Rushed, but don't let that stop you from enjoying it

Dungeon Lords is an interesting game. It's an RPG, and a traditionalist one at that. It has dungeons, dragons and evil wizards, who must be stopped by a knight in shining armour (or some derivative thereof).

It's not Oblivion. It's not Morrowind. It's not even Fable. The world is sparse. Fast travel is pretty much non-existent, so I had to spend hours (quite literally), running from one place to the next. Even when you get the 'Moon Gates' working, they still drop you off miles away from where you want to be 90% of the time. There are very, very few NPCs in what is quite a large universe. All the enemies fall into either one of two classes: Moronic or Moronic But Invincible.

Oh, and 95% of every room is empty. 

Despite these flaws (and they do detract from the gameplay after a while), this game is good fun. The fighting is quite easy, and it gets a bit of a hack'n'slash feel, and the puzzles are surprisingly challenging. 

The dungeon design is excellent. It ranges from satisfying to infuriating, but the reason this game gets any sort of good publicity at all is because of these puzzles. There is also an absolutely ridiculous labyrinth towards the end too, just for added win.

As an RPG of the post 2000 era, the class system is not amazing. Don't get me wrong, it's far from terrible, but neither is it truly sensational. Most of the skills are samey, but I still found myself playing hard to level up whenever I got near to the required number of upgrade points. The only really irritating aspect about it involves the guild skills, of which you can learn only 4. And you can't unlearn them, so apropos of nothing, when you discover there was a guild advancement you knew nothing about, you'll be unable to accept it, and its bonuses, as you've filled your last slot (that caused quite a lot of rage on my part, about 100 hours in).

The closest comparison for this game is probably Dragon Age: Origins. Just a really, really downrent version, with not much in the way of awesome to get you hooked.

Give it a go though- it's cheap, and it will surprise you.

The fantasy genre features imaginative and often magical worlds, characters, and events. It explores realms beyond the boundaries of reality, featuring elements such as magic, mythical creatures, supernatural powers, and fantastical settings. These stories can take place in entirely fictional worlds or blend fantastical elements with real-world settings.

Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Heuristic Park Graphic Production Studios

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood's perfect pairs.

Hollywood Power Couples

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s perfect pairs.

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Dungeon Lords

Photos1

Top Cast42

User reviews2

Related interests

Storyline

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed