Featured Game - War for the Overworld

War for the Overworld is a Dungeon Management Game that employs your favourite aspects of the RPG, RTS and god game genres.

In War for the Overworld, you will play as a malevolent Underlord with unrivaled dark power and an insatiable desire for bloody conquest.

Excavate your dungeon and populate it with dozens of unique rooms that will attract myriad creatures to your halls to work and fight for you. In addition to creatures you have destructive spells and powerful rituals to cast upon any unsuspecting goodly hero (or rival Underlord) who dares trespass your unholy halls.

Dungeon Keeper was one of a number of excellent games produced by Bullfrog back in the 90s, alongside other such greats as Theme Park and Theme Hospital.  All of those games combined great gameplay with a wicked sense of humour.  Sadly, no one has been able to recreate the magic of Dungeon Keeper and its sequel Dungeon Keeper II.  There have been attempts such as that by Overlord but it never quite lived up to expectation.

 Starting Out

This all changed for me though when I visited Eurogamer 2013 and came across War for the Overworld where I had a brief chat with one of their team and tried an early version of the game.  Both the passion of the person I spoke to (I’m sorry I can’t remember your name!) and the impressive early build I tried convinced me that finally, the new king was on its way.

 At Battle

Upon getting home, and handily armed with a link and discount code, I bought the early access version of the game and have been intermittently playing it with each new update.  Even from late 2013, there was enough content to keep me amused for hours and recreate the fun I used to have on Dungeon Keeper.

Enjoying a Drink at the Tavern

For those not familiar with the premise of the game, you are an Evil Lord who is intent on building an underground fortress / dungeon.  You have worker minions whose job it is to excavate, build and gather gold.  Each room they build is then inhabited by the requisite creature, e.g. a Cultist for the Archive.  Each room also has a set function, such as the Foundry which allows you to create traps.  As you keep building and expanding you will come across other dungeons for you to conquer, as well as “good” invaders to fight off.

At Work in the Foundry

Overall it is a very satisfying experience, even in the early access phase.  Quite simply, if you liked Dungeon Keeper, you will love War for the Overworld.  If you aren’t familiar with Dungeon Keeper but love management and building games then this game is an interesting twist on that and is well worth checking out.  To help support the final version, give early access a try; otherwise you won’t have long to wait for the game to be properly released on 2^nd April 2015.

Current state

The final game will be released on 2^nd April 2015 but in early access you can currently access from the latest update of 24^th December 2014:

• Game modes: Sandbox (3 levels), Campaign (3 levels, including a tutorial), Survival prototype (1 level), Multiplayer, Skirmish 
• Rooms: Lair, Vault, Foundry, Slaughterpen, Archive, Wooden Bridge, Beast Den, Crypt, Barracks, Torture Chamber, Prison, Garrison, Stone Bridge, Spirit Chamber, Alchemy Lab, Sanctuary, Arena, Tavern 
• Minions: Worker, Cultist, Gnarling, Bafu, Chunder, Skarg, Necromancer, Ghoul, Succubus, Spirit, Augre, Ember Demon, Crackpot, Witch Doctor, Beastmaster, Shadow, Oculus, Frost Weaver, Wraith 
• Spells: Summon Worker, Possession, Rally, Lightning, Chill, Cauterize, Impasse, Recall, Obey, Heal, Shockwave, Blood Money, Magical Meat, Construction, Imp Rally, Annex, Enrage, Volcanic Bridge 
• Defences: Wooden Door, Ballista, Rampart, Bone Chiller, Gargoyle, Portcullis, Midas' Door, Blade Lotus, Augrum Wall 
• Constructs: Replacement Earth, Underminer, Ember Rift, Gold Vortex, Outpost, Warding Totem 
• Rituals: Avarice, Wither, Fortify, Uprising, Revelation, Prospector, Besiege, Assembly, Overload 
• Potions: Quick Freeze, Work-A-Lot, Transmutation, Wisdom Juice, Frost Weaver, Haste, Spirit Workers 
• Enemies: Firebreather, Juggernaut, Priestess, Templar, Lord O'Theland, Dwarf Worker, Warden, Bard, Sapper, Huntress 
• Shrines: Gold, Perception, Research, Manufacturing, Mana, Siege 
• Systems: Veins of Evil, Unit Abilities, Unit Needs, Gateways & Unit Spawning, Room Construction, Gold, Fog of War, Water, Basic Combat, Shrines, Dialogue, Objectives, Unit Levels, Happiness, Torture/Conversion, Enhanced Terrain (Chasm, Sacred Earth, Brimstone, Lava, Permafrost, Sand, Natural Bridge), Unit Groups, Debug Console, Potions, Rituals, Unit Panel, Minimap, Room Upgrades, Dungeon Themes, Enhanced combat AI

Availability

On Steam here

£22.99 for the Standard edition

£29.99 for the Underlord Edition – this includes Sovereign Dungeon Theme, a soundtrack download, and a copy of The Dungeoneer's Guide to the Underworld, a digital companion book for all your Dungeon-Building needs.

Game Website