Dungeon Defenders: Awakened is a real Kickstarter success story, making double what the intended goal was. As I write this the game is only available on PC, but console versions are coming. This is the third game in the series, but it is very clever the way they made this as it works as a bit of a reboot to the series.
How to Download Dungeon Defenders: Awakened
To download the game from Steam or from the Nintendo Store, click on the Download button located below this review.
The Game Review
The story of the game is not exactly deep. There are four heroes, the squire, the huntress, the apprentice, and the monk. The heroes have been transported back through time via a rift and now they need to fight their way back, protecting the Eternia Crystals as they go. I wish they went a bit more “all in” with the story as the world, looks, and premise of the game is something I thought was really cool.
What makes Dungeon Defenders: Awakened such an addictive game is the gameplay. This is a hybrid tower defense action RPG game and it is probably one of the best mashups I have played. The game is set in two phases, you have a build phase where you need to organize your defenses. Here you can switch between any of the four characters at will.
Then you have the battle phase. Here you are locked into one character, but you are free to run around the map, attacking enemies and picking up loot as you go. Here the game plays like your typical action RPG and each of the four characters has their own playstyle, but the twist here is that you can greatly customize the characters so they play just the way that you like.
You are limited to what you can build and upgrade down to money and also a point cap. So, you have to use a lot of strategy during the building phase. The enemies come in on a pre-determined path and it is learning each area and knowing where to put certain defenses that the real skill comes into play.
You pick up a ton of loot during battles and most of it may seem useless, but you can sell it for gold. Gold is what you will be using to upgrade your defenses, so you want to pick up all of the loot that you can as you go. I found the progression system and upgrading system to be great, once I figured it out as the game did a poor job of explaining this aspect of the game.
I love the style of this game. I know this may sound strange, but I got a bit of a Skylanders vibe from the presentation and I liked that. Each of the four characters has a ton of personality and their own little quirks. At first glance, it may not look all that remarkable, but the aesthetic really does grow on you as you play.
While I played the game in single-player. Dungeon Defenders: Awakened does allow for up to four-player co-op. I am sure if you play with some friends that you will be able to come up with some great strategies. Not only that, I bet it is a whole lot of fun too!
I had a great time with Dungeon Defenders: Awakened. You do not need to have played the other games before jumping in here. I played it on PC and I will 100 percent check it out when it makes the jump to console too. If you want an action-packed tower defense game, you have to check this one out.
