There's a decent experience here. Plenty to do, plenty to see, plenty to build and upgrade. My main problem is the experience feels... directionless. Apart from running out the clock on my first year, I don't feel like it's building toward anything whatsoever. It feels like a game of sidequests, and not the deep, engaging sort. It's the sort where you get 50 gold and a checkmark on a list. Mind you, I'm well aware that's very much some people's bag. Minecraft wouldn't have sold a quadrillion copies otherwise. If that's you, bump the score up an extra star, because even with that caveat, it's still got some rough edges.
Found out far too late that my Dualsense controller wasn't compatible wirelessly. (That's not on them, it's very common issue.) The fix is generally to use a wired connnecton. Unfortunately, this particular game still doesn't recognize it. So... for the moment, for me, it's just kind of unplayable. (And I know this might sound nitpicky. Maybe it is, I *am* an insane person. But even Jazz Jackrabbit recognizes Dualsense- a game invented just slightly after we learned to bash rocks together to make fire.)
Leave that BS on Steam. On GOG, you sell us a product, we buy a product, end of transaction. No collecting our data, no "agreements" to surrender our legal rights. (If you promise not to screw us, we promise not to sue you. The way it's supposed to be.) Fix this and I'll be overjoyed to pay full price for one of my favorite games of all time. (Which, for those complaining, always included "cheating." Yes, it was infuriating at times, but later on, *you* get to do the "cheating," stunning your opponent for half-a-dozen turns at a time, casting spells that completely alter the board and potentially chaining together 'extra turns' off of multiple simultaneous 4+ matches while your opponent sits there and seethes.)
(Hurrah for GOG enabling editing reviews.) I've been eagerly awaiting the day this might arrive on GOG. Instabuy with zero regrets. I'm only a handful of hours in, but I'm already smitten. This is the first time in a LONG time that a game has actually engaged me with its storytelling. The opening hour or two is dialogue-heavy, but there are so many questions swirling around what's happening, who everyone is, and what they're about to do (and what is being done to them) that it is incredibly intriguing. The combat, as you may know, is turn-based, but with a significant emphasis on timing for parries and dodges. I was concerned about this, and I have indeed taken a couple L's because of it, but I'm relieved to find the game isn't unforgiving. I just hit retry and did a little better. One piece of advice: I'm on an AMD GPU (RX7600) and in the Graphics settings, I found that TSR looks MUCH better than XeSS (particularly when set to 100%). Without it, everything seem a tad blurry and everyone's hair seemed to have a sort of jagged, smudging outline. I'll update more as I get further in.
As others have mentioned, the lack of a map or any kind of guidance whatsoever is a serious problem. After hours of wandering around, my only path forward is to overcome my resentment at needing to look up what to do next. Thing is, in writing this review, I'm realizing the action leading up to my roadblock really wasn't all that special. And the 'story' is more like a bare-bones framing device. This roadblock will probably be my dead end.
If you played the previous Dungeons games, you mostly know what you're in for here. They've added some mechanics, changed up the tech trees, and thrown in some new, sometimes interesting scenarios. The introduction of dwarves into the underground is arguably the biggest change, and I know some people hated the idea, so for them I'll say this: it sounded a lot more interesting and consequential than it ended up actually being. The primary gameplay loop remains largely the same. The dwarves are effectively another tent that just happens to be underground, and a kind of pinata, promising a sizable expansion and a wealth of resources once you hit it hard enough.
It's hard to describe what this game is. RTS, City Builder, Base Builder, Tower Defense... I think what I'd most liken it to is "What if you built an entire game around surviving zerg rushes?" That's an oversimplification, but it captures the right vibe. At the very least, I can say you need to enjoy building things, because that's 90% of what you'll be doing. And I'm talking "real" building. You aren't just placing a bunch of premade assets. You can build conventional walls, towers and bases if you want, and the game will even "hint" at where to do that, but what you build is limited only by the map, your economy, and your imagination. I do feel like it could still be polished and refined, but nothing specific comes to mind. (And given that GOG doesn't let us edit our reviews, I'd be hesitant to specify, since I'd have no way to retract in event of updates.) Overall, it's a solid, satifying, creative experience.
[Standard 'Erotic Game' Warning] An extremely "Average" experience for the current state of erotic games. Other reviews have covered the bases pretty well, so I'll just stick to bullet points: - Adultery is the primary content here. If that doesn't 'excite' you-- if you suspect you'd try to remain faithful-- this probably isn't for you. - [Spoiler warning, but if that first point was a problem, might help]: The other major content type here is cuckoldry, as in the husband finds out and turns out he gets off on it. - "Scenes" are series of stills accompanied by loads of text, with only the female lines being voiced. - Enough content for multiple playthroughs, with multiple endings. (If you want to go for the "conventionally good" ending, wait until after your first playthrough. There's a shortcut, which will allow you to confirm, "Yes, that would indeed have been a boring waste of time.")
