Dungeon Keeper Gold™

I was so excited to finally get to play this - when it originally came out my PC wasn't anyway near powerful enough to run it. So, over twenty years on, I finally get the chance. However, as soon as I get into the game, I am hit with a major issue that makes the game unplayable for me: The speed is much too fast now. I'm not sure of the correct terminology but the processor speed affects the speed of the game. As a result, just moving my mouse a millimeter sends the cursor flying off in that direction. I have reduced in-game sensitivity, Windows mouse sensitivity and my own mouse sensitivity to the very lowest and it has hardly made any difference at all, the cursor is still faster than the speed of light :( Regrettably with this issue, I cannot recommend this game at all, which saddens me especially as I still haven't actually managed to properly play this classic game. If anyone is able to provide a fix for this, please let me know and hopefully I will be able to update my review. In conclusion; this game was a classic that I still am unable to play properly even after twenty years. As a result I can't even comment on the gameplay, only warn people whom purchase it that they may encounter the severe problem which I have.

This game is effectively the same game as its sequel, just with less content and older graphics, but the content that it has for the campaign is of course unique. Meaning there is still good reason to play this, and very little reason not to. Don't ignore it up because of its simpler looks. It's just as entertaining. The most significant issue is specific to this GOG version. Alt + R changes the game from the pixelated DOS version to a much better looking Windows version, but the game still runs in DOSBox, which has a set speed it runs at for each game that you have to manually adjust by tapping Ctrl + F12 to speed up and Ctrl + F11 to slow down. Since the Windows version is more intensive than the DOS version, it runs slower in DOSBox, so you'll have to manually adjust the speed yourself each time so it doesn't lag. Annoying, but not quite annoying enough to ruin it.

Niestety nie mogę polecić zakupu DK z GoG-a, pomimo że obok dwójki to moje ukochane gry z dzieciństwa. A to dlatego że DK z GoG-a to beznadziejna wersja DOS-owa, z gorszą grafiką, dźwiękiem i kulejącymi animacjami jednostek. Nawet działa wolniej niż wersja dla Windows 95. Sprzedaż takiej wersji gry to pójście po linii najmniejszego oporu i totalne olewanie klientów. W końcu wystarczy zapakować grę do DOSBoxa i gotowe, można liczyć pieniądze od naiwniaków. "No przecież działa?" W końcu to prawie ta sama firma co CDP RED - jak widać DK (i kilka innych gier na GoG) ma jednak sporo wspólnego z Cyberpunkiem… Polecam grę, ale wersję dla Windows. Tu jej nie dostaniecie, choć o ile pamiętam dawniej, w pudełku obie wersje były sprzedawane razem. Jeśli uda się wam gdzieś dorwać wersję dla Windows 95, to bez problemu można ją odpalić z darmowym modem Keeper FX.

Some of the games from my childhood don't age well as I return to them now. Dungeon Keeper is an absolute exception. Sure the graphics are never as good as you remember them but the sound design and aesthetics are absolutely masterful. There was nothing quite like this in strategy gaming when I was a kid, and still not a lot comes close these days. Though there are some modern takes on this lmiited genre of Dungeon Management, none have ever made me as happy as this original classic. The game isn't overly deep, or even all that difficult, but I admit to struggling on some of the later missions when I was a kid. Coming back so many years later and replaying this as an adult has been an absolute treat. With my mind matured and geared towards strategy I was able to crush the games main campaign and immediately started over because I wanted to keep playing. The game isn't overly deep or complex and your immediate control over your minions is very limited. But the gameplay loop of designing your dungeon layout, training your minions, setting down some traps and then executing the final battle while your creatures shriek, scream, cast spells and beat down the troublesome forces of good and your rival keepers is masterful. The chaos of these battles is fun to behold, even through the pixels and aged graphical quality. For a few bucks you have a highly addictive game that you'll return to time and again. Just beware the sequel isnt quite as good.

Still my favorite real-time strategy game. This game is grid-based filled with mostly but not only dirt, and you cave in your rooms and ways. You'll have to manage the gold you find and place facilities in the rooms you made. What I thought is cool back then is that you can switch into first-person-perspective into any entity of yours and control them. But otherwise they will actually do everything automatically, you can but don't have to assign anyone to anything. And unlike many other games, you're playing the role of the "evil" one here, training demons, building dungeons, killing knights and slapping your minions so they work harder.