Dungeons 3

Last updated

Dungeons 3
Dungeons 3 cover.jpg
Developer(s) Realmforge Studios
Publisher(s) Kalypso Media
Director(s) Christian Wolfertstetter
Producer(s) Benjamin Rauscher
Designer(s) Sebastian Nussbaumer
Composer(s) Michael Rother
Platform(s)
ReleaseLinux, macOS, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
October 13, 2017
Nintendo Switch
September 15, 2022
Genre(s) Strategy, simulation
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Dungeons 3 is a video game developed by Realmforge Studios and published by Kalypso Media. It was released on October 13, 2017, for Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and for Nintendo Switch on September 15, 2022. It is the sequel to the 2015 video game Dungeons 2 and the third installment of the Dungeons series.

Contents

Dungeons 3 combines dungeon building with real-time strategy elements. Players are tasked with creating an underground dungeon for creatures to live in as well as defending their dungeon against invading heroes from the world above. They can also send creatures to the world above where they can take direct control of their units. The game's single-player campaign follows the story of Thalya, a dark elf sorcerer, on her quest to conquer the continent she lives on at the behest of the Dungeon Lord from the previous games. In multiplayer, players can either cooperate to play the campaign or compete against each other.

Gameplay

Dungeons 3 is a dungeon building video game with real-time strategy elements. [1] [2] The primary task is to build a dungeon, an underground lair which serves as a home to the player's units and their base of operations. In dungeon building mode, the player controls the world with a hand, performing actions such as moving creatures around the map, casting spells, and interacting with specific items. [3] [4] [2] The hand is also used to designate parts of the underground for excavation and to create rooms. [3] Commands are carried out by little imp-like creatures called snots, which are constantly regenerated by the dungeon heart which is the center of the dungeon and represents the player's health. [2] [5] [6] It is the primary target for attacking heroes and its destruction leads to a game over. [6] [5] Additionally, the dungeon heart room stores gold and features a trap door that can be used to get rid of unwanted units. [7]

To build and maintain their dungeon, five different resources are available: Gold is gained by excavating gold veins in the underground and is used to pay for rooms, units and new technologies. [6] [3] Gobblers are little chicken-like creatures continuously created by a farm and serve as food for creatures. [6] Toolboxes are used to make traps as well as to create certain contraptions in some rooms. [6] [5] Mana is generated by Demon units and is used to unleash powerful magic spells as well as revive Demon units and turn toolboxes into magic toolboxes for more powerful traps. [7] Beer is brewed by Horde units in special rooms and serves to keep those units happy. [6] [5] "Evilness" is a resource generated by capturing certain places in the over-world and is needed to research stronger technologies and upgrades. [3] [7] [5]

With the exception of Thalya, the player's hero unit, all other units have to be unlocked by research and hired through an in-game menu. [5] Almost all units demand a number of comforts, including a regular wage, rooms to sleep in, food and relaxation, and will go on strike if their needs are not met. [6] The game features both neutral units and rooms, such as a treasury and farms, as well as three factions that provide their own specific advantages and disadvantages: The Horde allows the player to hire goblins, orcs and naga and provides access to training rooms and traps; [8] Demons consist of imps, arachnids and succubi and allows the player to research upgrades as well as generate mana for spells and advanced traps; [8] and The Undead faction offers banshees, vampires and lich creatures and rooms like a prison to incarcerate attacking heroes. [3] Additionally, each faction has a singular powerful titan unit that can only be hired once. [8] Even with upgrades, players can only recruit 20 units from all three factions combined as well as up to five converted heroes; additionally, undead skeletons and zombies can be created from fallen heroes that do not count towards this limit. [8] [1] While each faction offers their own technology tree, many aspects can be combined for better results: For example, heroes captured in the Undead prison can be tortured in the Demon torture chamber to switch sides and fight for the player [1] and Undead crypts can serve to resurrect dead Horde creatures. [3] Dead Demon units will be resurrected in a lair using mana and defeated Undead units will slowly regenerate in their graveyard. [6]

Thalya stands in front of a dungeon entrance. In the bottom left and right corners, the two mini-maps can be seen. Dungeons 3 - Thalya.jpg
Thalya stands in front of a dungeon entrance. In the bottom left and right corners, the two mini-maps can be seen.

