I like to think of Dungeonland as a visual representation of what would happen if you put a sadistic, murderous dungeon master in a room filled with min-maxing munchkins, then had them to play D&D together. In a setting that was just one massive theme park. Yeah, that’s pretty much the best description I can give. See, Dungeon-Land is a game which, at its core, is completely about the pursuit of gold (unless you’re playing Dungeon Maestro mode, but we’ll get to that in a second).
In Dungeonland, you’re basically in a massive theme park filled with different…well, dungeons. Since I’m playing the free version of the game, the only dungeons available to me were the Dungeon Maestro Tower and Dungeon Maestro Mode. In the former, players must work together to make their way through several different dungeons, slaughtering every monster they encounter along the way and raiding every chest, barrel, and decorative conversation piece for cash. Classes fill each of the three traditional archetypes of RPGs. That is to say, you can play as a Mage, a Rogue, or a Warrior; each of these classes further have their own unique sub-class. Thus far, my favorite class is the Gunner, a musket-toting variant of the rogue which can make his foes explode.
Dungeon Maestro Mode, meanwhile, pits three players not against the stage, but against a fourth player, who takes the role of the omnipresent Dungeon Maestro. After assembling a deck of cards filled with different spells, monsters, and traps, the Dungeon Maestro’s job is to prevent the heroes from reaching the end of his dungeon, throwing everything in his arsenal at them in the process. While doing this, he can also choose to possess whatever monsters he puts down on the field, as well. Should the heroes manage to reach the end of the level, they’ll go into a pitched battle against whatever boss monster the DM selected from his deck; this monster is controlled by said DM.
The whole experience is pretty frantic and chaotic, but it’s a game that’s definitely better played with friends (not in the least because the AI is so inarguably terribad). Besides, this is definitely the sort of game you’d want to play with other people; there’s something magnificently satisfying about hurling beer at your friends while they do battle with a cadre of obese dragons and midget wizards. Yes, this is a scenario you’re likely to encounter playing Dungeonland. Yes, it’s about as fun as it sounds.
Unfortunately, the base game can get a little bland with excessive play, and with so much content (and equipment) locked behind paywalls, there are times that it actually feels more like a demo than a full experience. That said, it’s definitely a fun diversion that’ll keep you occupied for at least a few hours if you’ve a few friends to play it with. That’s rather worth the price, no?
