Dungeonland

It must be tough being an evil genius. No matter what the plan, no matter how meticulously thought out, there's always some goody-two-shoes hero waiting to ruin everything. Turns out evil doers can't even mind their own business in peace. Even something as harmless as building a theme park has would-be heroes arriving in droves.

One hero is normally bad enough but it's even worse when they come in threes. Typically we're talking Warrior, Rogue and Mage. Clearly members of these factions have little better to do than add a few more demonic heads to their trophy cabinets.

Paradox Interactive and Critical Studio take an innovative twist on typical top-down dungeon crawlers. In Dungeonland players take control of one of the trio of stock hero characters and navigate cheery streets and buildings, laying waste to anything that crosses their path. Every area has a vibrant off-beat tone punctuated by a jaunty soundtrack and amusing voiceover work. There's plenty of humour peppered throughout, exploding sheep, bowing street lamps and daft outfits are just some of the things that raise a smile.

Don't be fooled by the colourful and cartoony presentation though. This theme park has no easy rides. The challenge of overcoming the fiendish theme park is a tough one. The lowest difficulty setting is ‘Hard'. This is a warning. Dungeonland is a game that wants you to die. It wants you to die hard and it wants you to die often.

Each area is divided into 3 stages that get progressively harder. Enemies grow in numbers and stature, levels become harder to navigate and random encounters spawn with increasing regularity. Despite the soundtrack, you don't waltz through levels. Every attempt is another baby step forward. Dungeonland demands that you constantly learn new approaches to overcome each and every trial. Clearing an area takes patience and plenty of repeat plays. The challenge is mostly solid but random spawns can cause the game to feel infuriatingly unbalanced at times.

Ploughing through skeleton archers or mountainous muscle-clad ducks may not seem difficult at first but when fat phoenixes, stinger shooting bumble bees and militant monkeys join the fray the stages can seem almost unassailable. You often find yourself in tight corners with endless legions of monster coming at you from all angles. Overcoming these odds will take a lot of practice and attempts, but the satisfaction of doing so is its own reward. Every vanquished foe explodes from the screen with a satisfying squelch, and you will vanquish many - but you won't get far without a good team supporting you.

The team is faithful to traditional fantasy archetypes. Warriors are equipped with brutal melee weapons and able to distract enemies by blocking. They can also unleash powerful area attacks to send foes sprawling. Mages have magic oozing staffs that throw up walls of fire, lightning or ice and can cast a ‘ray of awesome' to make an ally momentarily invulnerable. The Assassin class can sit back and support with devastating projectiles or wade into the thick of battle using their powerful backstab ability to rack up the damage dealt.

Experimenting with the three different character types and unlockable abilities is enjoyable and allows slight differences to how you play. The variety lessens the potential tedium of the rinse and repeat mechanic, but as you get accustomed to each move set it becomes apparent that there's very few ways to significantly change things up. It's a shame that even though Dungeonland demands you repeat the same challenges time and time again the available gameplay modifications are mostly cosmetic.

A predominantly multiplayer game, the best of the experience is to be had online or with a couple of friends locally. The single player can be frustrating due to hopeless AI companions but with friends you coordinate your talents to unleash powerful combination attacks, build strategies and offer support when health is critically low.

You especially need other human players when facing an Elite, a random spawn with powerful abilities. Sometimes they're invisible, other times they heal all enemies around them, occasionally they're backed up by seemingly endless hordes of monsters. It takes clever strategy and a lot of watching each other's backs to get through the toughest encounters alive.

If you're the sort with a sadistic streak then the ‘Dungeon Maestro' mode might pique your interest. You become the villainous puppet master trying to eliminate the heroes that have entered your maze. The options at your disposal are wickedly enjoyable. Tricks, traps and structures can hinder opponents; you choose the monsters and can even throw more into the mix at the click of button.

Identifying choke areas and throwing your full arsenal at other players is a lot of fun. Even the Dungeon Maestro needs limits though, so a depleting mana bar and limited amount of turns prevent players from spamming the spawns. Despite these restrictions the odds are still heavily stacked in the Dungeon Maestro's favour, making conquering him that much more satisfying.

Each play-through rewards the team with coins to spend on upgrades. The loot is divided evenly, emphasising the games stance on teamwork. There's no reward for breaking from the group to lap up all the booty. To get the most gold players must focus on the success of their party. Character sub-classes, comedic weaponry, goofy armour and handy perks are all up for grabs.

It takes a lot of gold to get the most significant upgrades but the game is designed so that players mostly level sideways, allowing a fair playing field for newcomers and more experienced players alike. Defeating a level is its own reward. The unlockable items and abilities are more an aesthetic status symbol of how much you have achieved rather than the means to do so.

Different game modes and player upgrades prevent the relatively simple gameplay becoming too repetitive and ensure some replay value. Though rarely innovative, the wacky designs, colourful characters and amusing voice work give the game a quirky edge rarely found in similar titles.

Unfortunately despite its charms Dungeonland can't hide its flaws. Dungeonland is an enjoyable hack-and-slash experience but limited in what it delivers. Some of the jokes eventually grow tiresome as does the sugary soundtrack, but those niggles are forgivable. Captivating you enough to keep you coming back for more punishment is the potential deal-breaker. While the difficulty keeps you interested for a while, it might not be enough to sustain interest for long enough to make you want to complete every challenge.

One thing that can't be argued with is the price. For less money than a takeaway pizza (it's currently £7.99 on Steam) you get enough content to keep you entertained for hours. The real question is whether you have enough friends and enough patience to get the most from this title.