While in dungeon building mode, units cannot be controlled directly but picked up using the hand and dropped where they should be, for example to attack heroes that have entered the dungeon through one of the entrances. [1] Each dungeon features one or more such entrances that also allow units to be sent to the world above by grabbing the units with the hand and placing them on the exit. [1] [6] Units that leave the dungeon reappear in the over-world map. [6] Unlike in the dungeon, players can select units like in other real-time strategy games and issue commands directly as well as use their skills. [2] [1] Most maps require certain goals to be achieved on this map. [9] Additionally, some missions feature no dungeon and have to be played with a fixed number of units provided. [6] Events on both maps happen at the same time, forcing players to divide their attention. [9]

The game features twenty single-player missions as well as a co-op mode that allows two players to complete the campaign together. [3] [9] Additionally, the game contains a skirmish mode which allows battles against the computer on randomly generated maps as well as a multiplayer mode where players can compete against each other but not attack each other's dungeons (unlike in Dungeons 2). [10] [3] [11] The game uses an isometric perspective that can be rotated by 90° to display the environment and uses two different mini-maps for dungeon and over-world view. [6] Cut-scenes that tell the story use comic book style drawings instead of being rendered in the game's engine. [6]

Synopsis

Setting and characters

The game's story takes place a short time after the events of Dungeons 2 on a new continent ruled by the good paladin Tanos with the help of his friends, racist dwarf king Grimli, the vain paladin Elric the Pretty, and the greedy Yaina Overproud. Tanos has also adopted a young dark elf sorcerer named Thalya in an attempt to cure her inner darkness and prevent her from doing evil. [12] The player's goal is to conquer the empire for the Dungeon Lord using Thalya as their lieutenant. [3]

Plot

After conquering the lands above, the Dungeon Lord becomes bored and attempts to invade a new continent which fails due to the minions' incompetence in boat-building. The Dungeon Lord casts a spell that allows him to control Thalya, awakening her evil side. After she slaughters the people in her home village, she decides to let her dark side take over and begins serving the Dungeon Lord as its chief lieutenant in her quest to punish Tanos for attempting to convert her.

On this quest, Thalya gradually conquers more and more parts of the continent and dispatches of Tanos' friends one by one. Facing Tanos himself, she fails to defeat him and uses a spell to temporarily transport the Dungeon Lord to the continent where he battles with Tanos who then flees and becomes more fanatic in his attempts to destroy Thalya and her forces, sacrificing his own cities and people and calling upon dead heroes from Valhalla to fight for him instead. In the end, Thalya manages to defeat Tanos and subjugate the empire under the Dungeon Lord's will. [12]

Humor

More so than its predecessors, Dungeons 3 contains a lot of allusions to other works of science-fiction and fantasy as well as meta-humor, which includes frequently breaking the fourth wall by both the narrator and Thalya in dialogue. [3] [1] The narrator (Kevan Brighting [13] ) also frequently argues with Thalya during missions and alters the missions based on these dialogues, such as having Thalya be attacked by bears he conjured out of thin air because she made a snippy comment at his expense. [3] [8] Allusions to other games of the same genre, especially Warcraft III, as well as other games, films, such as The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy franchises are numerous. [2]

Development

Kalypso Media announced the development of Dungeons 3 on February 21, 2017, with a press release and an announcement teaser. [14] The game was shown to reporters at Game Developers Conference 2017. According to the developer, the introduction of the over-world as an area to be captured in Dungeons 2 has proven a successful addition to the formula which is why Realmforge Studios concentrated on expanding upon this concept while keeping the changes that players liked from the last game. [7]

Dungeons 3 was released worldwide and for all supported platforms on October 13, 2017. [15] It is the first entry in the series that was released on multiple platforms, i.e. Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, at the same time. [10] [9] A port for Nintendo Switch was released on September 15, 2022. [16]

Downloadable content

Realmforge Studios released multiple downloadable content (DLC) to Dungeons 3 that expand upon the story:

Reception

The Windows version of Dungeons 3 received "generally favorable" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic; [25] the Xbox One version received "mixed or average reviews". [26] Multiple reviewers opined that Dungeons 3 was the closest the developer has come to creating a successor to Bullfrog Productions' iconic Dungeon Keeper series. [8] [3] [5]

