Steerpike: “Your dungeon has been recarpeted.” Whatever they paid Ridings, it was a brilliant investment. It looks and sounds the part and they’ve even got Richard Ridings, the original voice of DK, back at the reins of evil. It isn’t of course, but it feels like it, which is crucially what matters.
War for the Overworld feels like Dungeon Keeper 3.
Somehow though, unlike all the other efforts we’ve seen over the years to hit that rich Dungeon Keeper vein, they seem to have struck gold here. I don’t know what Subterranean have been imbibing to follow through with this insanity but I think we could all do with some. This is a team of fans remaking and expanding upon two seminal and much loved, no, crazy-loved classics that are unmatched– perhaps until now. On one hand that’s probably the sign of a game that needed more time, but on the other, it’s the sign of a dedicated dev team that deserves more slack than it’s gotten.
But as you note… 21 patches in two weeks. Placeholder notes and other stuff that should’ve been removed overuse of sound samples, a very clumsy mouse cursor. So why the complaints? It has plenty of detritus in it, sure. Steerpike: We decided to do this as a back-and-forth because you texted me with a remark along the lines of “why are people being so hard on this game?” It had a rocky Steam release, but no worse than Grand Theft Auto V’s. They pushed out over 21 patches in the first two weeks. As a new team they understandably had development issues and that cost them dearly, ultimately resulting in a rocky launch at the beginning of April, but since then they’ve pushed out over 21 patches. I’m frankly amazed that this is their first proper game though. Gregg: Yeah, I played the Bedrock Beta at Rezzed back in March last year and was very impressed with how it was shaping up. We walked past its booth four times a day, though I didn’t actually play it there.Ĭonverting a captured hero in the Torture Chamber. WFTO was well into development at the 2013 Eurogamer Expo. They had no real experience in the business, and it did take them longer than expected. This was a project that used Kickstarter as I think it was meant to be used - Subterranean Games is mostly industry noobs. Steerpike: Here with War for the Overworld, we’ve got the long-desired Dungeon Keeper 3 spiritual successor to that franchise.
Gregg: Yeah I got it on GOG for free last year and mentioned my reunion with it On Tap #2. Steerpike: DK1 is on GOG, isn’t it? It deserves a chance to shine.
Gregg: I remember reading the manual a lot as a kid and knew that the creatures were drawn or attracted from a shared pool so if an enemy keeper got certain rooms before you, and perhaps bigger ones too, then they’d bag more of certain types of creatures. DK2 communicated its mechanics better across the board. They’re supposed to arrive based on the amenities you offer (Warlocks want a library, Trolls and Bile Demons a workshop, etc.) but I’d have acres of those rooms and no monsters. Attracting creatures to work in your dungeon, for example. Steerpike: The chief reason I disliked DK1 was its failure to communicate clear cause and effect. Luckily for you however, War for the Overworld takes most of its cues from the sequel. I didn’t like the 3D models either compared to the detailed but pixelated pre-rendered sprites of DK1. It wasn’t quite as bleak as the original and I missed that. Don’t get me wrong, I loved DK2 as well but it was more colourful, visually and tonally.
It was my big childhood addiction the game I lusted after more than any other. Gregg: You disliked the original? But– but– it’s bloody Dungeon Keeper! It’s where all this deliciously evil goodness came from! I’d go so far as to say I disliked the original Dungeon Keeper, while DK2 is one of my desert-island games. Did they succeed? Or is evil thwarted again? Gregg and Steerpike cackle their way to the answers you need. Subterranean Games is grasping for it with War for the Overworld, which promised to be Dungeon Keeper 3 in all but name. Recreating that wicked goofballery has proven an elusive brass ring. Evil is good - we learned that in 1997, with Bullfrog’s seminal Dungeon Keeper again in 1999 with Dungeon Keeper 2. Our topic today is dungeons, and the keeping thereof, from creature management to the ongoing nuisance of “heroic” dungeoneers.