Developer: Brightrock Games
Publisher: Brightrock Games
Rrp: £22.99 (Gog.com, Humblebundle and Steam)
Released: 2nd April 2015
Available on: Gog.com, Humblebundle and Steam
Played Using: Mouse and Keyboard
Approximate game length: 18 hours (for the main campaign)
It’s good to be bad! That was one of the taglines to the original Dungeon Keeper game (it was also used for the game Overlord), and its a sentiment that I agree with. There’s nothing quite like getting to play the villain. Not enough games allow you to and those that do always end up with a strong following.
War for the Overworld is a love letter to the Dungeon Keeper series, when I say that I mean that this game deserves the title of Dungeon Keeper 3. It’s the sequel the series should have gotten instead of the god awful mobile game that EA had the gall to pushed out bearing the Dungeon Keeper branding. If it sounds like I’m a bit angry at that it would be because I am. I’m angry at EA for just sitting on that IP for so long and not doing a damn thing with it until they produce a shitty time wasting mobile game that’s designed to frustrate the player into spending money… Anyway that’s enough on that subject (believe me I could rail on it for a long time).
In War for the Overworld you play as an ‘Underlord’ that has been brought into being by a mysterious master in order to wage his war against the upper world (or overworld as the game calls it). Like the game series it apes you take control of and manage a dungeon and have the task of defeating your opponent tempting in and training your minions, among other things.
It’s very clear that the folks at Brightrock Games have a great love for the original Dungeon Keeper series and it would have been very easy for them to exactly reproduce what Bullfrog had produced before. But instead they decided to push the boat out and included a number of features and additions that I wish had existed within the original series. A case in point being that unlike Dungeon Keeper you unlock skills, spells and rooms through a tech tree. These new powers and abilities are unlocked through spending points called ‘sins’ which are generated by the Cultist minion while they are in your library room (once you construct one).
Unsurprisingly this game is much more graphically impressive than either Dungeon Keeper game but it stays loyal to the general aesthetic (and humour) of its forbearers.
This is as close as your going to get to a sequel to the Dungeon Keeper franchise Since EA isn’t likely to make a real Dungeon Keeper game (and no that mobile monstrosity they pinched out doesn’t count).
My honest opinion on this game is that it’s well worth your time, especially if you’re someone who grew up with the Dungeon Keep franchise, and if you weren’t well this is a damned good place to start.
It should be mentioned that there are multiple DLC’s that expand on the main game unlocking whole new campaigns. I however cannot speak to the quality of those.
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
The Dungeon Keeper Series
Evil Genius
The Overlord Series