Most reviewers noted the graphics and audio positively. [4] [5] [1] [8] Eurogamer.it emphasized that the game's cartoonish look and feel are consistent with the humor of the game and highlighted how the world is peaceful and idyllic when the good heroes rule it but instantly turns dark, gloomy and oppressive when the player's units capture parts of it. [1] Other reviewers also lauded the colorful world and especially noted the level of details when units are in combat and magic effects are used. [4] [8] However, some critics also argued that improvements compared to Dungeons 2 were almost non-existent, making Dungeons 3 merely a polished version of its predecessor. [9] [27] Console versions were rated worse than the PC version, with 4Players especially criticizing the Xbox One version's graphical errors. [28]

Reviewers also lauded the improved user interface (UI) and ease of input, which includes easy input on consoles, something seldom achieved by strategy and simulation games that tend to be tailored to PC keyboard and mouse input. [9] The UI drew minor criticisms as well though for having menus that block the whole screen when opened, thus making it harder to use them during battle. [9] [2]

German magazine GameStar noted positively that the fact that different resources only exist in the over-world or in the underground forces players to care about both areas. [3] Reviewers also positively noted the variety of missions, such as missions where enemies are far stronger during the day than they are at night or where the player has to prevent food from being delivered to starve an otherwise invincible enemy. [8] The pacing of the campaign, giving players access to more rooms and technologies gradually, was also remarked upon positively. [9] On the other hand, PC Games criticized the dungeon building aspect for always relying on the same pattern since there are no missions in which a scarcity of resources would force players to change their approach. [11] That research was not saved and had to be repeated each mission was also seen as negatively forcing players into monotonous routine. [3] [27]

Although the game's humor was praised by some reviewers, many critics noted that not all players will enjoy the type of humor and that the game relies too much on humor to the point of becoming annoying. [3] [8] [11] [9] [28] [27] [5]

PC Games lauded the new co-op mode but criticized that Dungeons 3, unlike its predecessor, no longer offered a multiplayer mode that allowed to attack another player's dungeon. [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Dungeon Keeper</i> 1997 strategy video game

Dungeon Keeper is a strategy video game developed by Bullfrog Productions and released by Electronic Arts in June 1997 for MS-DOS and Windows 95. In Dungeon Keeper, the player builds and manages a dungeon, protecting it from invading 'hero' characters intent on stealing accumulated treasures, killing monsters and ultimately the player's demise. The ultimate goal is to conquer the world by destroying the heroic forces and rival dungeon keepers in each realm. A character known as the Avatar appears as the final hero. Dungeon Keeper uses Creative Technology's SoundFont technology to enhance its atmosphere. Multiplayer with up to four players is supported using a modem, or over a local network.

<i>Dungeon Keeper 2</i> 1999 video game

Dungeon Keeper 2 is a strategy game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1999 for Microsoft Windows. The sequel to Dungeon Keeper, the player takes the role of a 'dungeon keeper', building and defending an underground dungeon from the would-be heroes that invade it, as well as from other keepers. In the campaign mode, the player is charged with recovering the portal gems from each area in order to open a portal to the surface. The player can also construct a dungeon without strict objectives, and multiplayer is supported over a network.

<i>Naruto: Ultimate Ninja</i> Video game franchise

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja, known in Japan as the Naruto: Narutimate Series, is a series of fighting video games, based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. It was developed by CyberConnect2, and published by Bandai and later Bandai Namco Games. The first game was released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, and was followed by four more titles for the system, as well as five spinoffs for the PlayStation Portable. A follow-up for the PlayStation 3, titled Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, was the first to feature three-dimensional battles, and began the long-running Storm sub-series. While starting out as a series exclusive to the PlayStation family of systems, the series has also been present on Xbox and PC platforms since the release of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 for the Xbox 360 and Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst for Windows, respectively. Latest releases were also ported to the Nintendo Switch. The Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series sold over 20 million copies worldwide as of December 2019.

Star Wars: Battlefront is a series of first- and third-person shooter video games based on the Star Wars franchise. Players take the role of characters from the franchise in either of two opposing factions in different time periods of the Star Wars universe. The series was launched in 2004 by LucasArts with Star Wars: Battlefront, developed by Pandemic Studios for LucasArts. The game received positive reviews and sold well. In 2005 Pandemic developed a sequel, Star Wars: Battlefront II, which was also critically and commercially successful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalypso Media</span> German video game publisher

Kalypso Media Group is a German video game developer and publisher. Founded in 2006 in Worms, the group includes four companies, in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States and has studios, Realmforge Studios, Gaming Minds Studios, Claymore Game Studios, and Nine Worlds Studios. Kalypso is best known for publishing Tropico, Sudden Strike, Dungeons and Railway Empire series.

