bugged which disappointed me and I am rating this as it was released as it    TL;DR - This is very much like Dungeon Keeper 2 and not like 1. If that is still acceptable to you, feel free to get it

    Is this game the Dungeon Keeper we've been waiting for? (Not the Mobile one we dare not speak of)

    Well I would say 'Kind of'. Its more like Dungeon Keeper 2 and its release was pretty badly bugged which disappointed me and I am rating this as it was released as it was pushed out the door a bit too early.

    The levels have been unlocked and I found the levels pretty fun. The narrator is the same narrator from the original dungeon keeper and I will give him credit he did really well and made me grin and laugh a bit I don't believe his commentary was as good as in Dungeon Keeper 1.

    Now if you asked me mechanics, design and tone wise. I will say flat out 'This is Dungeon Keeper' without any doubt what-so-ever. So.... why did I say 'Kinda'? Its because its not Dungeon Keeper 1 that we believed, its very very much like Dungeon Keeper 2.

    There is 1 level in particular I got very frustrated with on that game which is a minor nitpick because there is multiplayer matches which is more or less what people go to now-a-days.

    This game feels like a 7/10 to me. A great game but not solid because it was released in a buggy state (Most bugs have been resolved at this point but I still feel to mention it)    … Expand
  20. Adx
    Oct 21, 2015
    10
    The only problem with thing game is there are so few playing multi player in my time zone. Late night so many late, late nights. And more content coming. SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!
  21. darkangel017
    Aug 26, 2015
    9
    This game deserves better reputation than it does now perfect for dk fans who can't get enough thanks for the hardworking developers who made this nostalgia once more possible
  22. DanMan3395
    Jul 18, 2015
    10
    This game is an AMAZING replacement for DK2. Great game for casual dungeon management with the same great humor. Hopefully they add some great paid DLC or steam mods soon, it can only get better! A+
  23. Gargohl
    Jul 7, 2015
    9
    good old dungeon keeper, It does it although the game is not really finished. It is a good nostalgic and fresh dungueon keeper experience. there is more to to but the game lags if there is too many people on the screen wich is a bummer.
  24. Dethstar
    Jun 10, 2015
    10
    Updating my review following the release of the latest 1.1 patch. This is more like it. Many of the issues which should not have been there have gone. Lots of nice new content added and it really is a true successor to Dungeon Keeper. Great job and a must have game.

    Performance issues addressed. The game runs much faster and loads in a quarter of the time it used to. Multiplayer is    Updating my review following the release of the latest 1.1 patch. This is more like it. Many of the issues which should not have been there have gone. Lots of nice new content added and it really is a true successor to Dungeon Keeper. Great job and a must have game.

    Performance issues addressed. The game runs much faster and loads in a quarter of the time it used to.
    Multiplayer is now properly implemented.
    There are a lot of new maps for skirmish modes.

    Possession of minions is now very much more fun.

    General defence rebalancing worked out well.    … Expand
  25. Joobajegouchi
    May 28, 2015
    9
    Dungeon Keeper re-imagined, this game iterates on the features of its predecessor by adding new tools and rooms and creatures to provide even more options to inflict pain and misery on your hapless goodie-two-shoes opponents (or rival evil "underlords"). Everything that made you love DK2? It's here. The new additions take away none of the fun but add heaps of replayability giving you aDungeon Keeper re-imagined, this game iterates on the features of its predecessor by adding new tools and rooms and creatures to provide even more options to inflict pain and misery on your hapless goodie-two-shoes opponents (or rival evil "underlords"). Everything that made you love DK2? It's here. The new additions take away none of the fun but add heaps of replayability giving you a variety of options to pursue: do you want to start with beasts and push hard for an early rush? Do you want to take it slow and and train up your normal minions for a traditional DK army? Do you wan to focus on teching with cultists. moving towards a powerful ritual or construct? Do you want to turtle up with defenses and potions?

    If you like DK1&2 or Evil Genius or other management games (theme hospital?) you will love this game. Be warned it's still not fully finished (lacking many tooltips, not a lot of documentation, frame rate drops and general engine sluggishness.) But the campaign is working well, you'll certainly be getting your money's worth. Hopefully development continues to move in a positive direction.

