KeeperRL Review

What is KeeperRL?

KeeperRL is a roguelike, Dungeon Keeper game. Exactly how that sounds, random elements and you build and manage your dungeon. Not only do you have to level and gear up your keeper, but you need the same for your customized army. Get excited.

keeperrl when selecting a new game

Typically, I dislike roguelikes as it largely relies on luck, and sometimes the game will just shit on you, creating unwinnable situations, death by RNG. The game has a lot of options to let you approach the game at your own pace. Or you can up the encounters and make survival difficult. It’s the level that makes it very approachable for anyone.

 

KeeperRL Gameplay

The game is done on a grid system and uses retro graphics. While there are no animating sprites, there is plenty of bouncing, sliding to make the sprites come alive. Honestly, it makes the game bearable and adds a lot of character. I don’t often call 8-bit graphics charming, but a lot of thought has gone into it, and it works.

KeeperRL base underground

While you can create cool dungeons, you can also invade others that have retired Keepers. Other players can make stupid/difficult dungeons. Still, you can approach it as you want and in your own time. Just have to be careful not to provoke your enemies too much as they can launch overpowering counter-attacks.

Overall the game is really fun and gives you plenty to explore. Plenty of unit composition, strategy and base building, and magic gear to change up your build. RPGs generally rely on three things for scaling. Character level, gear, and builds. Yet there are no build paths for your characters. Your character can train, but this is a fixed limit. Most of the power is done by gear. Vanquishing rare creatures allows you to get rare drops then craft them, with a master crafter, for the highest tier weapons.

Most of the challenge is balancing going on raids and resource management. Each raid can be risky and cause others to attack. On the other hand, this is how you level, your keeper doesn’t need to go on any raids to level up. Not to mention the loot you can take can help supply your army with gear so you don’t have to gather and make your own. Losing an army in a raid isn’t too bad either. Just takes time to replace and train more soldiers, the biggest annoyance is losing gear and collecting it back.

Selecting an area to deforest.

KeeperRL Development

The game is done by a small team, led by Michael, an Indi developer. He’s very open to feedback, and it has helped the game grow into its own. There’s plenty of mods out there to enhance your experience. There have been versions that I’ve disliked, but overall I’m quite impressed with the direction it’s going.

Tips:

  • Leather armor is cheap, stock up, it’s expendable.
  • Iron swords are valuable to use early, while iron ore is scarce for a while, I recommend limiting splurging on Armor in the beginning.
  • Your armory will end up being your largest source of strength.
  • Defenseless human settlements should be your first targets on raids to level up.
  • Bandits are a great target as they all drop swords and wear no armor.
  • Have fun with the dungeon design, the layout doesn’t matter early on.
  • The Best defense is defending on stairs. A door is a limited vantage point, 3 defenders maximum. However, with stairs, you can surround enemies on all 8 sides.

Is KeeperRL worth it?

Overall the game is unique and offers something different. As is the game is in ‘early alpha’ but it is well worth the price. The UI could use some polish in some areas, it’s difficult to navigate and find things. You can play KeeperRL for Windows, Linux, and Mac. There is even a Free ASCII version to play if you want to give it a go. Interested? Let Michael the full price on his website: https://keeperrl.com/download/, you can transfer it to Steam after.