Dungeons 4 Review

Dungeons 4 emerges from the shadows as the latest iteration in the popular dungeon-building franchise. It is a signature blend of slapstick humor, strategic depth, and gleeful charm, offering a delightful experience for both fans and newcomers alike! While it doesn’t break new ground within the genre, it refines its established formula, providing a not-perfect but satisfying and engaging experience.

The core gameplay remains familiar, placing you at the helm of the ever-sarcastic Absolute Evil. Your task? Construct and manage a sprawling subterranean evil empire. You’ll carve tunnels, erect chambers, and unleash a motley crew of impish minions to gather resources, unlock nefarious technologies, and repel pesky heroes who dare to challenge your dominion.

The game throws a plethora of building options your way, ranging from classic goblin workshops and chambers to innovative contraptions like the mind-controlling device you can use. Each room serves a distinct purpose, demanding meticulous planning of your dungeon’s layout to optimize efficiency and defense. Strategically placing resource generators, production facilities, and training grounds becomes crucial for sustaining your growing army and maintaining a steady flow of evil machinations.

This time around, the forces of good find themselves bolstered by the arrival of the Dwarves, adding a new layer to the resource competition. These stubborn foes not only compete for precious resources but also introduce unique enemy types with their strengths and weaknesses, forcing you to adapt your strategies accordingly. The narrative, while lighthearted and predictable, is peppered with witty dialogue and self-aware humor that mostly keeps things entertaining. The voice acting, particularly for the exasperated narrator and the Absolute Evil, deserves special mention, breathing life into the characters and adding to the game’s overall charm.

Dungeons 4 attempts to shake things up with several new features. One notable addition is the “Overworld,” a real-time strategy layer where you directly control powerful hero units to capture strategic points, disrupt enemy operations, and even steal resources. While initially engaging, the Overworld segments can feel somewhat disjointed, disrupting the flow of the core dungeon management gameplay. The learning curve for effectively commanding hero units can be steep, and the strategic depth offered in this layer doesn’t quite match the core gameplay loop.

Another new feature is Corruption, allowing you to spread your influence across the surface world, manipulating human settlements and turning them into your cause. This mechanic adds a layer of strategic depth, but it can feel underdeveloped and doesn’t always integrate seamlessly with the rest of the gameplay. While corrupting settlements provides additional resources and unlocks bonuses, managing this aspect can feel like a secondary task that doesn’t always feel fully integrated into the core dungeon-building experience.

The other problem is the AI, both for your minions and the enemy heroes. It can be occasionally erratic, leading to frustrating situations where carefully laid plans unravel due to unexpected behavior. Minions sometimes struggle with pathfinding, and enemy heroes can exhibit moments of questionable decision-making. Additionally, the campaign, while lengthy, can feel repetitive at times, with objectives often revolving around the same core loop of building, researching, and defending. While the variety of environments and enemy types helps mitigate this somewhat, a touch more narrative branching or objective diversity could have further enhanced the campaign experience.

Despite these minor shortcomings, Dungeons 4 retains the series’ core strengths. The combat, while not overly complex, offers satisfyingly chaotic spectacles as hordes of your minions clash with waves of heroes in visually pleasing displays of magical mayhem. It is a unique blend of strategic planning and chaotic execution. The game’s humor remains a constant source of amusement, with witty one-liners and slapstick gags sprinkled throughout the campaign and character interactions, keeping the tone lighthearted and adding to the overall enjoyment.

In verdict, Dungeons 4 is a solid and enjoyable entry in the series. It offers a familiar yet satisfying blend of dungeon management, resource gathering, and strategic combat, all wrapped in a layer of quirky humor and charm. While the new features don’t always hit the mark, and the AI can be frustrating at times, the core gameplay loop remains engaging.

The review code was provided by the publisher