Dungeons 4 takes all the best aspects of previous entries and one-ups them with a brand-new mission for Absolute Evil.
In video games, players are often given a chance to fulfill a fantasy, whether it be watering their garden and taking care of dinosaurs or committing horrible war crimes in foreign countries. Oftentimes, we are given the role of the hero, the one who saves the day, but don’t you want something different? Don’t you want to be evil? Don’t you want to assemble an army of loyal minions who will help you in your conquest of darkness as you spread your reign of tyranny across the land, defeating all that stand in your way? Then look no further than Dungeons 4!
Dungeons 4 is the fourth entry in the Dungeons game series, which was made by none other than Realmforge, a game studio that has been around since 2008. The studio has quite a few titles under its belt, such as Cevile, an interesting point-and-click adventure game from 2009, and Spacebase Startopia, which is a mix of sci-fi economy simulator and RTS. Now, while these games are interesting, they aren’t what the studio is most famous for; that would be the Dungeon series.
The series began in 2011 and sees you take the role of an evil overlord who must build their perfect evil base and must command their hordes of minions to do their bidding. The series had a somewhat rough start, but the games seemed to improve with every installment. When Dungeons 3 was released in 2017, many players thought it would be impossible for Realmforge to top it, but Dungeons 4 has done just that.
We once again assume the role of the Absolute Evil, who, this time around, has successfully been able to convert the dark elf, Thalya. Now, if you are familiar with the previous game, you would know that Thalya was once one of the good guys. Well, things have changed, and now she is rocking some new evil powers, which sadly came at the cost of offing her adoptive dad, but any sacrifices need to be made for the forces of evil.
Sadly, the conquest for evil isn’t quite over, and the only thing standing in the Absolute Evil is… a tiny little village. A village with none other than Thalya’s stepbrother, Tristan, acting as its last line of defense. Now, this is where the game will introduce all the mechanics, and right from the get-go, especially if you’re new to the series, this can be very overwhelming, as creating the perfect army is no easy matter.
Luckily, Thalya is quite overpowered, and getting to Tristan is pretty easy, as you’ll acquire a small army along the way. Alas, before you land the killing blow, Tristan escapes while leaving an artifact behind, a strange gauntlet which Thalya puts on and accidentally destroys the Absolute Evil’s body, but not his soul. That way, things are balanced, as all things should be.
The main goal of Dungeons 4 is to find a new body for the Absolute Evil and defeat Tristan to finally finish his conquest of evil. To do this, we must return to the Underworld, where we can finally work on our eponymous dungeon. When you start, your dungeon isn’t much to write home about: a couple of rooms, a Vault of Evilness, and, of course, your Dungeon Heart.
The Dungeon Heart is your most valuable asset because if it gets destroyed, it’s game over. To expand your dungeon, you will need three vital resources: Gold, Evilness, and your loyal, dimwitted minions, Little Snots. These green goblin-like minions are your workers, who will dig, build, and create useful things such as Mana and Toolboxes. Now, it should be noted that while they play an important role, they are completely disposable and can be abused to your black heart’s content. Don’t go overboard; without them, your dungeon will stop producing anything.
As for your other resources, gold is your second most valuable resource, as sadly, not even the Absolute Evil can escape capitalism. You will need it to pay for rooms, buy traps, and pay for important Research. In the beginning, you will have to watch your spending as Gold doesn’t come that easily in Dungeons 4. That is, until you’ve found a large gold vein with a diamond or two.
Finally, there is Evilness, a resource that is both easily gotten and incredibly difficult to find. Evilness is needed to both do Research as well use Thalya’s abilities. You will most likely find that while having abilities that can easily change the tides of battles is incredibly helpful, Research is what will most likely eat away at your Evilness.
While yes, you are researching various lethal traps, deadly creatures to control, and room upgrades, suppose you are making technical advancements that technically work towards the greater good in the long run, but that’s beside the point. Now, there are many ways to gain Evilness, the most obvious being wreaking havoc on the Overworld, such as destroying hero structures, slaying heroes, and various other forms of property damage. You can also gain evil in various innocuous ways, such as slapping livestock.
Let’s quickly go back to the topic of Research, as it’s a lot more complicated than you would first think. You see, in Dungeons 4, Research isn’t just a checklist of cool things you want; you need to think carefully about what you need. A good example of this is during the early game, where heroes will be a near-constant thorn in your side. During this time, you need to research early-game creatures to keep them busy and hopefully kill them off before they reach your Dungeon Heart.
When doing Research, there are 4 sections, one for your actual dungeon, and the other three are purely meant for creatures – Horde, Undead, and Demons. Each faction has different needs, so you need to build those first if you want them to be happy. It should also be noted that while yes, your creatures can level up, their max level is tied to what level their faction’s research level is at.
Now, we can’t talk about creatures without talking about Rooms. These areas mainly serve as a place for both your minions to regain their strength, but also to relax. To regain their strength, Horde creatures need either a Hideout or a Gobbler farm to eat and rest. Demons require a vortex to revive, which will also cost you a bit of Evilness. Undead creatures, on the other hand, require a Graveyard, where they will instantly revive and feast on the guys and other remains of fallen heroes.
As stated earlier, there are other types of rooms for your creatures to hang out in, such as a Brewery for Horde Creatures, a Chamber of Relaxation for Demons, and a Necrodancicon… It is an undead dance room. You need these rooms to keep your creatures happy so that way, they can rip your enemies to pieces to the best of their ability.
Another resource in Dungeons 4 is, of course, Mana. As you would expect, you use Mana to perform spells, but unlike Gold, which is difficult to come across in the early parts of the game, Mana is just very difficult to come across in general. Though have no fear, Spell Potions are here; these nifty little potions allow you to perform spells without the use of Mana.
Does this make Spells completely redundant, yes… Technically, yes and no, yes, as they do the same effects as regular Spells, but no, because both Spell Potions and Spells do very different types of magic, so it’s best to have both at your disposal.
If there’s one thing that the Dungeon series is famed for, it’s humor, from the sadistic treatment of your underlings to the phenomenal narrator who is incredibly self-aware of what is going on and will regularly comment on how good or bad your strategy is. There’s also the witty banter between characters as well as plenty of references to the previous entries, as well as other fantasy IPs.
There is never a dull moment in Dungeons 4, and that’s why it’s best to experience the game with a friend. That’s right, Dungeons 4 has continued the co-op tradition, which was less than perfect when the game was first released but has since been fixed, meaning you and a friend can reign terror and hunt unicorns to your heart’s content.
As mentioned earlier, Dungeons 4 is filled to the brim with jokes and witty banter, and the game’s phenomenal voice acting seriously brings it to life. The voice actors did a simply phenomenal job and gave performances that were one part perfectly cheesy and the other half cartoonishly evil. In the age of modern gaming, it’s a serious breath of fresh air to get a game that brings the charm back in gaming and gives you something that feels like a game and not a playable movie.
Overall, Dungeons 4 is probably the best entry in the Dungeons series. The game isn’t for everyone, but it is phenomenal, with outstanding voice-acting and story, to gameplay that is both satisfying and challenging. Dungeons 4 is a must-play for fans of the genre or for players who want to live out their evil overlord power fantasy.