<i>Dungeon Defenders</i> 2010 video game

Dungeon Defenders is a hybrid multiplayer video game developed by Trendy Entertainment that combines the genres of tower defense and action role-playing game. It is based on a showcase of Unreal Engine 3 named Dungeon Defense. The game takes place in a fantasy setting where players control the young apprentices of wizards and warriors and defend against hordes of monsters. A sequel titled Dungeon Defenders II was released in 2015.

<i>State of Decay</i> (video game) 2013 action-adventure video game

State of Decay is an action video game developed by Undead Labs and published by Microsoft Studios. It places emphasis on how the player's leaderships skills fare against an onslaught of problems, such as diminishing survival resources, group trust and morale, zombie extermination, base defenses, and people's lives. The game combines elements of shooters, stealth, role-playing and strategy games and the game challenges players to survive by exploring, scavenging, and fighting the undead.

<i>The Elder Scrolls Online</i> 2014 video game

The Elder Scrolls Online, abbreviated ESO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by ZeniMax Online Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released for Windows and macOS in April 2014. It is a part of the Elder Scrolls series.

<i>Darkest Dungeon</i> 2016 video game

Darkest Dungeon is a roguelike role-playing video game developed and published by Red Hook Studios. The game was first released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in January 2016, which followed a year-long early access development period. Later that year, it was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Linux, with a port for iOS being released in 2017, and ports for Nintendo Switch and Xbox One being released by 2018.

<i>Dungeons 2</i> 2015 video game

Dungeons 2 is a strategy simulation video game developed by Realmforge Studios and published by Kalypso Media. It has been released through retail and on Steam on April 24, 2015. It is the sequel to Dungeons.

<i>Ark: Survival Evolved</i> 2015 video game

Ark: Survival Evolved is a 2017 action-adventure survival video game developed by Studio Wildcard. In the game, players must survive being stranded on one of several maps filled with roaming dinosaurs, fictional fantasy monsters, and other prehistoric animals, natural hazards, and potentially hostile human players.

<i>Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide</i> 2015 video game

Warhammer: The End Times – Vermintide is a 2015 cooperative survival video game developed and published by Fatshark. The game is set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe. The game is multiplayer-only, and its structure is similar to Valve's Left 4 Dead series. Set during an apocalyptic event called the End Times, players can team up with three other players to fight against the Skaven, a race of rodent-like creatures, in the city of Ubersreik. At the end of each match, the players are given the opportunity to roll dice, which determine the weapons they will receive as reward.

<i>State of Decay 2</i> 2018 video game

State of Decay 2 is a survival video game developed by Undead Labs and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game is a followup to State of Decay and was released for Windows and Xbox One on May 22, 2018. Like its predecessor, players are tasked with building a community, managing resources and surviving against the horde of zombies.

<i>Undead Nightmare</i> 2010 expansion pack for Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare is a standalone expansion pack to the 2010 video game Red Dead Redemption. It adds a non-canonical zombie horror-themed single-player campaign, two multiplayer modes, and cosmetic additions to the environments and characters of the open world Western action-adventure game. Set in an alternate timeline from the base game's story, the plot follows returning protagonist John Marston, a former outlaw who sets out to find the cause of and possible cure for a zombie plague that has infected his wife and son. Marston liberates towns overrun by the undead and assists non-playable characters with side quests along the way.

<i>Call of Duty: WWII</i> 2017 video game

Call of Duty: WWII is a 2017 first-person shooter game developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. It was released worldwide on November 3, 2017 for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One. It is the fourteenth main installment in the Call of Duty series and the first title in the series to be set primarily during World War II since Call of Duty: World at War in 2008.

<i>Warhammer: Vermintide 2</i> 2018 video game

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is a first-person action video game developed and published by Fatshark. It is the sequel to 2015's Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide. Vermintide 2 was released for Windows on 8 March 2018. It was released for Xbox One on 11 July 2018, free for members of the Xbox Game Pass. It was released for the PlayStation 4 on 18 December 2018. It also released for Xbox Series X/S on 3 December 2020. A spiritual successor, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, was released in 2022.

