Dungeon Keeper 2

1999

real time strategy (rts)
role-playing (rpg)
strategy
action
fantasy
horror
comedy
single player
multiplayer

The story

Like its predecessor, players take the role of a dungeon keeper, building and defending an underground dungeon from the would-be heroes that invade it, as well as from other keepers. In the game's campaign mode, the player is charged with recovering the portal gems from each area in order to open a portal to the surface.

What it’s like

Chunky, saturated fantasy rendered in bright, painterly 3D, with the dungeon glowing in torchlit oranges, sickly greens and bruised purples, and a cartoonish Gothic sense of humour running through every room. Imps scuttle and squabble across the tunnels in a busy, fidgety way, and the sound is full of cheerful menace: rumbling workshops, gleeful cackles, clanking traps and a mischievous orchestral score that tips between sinister and silly. The vibe is wicked and playful, a kind of gleeful villainy that suits an evening of tinkering with a base, a relaxed afternoon of building rooms, or a comfort replay with something on in the background. Pacing is steady and absorbing, with long stretches of quiet planning broken by sudden raids from heroes who come in shouting and mostly get what's coming to them. Violence is cartoonish and bloodless: fights end in puffs of sparks and tumbling bodies, with no gore, and the main menace is mischief and strategy rather than fear. Sexual content is absent, and the darker themes (sacrifice, vampires, summoning) are played for laughs. It is for players who enjoy management and light strategy, dark humour, and building something that quietly hums with its own character.

More games like Dungeon Keeper 2

Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Dungeon Keeper 2and we’ll explain which ones fit you.