Despot's Game from developer Konfa Games and publisher tinyBuild is a mix of rogue-like/roguelite and auto battler that sees you building an army of tiny pixelated humans to fight your way through a dungeon labyrinth.
STORY:
There isn't too much to be found in the way of a story, a group of people wake up in a strange post-apocalyptic labyrinth - naked, with no memories and with a bunch of weapons. Your told by a robot that you will need to fight and survive your way through the dungeon and if you fail you will need to attempt it all again!
FEATURES:
Get your pretzels ready Your puny squad is capable of much more. Choose your loot and transform the squishy humans into wizards, cultists, ninjas and dozens of other heroes, including the mythical stale pretzel throwers. With perks and class combos, there are thousands of ways to build your army. The man-eating cabbage will appreciate the variety in its diet!
Crush your rivals If you can survive the labyrinth, you'll meet THE UNSTOPPABLE END-GAME BUILDS OF OTHER PLAYERS! You'll beat each other to death and only one will be spared by d'Spot. No offense, but in his own game he writes the rules!
Indirect combat Prepare your warriors and let them fight it out on their own! Indirect combat allows you to focus heavily on tactical considerations rather than reflexes. Strengthen your front line with fridge-movers, aim your food-throwers and look after your Forbidden Summoners!
Endless exploration The dungeons are generated from scratch every time, and there is no chance puny humans will ever find the way out! And even if they strike lucky — don't worry, there are endless ways to die in Despot's Game!
OUR THOUGHTS:
Despot's Game: Dystopian Army Builder is a frustratingly fun game at times. If you don't mind the randomness of the combat you will probably get more enjoyment out of it. Whilst this is a strategy game I like that the game includes both PVE and PVP modes too. The Brawl mode is very addicting and there are global leader boards to work your way up through if that's your cup of tea. Unfortunately the king of the hill mode is locked in the beginning until you beat the game - boo hiss!
While I really liked the pixel visuals, with the variety of animations on offer, it's the soundtrack that is the standout here with its synth style music. The game is also full of pop culture references and easter eggs with alot of well written dialogue and funny events to keep you entertained as you battle your way through each room. The RNG aspect is probably the thing that most people won't enjoy as no matter how well you think you are prepared for what is to come, the randomness can absolutely ruin a run and leave you raging. Luckily there is alot on offer here, with the mix of auto-battler, roguelike and strategy is an interesting mix that opens up lots of variety and replayability.
TOTAL SCORE: 7/10
Despot's Game was released onto the Xbox store on the 29th September 2022. Its playable on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The game is priced at £16.74 and can be purchased HERE. The game is also playable as part of the Xbox Game Pass subscription. A copy of the game was provided for this review. A big thanks for that.
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