<i>Railway Empire</i> 2018 video game

Railway Empire is a railroad construction and management simulation game developed by Gaming Minds Studio and published by Kalypso Media. It was released on 26 January 2018 for Linux and Microsoft Windows, 30 January 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and 14 February 2020 for Nintendo Switch. In Japan, the physical copy of the game was distributed by Ubisoft in May 2018.

<i>Tiny Tinas Wonderlands</i> 2022 video game

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is an action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K. As a spin-off in the Borderlands series and a sequel to Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep, the game is set within the world of a fantasy-themed tabletop role-playing game. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in March 2022.

<i>Gloomhaven</i> (video game) 2021 video game

Gloomhaven is a turn-based strategy role-playing video game, developed by Flaming Fowl Studios and published by Asmodee Digital. It is an adaptation of the tabletop game by the same name. Following two years of early access, Gloomhaven was released for Windows on October 20, 2021 and macOS on November 25, 2021. The game is scheduled to be ported to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in September 2023.

<i>Iratus: Lord of the Dead</i> 2020 video game

Iratus: Lord of the Dead is tactical role-playing game developed by Unfrozen and published in 2020 by Daedalic Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Forlani, Andrea (October 17, 2017). "Dungeons III - recensione". Eurogamer Italy. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Walker, Alex (October 20, 2017). "Dungeons 3 Is Really A Dungeon Keeper For Kids". Kotaku Australia. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Fritsch, Manuel (October 17, 2017). "Dungeons 3 Test - Aller bösen Dinge sind drei". GameStar (in German). Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Rodriguez, Jose (October 13, 2017). "Dungeons 3. Análisis multiplataforma". IGN Spain. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "RECENZE - Dungeons 3". IGN Česko a Slovensko (in Czech). October 24, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Realmforge Studios (October 13, 2017). Dungeons 3 (Windows-PC). Kalypso Media.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Good, Owen S. (March 2, 2017). "Dungeons 3 promises more evildoing, above and below the realm". Polygon. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Wray, Chris (October 19, 2017). "Dungeons 3 Review - One Dungeon Lord to Rule Them All". Wccftech. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Harris, Kieran (October 31, 2017). "Dungeons 3 - Review". Gamereactor UK. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Horti, Samuel (October 15, 2017). "Dungeon Keeper-esque strategy game Dungeons 3 is out now". PC Gamer. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Schütz, Felix (October 14, 2017). "Dungeons 3 im Test: Besseres Gameplay, schlechtere Gags". PC GAMES (in German). Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  12. 1 2 Realmforge Studio (October 13, 2017). Dungeons 3 (Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One). Kalypso Media.
  13. ↑ "Dungeons 3 releases into the Overworld today with accompanying livestream". destructoid. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  14. ↑ Romano, Sal (February 21, 2017). "Dungeons 3 announced for PS4, Xbox One, and PC - Gematsu". Gematsu. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Dungeons 3 out next week, features more keeping and more overworlding". Rock Paper Shotgun . October 5, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Dungeons 3 is coming to Switch on September 15th". GodisaGeek.com. July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  17. ↑ Vito, Johnny (January 25, 2018). "Dungeons 3 DLC Is A Trio of Content Starting With 'Once Upon A Time'". PlayStation Universe. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Dungeons 3: Piraten voraus im neuen DLC "Evil of the Caribbean"". PC GAMES (in German). March 6, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Dungeons 3: Lord of the Kings erschienen". PC GAMES (in German). April 21, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Dungeons 3 - Clash of Gods Released". Blue's News. September 28, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  21. 1 2 Jakobs, Benjamin (October 1, 2018). "Dungeons 3: Erweiterung Clash of Gods veröffentlicht". Eurogamer.de (in German). Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  22. ↑ "An Unexpected DLC arrives for Dungeons 3". Flickering Myth. February 16, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Dungeons 3 Gets Patch and Famous Last Words DLC - Blue's News Story". www.bluesnews.com. May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Dungeons 3 Gets A Multitude of Maps - Blue's News Story". Blue's News. February 21, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  25. 1 2 "Dungeons 3 for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  26. 1 2 "Dungeons 3 for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  27. 1 2 3 Woger, Martin (February 7, 2018). "Dungeons 3 - Test". Eurogamer.de (in German). Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  28. 1 2 Oertel, Mathias (October 27, 2017). "Test (Wertung) zu Dungeons 3 (Strategie)". 4Players (in German). Retrieved June 21, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.