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Dungeon Lords Review: Is It Worth The Investment?

Dungeon Lord Cover

Dungeon Lords Review: Is It Worth The Investment?

Dungeon Lords is an action role-playing video game featuring combat and numerous weapon combos. This game was published by DreamCatcher in 2005 for Microsoft Windows. There are single player multiplayer options to keep things interesting, and of course depending on what the player’s preference is. 

There are many upgrades with an incredible array of customizing options, but you have to be mindful of which skills work well with others. It may be nice to have magic spells, but they aren’t going to be very effective if you slap them on a full-fledged warrior.

With so many class choices and ways to upgrade your character’s attributes, it’s beyond the scope of this review to examine all these features. Let’s take a look at a few attributes of the game and ponder whether or not it is worth the investment.

Be Ready for Combat

Dungeon Entrance
Entrance to ominous dungeon.

Wandering around towns, villages and the woodlands you will constantly be goaded into combat. Enemies swarm you as you slash your way through the thickening hordes. The controls are responsive, if not a little sluggish at times. The enemy can actually inflict harm on their own kind so you will want to take advantage of that and move around strategically as they slash away at each other.

A magic potion will regain some of your health in Dungeon Lords. Or you can come back from the dead for a small price. At the end of every fight there are prizes to be collected. It’s what drives you to look for more confrontations.

As with most old RPGs there is no getting away from tedious wandering. There are many side missions requiring you to find certain items and characters. You’ll talk to NPCs that will give you some info here but there is plenty of down time. You’ve got to take the good with the bad.

The game claims there is an AutoMap but there isn’t one. Just so you know. It’s very easy to get lost in some of the larger dungeons. It does come with a printed Overworld map and an onscreen compass. You’ll still get lost but at least you can look for landmarks to get your bearings. The game also claims that you can change your character’s appearance but that doesn’t work either. Check the game’s website for regular downloads and patches.

Some Things Left Desired in Dungeon Lords

Some aspects of the graphics look incredible, and some are downright despicable. The more processing your PC can handle the better Dungeon Lords will look although there are still some major inconsistencies between the characters and some background textures. The characters are fluid and imaginative while some environments are drab and low res which really highlights the boredom of seemingly endless wandering. 

The game is longer than it should be, but you don’t really know that until you’re finished since you’re always hoping that what you’re looking for is around the next corner. The biggest problem with Dungeon Lords is that despite all the different combinations you may not want to play it again due to the long, boring periods. In all, this game may only be worth a rental or not playing at all.

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