    I was an early alpha backer and I have to say I'm glad I was. Looking back they've come a long way. I wish Subterannian good luck wrapping out the development cycle. New Features are coming down the pipe (survival mode. map editor) once the game is feature complete it's going to be a real bargain at current price.    … Expand
  26. DV8ER
    May 12, 2015
    10
    This game if fantastic, the only complaint I have (and I believe it's being worked on!) is that currently 98% of the campaign is timer based. While this isn't implicitly an issue as a timer doesn't automatically imply it's bad, however, some of these campaigns maps are small. It's also some what frustrating to have so many rooms and not really take full advantage of them as you're busyThis game if fantastic, the only complaint I have (and I believe it's being worked on!) is that currently 98% of the campaign is timer based. While this isn't implicitly an issue as a timer doesn't automatically imply it's bad, however, some of these campaigns maps are small. It's also some what frustrating to have so many rooms and not really take full advantage of them as you're busy trying to beat the clock.

    All that aside, the game is FANTASTIC and extremely well done. It truly is the *REAL* spiritual successor to Dungeon Keeper unlike Dungeons II which for some reason was given this title. Others have commented about the incomplete nature of the game and while this is true, the developers are for sure working on wrapping it up and fixing the issues. I am also hoping to see some relief regarding the fact that the campaigns are timer focused.

    All in all the game is worth it and it's a lot of fun to play!    … Expand
  27. zivs
    Apr 18, 2015
    8
    Thanks to Richard Ridings voicing and enthusiastic developers team, Dungeon Keeper 3, ehr ... War for the Overworld has done a great job keeping the good atmosphere known to DK franchise.

    As of downside - it's still a work in progress, therefore - expect some glitches and missing features. Then again - patches are served almost every week, fixing all of what's been asked for.    Thanks to Richard Ridings voicing and enthusiastic developers team, Dungeon Keeper 3, ehr ... War for the Overworld has done a great job keeping the good atmosphere known to DK franchise.

    As of downside - it's still a work in progress, therefore - expect some glitches and missing features. Then again - patches are served almost every week, fixing all of what's been asked for.

    Definitely recommend it in it's current state to all DK fans, but the rest (who are not familiar with Horny) can wait just a month or two before buying it.    … Expand
  28. CrazyDays21
    Apr 13, 2015
    1
    This game should not have been released in the state it was. Even after 20 hotfixes it still crashes on me periodically and when it doesn't, it lags so bad as to become unplayable.
  29. blackbird1
    Apr 11, 2015
    5
    at first it felled like DK but soon the feeling vanishes the game is to fast and not so deep

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  30. giskarduk
    Apr 8, 2015
    7
    Honestly, the current user score of 7.0 seems fair to me. Whilst they did a good job on features, taking Dungeon Keepers ideas to the next level in many ways. The campaign is far too limited, and short, it has timers everywhere and the maps are so restrictive you simply do not get to build decent dungeons, which leaves me wondering what is the point of this game if it fails to deliver theHonestly, the current user score of 7.0 seems fair to me. Whilst they did a good job on features, taking Dungeon Keepers ideas to the next level in many ways. The campaign is far too limited, and short, it has timers everywhere and the maps are so restrictive you simply do not get to build decent dungeons, which leaves me wondering what is the point of this game if it fails to deliver the goods at the end of the day. Sandbox is not complete right and neither is Multiplayer. So basically we have a fully featured game that really does not let you enjoy those features.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

73
#73 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
65

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 14
  3. Negative: 2 out of 14
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 31, 2016
    79
    War for the Overworld fixes some minor problems of the original Dungeon Keeper games, but does not innovate further when it comes to dungeon building. [March 2016]
  2. CD-Action
    Jun 29, 2015
    45
    There’s a decent game in there somewhere, but it’s hard to notice it under all those bugs and shortcomings. [06/2015, p.75]
  3. PC PowerPlay
    May 30, 2015
    50
    Based heavily on Dungeon Keeper 2, this title with its twelve year old trappings has ignored all the innovations that have come since. [June 2015, p.62]
See all critic reviews »