It’s been a long six years for Dungeons fans, but thankfully the wait for a new installment in the series is almost over. On November 9, 2023, Realmforge Studios will be looking to open the door to a new series of silly and hilarious fantasy adventures in Dungeons 4, and as the date gets closer, I had the chance to go hands-on and see how the strategy sim is. Forming.
Fans of the series will be pleased to know that almost immediately, you’ll encounter narrative and dialogue that is witty, charming, hilarious, and silly. The Dungeons series has always excelled at stories and writing styles that poke fun at not just fantasy tropes, but wider pop culture. Between its nods to microtransactions, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, breaking the fourth wall with quality puns, and more, Dungeons 4 won’t hesitate to make you giggle, or put a big smile on your face. And this is all on top of having a truly coherent narrative, with self-aware gags and jokes pasted on any plot holes.
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In terms of gameplay, most of what you’ll find yourself doing in Dungeons 4 is completing the missions that make up the campaign mode. The levels are set in self-contained levels, each with a series of objectives to solve, whether that’s expanding the size of your dungeon and army, researching new units and traps, building new rooms, and laying the groundwork for new mechanics and systems. Smooth the path, eventually breaking into the overworld to raze any hero-led forces and appease the Absolute Evil. The best way I can describe how Dungeons 4’s city-building suite works is to compare it to Evil Genius 2: World Domination, as every feature feels relevant and important while being designed in an intuitive and efficient way. Of course, you’ll have some learning curve in getting used to the management and control system, but once you get beyond Dungeons 4, it feels very simple and easy to understand.
But that doesn’t mean there’s no depth to the gameplay. There are plenty of opportunities to research and unlock new and better monster types, rooms, and traps, all on top of the game’s settings, and the levels are designed to have a certain amount of back and forth on them. As you build a dungeon each time, you’ll need to deal with depleting gold resources and how it affects your army size, while defeating invading dwarves and reclaiming territory in the overworld. This isn’t a game where winning a battle means the territory is yours forever, and similarly, crushing an invading dwarf faction doesn’t mean you’ll be safe from the invaders forever. It’s a tug-of-war in the land, where victory can only be won when you destroy a level’s main objective or your dungeon heart is besieged.
Yes, you heard it right. In Dungeons 4, you don’t keep pressing attack because the dwarves are now present and building massive structures underground. Just as you are constantly seeking to expand your dungeon, so too will the dwarves, which often results in them entering your territory and then attacking mercilessly, stealing your gold resources and trying to destroy the heart of your dungeon. This is where trap placement becomes crucial, as does having an army that can fight both in the overworld and in the darkness below the surface. Trust me, you’re going to want to have a balanced army, especially when you encounter a mini-boss who will seek to tear your troops apart in one quick move.
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I will say combat can be a little finicky. Since Dungeons 4 is a game that wants to switch seamlessly between city-building simulation gameplay and almost Total War-like strategic combat, there’s usually a lot of input to manage at the same time, which means combat can be a bit overwhelming at times. Trying to specifically command one type of unit to attack in a different way than another while making sure your underground Snots (minions) are mining the right resources means you have a lot to do at once. For example, during the preview, I lost countless ranged units because they wanted to join my burly warriors in a close-range attack. Fortunately, when combat comes into effect, your minions will operate almost on autopilot, attacking the way they should, reducing the chance of strategic disaster.
However, Realmforge is also looking to enhance combat by adding customization and tweaking the main hero, Thalya. A new talent tree has been introduced that allows you to provide her with deadly abilities and powers, which can be very useful for turning the tide of battle and winning more territory for Absolute Evil.
The iconic features of the Dungeons series remain in the latest installment, but everything is bigger and better thanks to modern technology and systems. The levels are more detailed, the dungeons are huge, there’s a wider array of units to command and fight, there are environmental hazards like lava to avoid, and the graphics and presentation quality are very high, even if you zoom in and get close-ups of the action. In fact, one of my personal favorite parts of Dungeons 4 is how the appearance of the overworld changes as you start claiming territory, as it changes from a lush fantasy landscape to a barren hellscape filled with evil. Well, either that or how you actually hit Snots with your Evil Hand to increase their effectiveness and generate some evil.
Dungeons 4 seems to be doing a lot of things right in terms of creating a faithful and inventive sequel. It doesn’t set out to redefine what we know about the series, but what it does do is cleverly build on familiar mechanics and add meaningful depth in the process. If you’re a fan of the series, or are looking for a fun and hilarious new analogue strategy game, Dungeons 4 will definitely be one to keep an eye out for when it debuts on PC and consoles on November 9, 2023.
