Review: DESPOT'S GAME Slays Strategically In Style
I am in love with roguelike games. I find the huge boom in this game type to both allow for vast variety and strong creativity. Despot’s Game by Konfa Games is a prime example of the wonderful gameplay that can come from indie developers and the simple idea of permanent death and procedural levels. Despot’s Game is a comical, smart, and simple army-building strategy game that has players make divisive choices that have heavy consequences no matter what you do.
First of all, Despot’s Game jumps in and thoroughly revels in the simple graphics. The cute sprites and detailed creations add immense layers of personality. From the simple swordsman to the epic bosses, the quality is always spot on for the retro look. The dark and damp color scheme is totally reasonable, but some varied areas and a bit more color throughout the level design or character design would have gone a long way. I also wish some of the menus were a bit clearer and explained what was happening, but the overall presentation is charming and effective enough to enjoy the game with no major complaints.
The actual gameplay feels fresh and unique compared to most known roguelike games. Simply put, players go through a series of increasingly difficult floors of a dungeon and encounter a number of rooms that have all sorts of surprises with their growing army of weapon-wielding humans. The army building is a lot of fun and I enjoy focusing on different types of weapons and seeing interesting synergies. The enemies are interesting and get progressively cooler. There are a number of random encounters and event-like things that add fun and variety through the room-to-room grind, but after a couple of hours of playing, players have seen most of the extended procedural content.
After playing a number of hours and achieving a couple of milestones, players can start runs with certain weapon types, starting with unique circumstances. Being able to start with these different variables (weapons, buffs, conditions, etc.) adds a lot of replayability to the game and lets players enjoy the games in ways they want to. Also, there is a very interesting Player VS Player aspect. Players will grow their army and move the game like normal, but they fight other players' armies on a regular basis. This is a fantastic way to see other players’ strategies and choices, which helped me learn a bit more about how to approach future games.
Despot’s Game: The Dystopian Army Builder is loads of fun and players can get lost in the casual, yet complex, army building. I wish there was a bit more explanation and help in strategy either built into the beginning or available to research in the game. But if you like roguelikes, arcade games, or strategy games, this game can easily earn a well-deserved spot in your game library.
