Dungeons II Reviews
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While Dungeons II only releases this Friday, a few early reviews for Kalypso and Realmsforge's dungeon management title have started to pop up, offering mostly positive scores for the title, though a few outlets don't seem to be entirely convinced by the game.
Eurogamer, scoreless.
As a follow-up to 2011's Dungeons, this sequel is much easier to recommend, fixing many of the problems from that game and introducing new ideas that fit better with the genre. It's still only a partial success, however, and between the fussy menus and interface, and the speed with which you'll find yourself resorting to trudging repetition, this still falls short of the game it could be.
The Jimquisition, 8/10.
Those who felt turned off by the critically maligned Dungeons would do well to give Dungeons 2 a look. It evolves the dungeon management subgenre in a number of clever ways, and the hands-on strategy elements make for a fantastic compliment. It's a shame that there's such a reliance on cooldowns and it's an uphill struggle to keep resources growing, because RealmForge put together some real quality work here, and Dungeon Keeper fans have something well worth sinking their teeth into.
Softpedia, 7.5/10.
There are some issues with control of your minions and production facilities, as well as the overall simplicity of the entire design, that make Dungeons 2 something less than what it could have been, but it's definitely worthy of its status as a spiritual successor to Dungeon Keeper.
CGMagazine, 6/10.
There's no denying that Dungeons II has tried something new. Unfortunately, what's new is simply the blending of two old parts that don't work well enough in conjunction. The streamlined dungeon management can be enjoyable, and it's far more extensive than the original Dungeons it's simply not as comprehensive or as open of a simulation as Dungeon Keeper was back in 1997.
Examiner.com, 4/5.
(Dungeons 2) could probably get away with being a sufficient entry into the dungeon management genre, but isn't satisfied settling on being (good enough). Instead we get a fleshed out campaign that teaches the intricacies of running your dungeon and the Rock-Paper-Scissors nature of each unit in the game on both the Human and Orc/Demon side. Kalypso and RealmForge put forth a fun and cohesive style that just feels good to play, and nice to lose a little time to. While the long-term staying power might be arguable, (Dungeons 2) gives some great mechanics, good animation, and mixups to the gameplay loop that influence how players approach each situation.
GameWatcher, 8.0/10.
Maybe Dungeons 2 plays a little safe by ditching some of the more intriguing aspects of the previous game (I still think the idea of using overconfident adventurers as a form of drainable resource is a fantastically twisted conceit that could have been fleshed out further) in favour of going back to the roots of the dungeon management genre, but it's hard to criticise Realmforge too much for that when the game is this enjoyable. While it is fairly simplistic, the overland RTS game provides you with a real focus for expansion, and building your dungeon kingdom while simultaneously managing your menagerie of twisted minions is addictive fun. It doesn't quite capture the delightfully sadistic sense of humour that marked out Dungeon Keeper in its prime, but Dungeons 2 is still a worthy tribute, and well worth your time.
