Dungeons 3: Complete Collection Review

Dungeons 3 - Complete Collection is a modern take on a classic genre, but with better graphics and new features added on top.

The game is based on the original Dungeon Keeper which has you taking the role of an evil master who would look to overtake humanity from his dungeon, this includes building rooms, like a chicken hatchery so your evil minions can eat, training rooms so your minions can train and improve amongst other things.

The visuals in this title are gorgeous, from the overworld foliage to the bottom world’s dungeons, the world and character design is beautiful in Dungeons 3. There is a cartoony look to everything that just oozes charm. From the characters to even the monsters, this may be my nostalgia to the Dungeon Keeper series that made me feel like this but the artistic design here deserves to be praised either way.

The story in Dungeons 3 is quite a simple one. You control Thalya, as she is possessed by an evil spirit and enjoys being evil so much that she decides to help you take control of the overworld. The game does a good job here, as if you have never played the series before (I haven’t) you really don’t need to know the ins and outs as most of it is explained at the beginning of the game. The story here is sweet, charming but also cringey at the same time. A scene that stood out for this was the beginning mission where you have to possess Thalya and she tries to fight the evil spirit but essentially enjoys it so much and says something to the tune of “it’s good to be bad”.

The main gameplay loop is building your dungeon to be as defensively sound as you can and building traps to keep the heroes from attacking your dungeon’s heart. You have multiple units at your disposal, ranging from an ogre who will just go crazy with his attacks trying to bring down every last human, to a mage who will sit back and cast spells. There will also be times where the humans stumble upon your entrance and will make attacks with five or six guards. Here is where you will need to play smart, you can either have a huge army that lets you attack the overworld whilst having troops back to protect you from attacks. This would cost you a huge amount of gold each payday, or you can have a small army that doesn’t cost as much but often leaves you open to attacks.

The overworld is a huge aspect of this game, you take control over your troops similarly to an RTS game, so you will have to destroy the level’s heart. Instead of being underground like the original Dungeon Keeper games, it is in the overworld where the humans live. This adds a real risk/reward aspect that makes you really think before sending your troops to attack the level’s heart.

The game is narrated by Kevan Brighting (he was the narrator in The Stanley Parable) who really is a huge part in the enjoyment of this game. From his funny one-liners to the way that he breaks the fourth wall over and over again. The narration in this game is well-written.

Once Upon A Time was the first DLC released and was based around you essentially travelling to a land based on fairytales. There is a fairy appropriately called the good fairy and your mission is to destroy her land to make the world evil once again. You take on the role of Thalya as you block new traps and new monsters to help complete your task. This DLC includes three new maps, new enemy types and more traps. Overall, the campaign doesn’t last that long but is good fun nonetheless.

Evil Of The Caribbean is the second DLC included in the Complete Collection, Thayla deserves a holiday so she took one to the land of Turtoga. What she was unaware of was that Turtoga was famous for its rum and so instead of getting a well deserved rest, Thayla must fight pirates and steal their rum. This DLC adds a new pirate themed outfit for Thayla and three new pirate themed maps, as well as a new story based around Turtoga.

The Lord Of The Kings is the third DLC included in Complete Collection and has you starting off as King Arcturus as he attempts to regain the kingdom back from evil. This then results in a struggle between you (The Evil Spirit) and good defending the kingdom from kindness and making sure the land isn’t overturned by good. The DLC includes multiple new missions and new enemy types as well.

An Unexpected DLC is the fourth addition included in Complete Collection that has you traveling to the deep woods to fight The Queen of the Forest, this DLC adds a few new maps as well as a new enemy type. The levels here have a forest theme and look gorgeous with all of the foliage scattered throughout the levels.

Famous Last Words is the last single-player based DLC as it adds new levels and is based around the narrator. Essentially, Thayla has defeated all kinds of evil over the last few DLC and the main game itself and Thayla is bored and wants a new challenge, which it turns out is the narrator. This story really shows off the charm of Dungeons 3 and is a few story missions filled with fun fourth-wall-breaking antics.

Dungeons 3 - Complete Collection was developed by Realmforge Studios and was published by Kalypso Media Digital Ltd and is available now on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.