War for the Overworld

Dungeon Keeper 3

I just bought War for the Overworld and finished the campaign and a little more. Not great value, even on sale. I was initially very excited. I loved Dungeon Keeper 1/2. I did not like WFTO. I hate RTS and this game erred toward RTS in every way. In a nutshell: DK allowed you to pause and give commands. This doesn't, it doesn't even allow you to slow it down meaningfully. The forced frantic-RTS focus short-changed almost every aspect of the design and detail. Who has time to zoom in and look at cute character models and animations when you will literally lose the level if you do that? The game also messes with you when it wants to slow-pan and show some event when you really need to be doing the fast RTS build and micro-manage instead. Then it snowballs because you are just finding the levels annoying to beat and you lose your sense of goodwill toward the game. DK1/2 let you pause the game and/or slow it down to the point it was fun for you. I hate the RT in RTS -- I like strategy and animations of the strategy in action. I have no interest in frantic clicking and smashing keys -- that is not a game style I have ever had any interest in. Also I found the UI slow and clunky so it was not just RTS but semi-broken RTS because you fight the UI. The only RTS games I enjoy allow you to pause (e.g. AOE2, DK1/2, Total War,...) and consider your options or respond to situations. And when that is an option -- I love it. I have clocked 1000s hours in such games. In general I did not like the level design either. Seemed to be biased toward frantic RTS play. Many levels had layouts that were too constraining (can't fit rooms you want because of rocks) and/or complicated (crazy large enemy bases that play no role in the level), yet not particularly fun or strategic to play. The winning strategy was simple every time -- build fast and smash the enemy. I did not need to use most of the spells, potions, rituals at all. They are just distractions from the frantic RTS unit management. The titans render most units irrelevant anyway. Since it is all frantic RTS you don't get to enjoy the levels and all the options anyway. It was also really bad that the levels would auto-end as soon as the objective was met. DK let you keep exploring. DK1/2 was fun because you could build the dungeon you want and enjoy the details. I loved being able to take my dragon from level to level when I found the artifact on each level. I would have liked a longer campaign with simpler levels introducing new ideas slowly and letting you enjoy making the dungeon you want at the pace you want: Just nice simple open levels with limited game elements available and a clear objective. I thought I might get some replay value with survival mode but the levels are horrible -- not at all strategic, just frantic RTS garbage with enemies charging in from all directions and too many things to protect. Keep in mind that many DK fans are 50+ these days. Just a guess but I suspect frantic clicking is the last thing they want. Going slower would also help a lot with the game jerky interface/optimization issues it has.

While it's a spiritual successor to Dungeon Keepers, it actively punishes players for not speed-running each Campaign, making it difficult to attain all Achievements unless one just zerg-rushes each objective. It goes against its own nature by insisting one just build a simple dungeon then zerg-rush the cheapest/fastest-spawning units. It also doesn't want players to play defensively, with how weak most defenses are and the increased reliance on micromanaging individual strike-groups (Warbands in this game). As well, the AI is especially cheaty on higher difficulty, employing the same rush tactics to overwhelm players instead of building up stronger and stronger units and then sending them off against the player at a pace that would make one sweat it out a bit. Sadly, the best way to enjoy the game is to play the opposite of what the game wants players to do; turtle, expand your dungeon, build up strong forces, then unleash them all in an overwhelming mix to melt through walls, defenses, and enemies. But then one would be giving up on the Achievements. If a sequel is ever made, I would like to see time-based Achievements replaced by more special unit use (use X number of units to crush an objective) or more optional objective completion (kill sub-bosses, convert enemy units, take control of 75% of the map, etc) Achievements.

Lover letter to Dungeon keeper 2

It tries very hard to be Dungeon Keeper 2. Unfortunately there's a few things that detract from the experience, the pacing being more frantic and "RTS-like" probably the biggest one. The level design is also more linear. In the originals you usually chose when to initiate the attack, and you had plenty of time to explore every corner of the map and hunt for secrets. In this game the game is over before you even get a chance, and generally there doesn't seem to be much to explore in any case. The game even starts nagging you if you take too long. The game also tries to add new and interesting mechanics like potions etc, but honestly it just seems redundant and I rarely if ever used any of it. To top it all off the engine is an unoptimized mess. Sure it's from 2015 and will probably run just fine on your modern rig, but on older PCs it runs a lot worse than it should for the type of game it is. They rushed their optimization the same way they rushed the level design. It's not a terrible game overall but I'm giving it a negative because it had the potential to be so much more.

If you loved the original Dungeon Keeper 2 - this is a faithful (remaster) essentially. If you've never played DK2, it's definitely worth it. It scratches that nostalgic itch for me. Especially since they got the original voice actor to come back - huge win there. However, it doesn't really do anything "new" compared to the original DK2. QoL and what not, sure, but in essence, it's a more modern take of the old classic.

I'm only reviewing the single player campaign. I have no interest in playing multiplayer after my experience. TLDR: If you like the original 2 Dungeon Keepers - hard pass. War for the Overworld changes Dungeon Keeper into a modern, feature-bloated RTS with little more than the look and a familiar voice to connect it to its past. As a person who recently discovered the original 2 games, I bought this despite reading many negative reviews hoping for the best. I admit, I was wrong. So wrong in fact that this is the ONLY game I ever considered requesting a refund for. If you want a modern RTS that plays similar to Dungeon Keeper and is filled with tons of abilities, spells, etc. then go for it. If you are looking for Dungeon Keeper, then go back and play the originals. To those who don't know, this is the spiritual successor to Dungeon Keeper 2, because there never was a #3. Dungeon Keeper levels are generally open and you can build a dungeon (base) how you like and play at your pace and win by the method that you choose. Some levels have a timer, but most are generous enough that you can still do things your way. Things are simple. Most traps and spells are used as the situation arises, and most are useful in some capacity. Less is more in this case. And then there's War for the Overworld (Dungeon Keeper 3). Tons of features, some that are good and fill the gaps missing in Dungeon Keeper, like the ability to repair walls, or use mana to finish building traps faster. The rest feel like a chore to go through and decide when and where to use. Did you remember to build the right potions, and did you remember to use them? Did you spend your sins to upgrade your abilities? Did you select the right ritual? Did you remember to cast it. Can you decide which specialty spell to use and where? And the frustrating part is because they decided to make this like a standard RTS, there is no time to sit and strategically plan things out, but instead memorize the best min/max strategy, build up fast, and then rush. Half the time I don't know, or care, about the latest 10 things they added this level, because I'm too busy trying to build my rooms and ready a ton of defenses so I can survive the waves of attacks before advancing. By killing the simplicity, they killed the game. And the old game had issues, but the problems here are much worse because of the pace. I literally need to put all my mana into minions in the beginning to get the rooms I need built before I'm overrun. Also, the trap builders are so worthless you can skip them all together (you can use mana to build them). I have had EIGHT trap builders for several minutes, and no traps were built. And did the right creatures actually show up? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Really, you may build a room and the creatures never show, or one shows up. Honestly, with millions of games out there and new ones every day, I don't have time to waste another minute playing a game that fails to deliver. It was a good effort, and the game is polished, but there was too much focus on "modernizing" the gameplay and not enough on making it something that fans of the original would like too. Dungeon Keeper in look only. Hard pass.

I hate this game. I can't stop playing. It's too fun.