Friday, May 1, 2015

Dungeon Defenders 2 - Why I Care About An Early Access Title


I think this game is finally headed in the right direction.

After a tumultuous beginning, Dungeon Defenders 2 is on the right track.  It started out as a MOBA title that I felt was very lackluster.  Luckily they changed back to their bread-and-butter game design of being a successful tower defense game with heavy RPG elements.

A lot of people are turned off by the game's free-to-play elements, but I don't feel that concern is warranted right now.  Let's go over the main game systems/features that exist in the game right now.


  • RPG Leveling Character Progression
  • Vertical Loot Progression (Several tiers/rarities of gear)
  • Tower Defense style gameplay defending waves of enemies.
  • Four different classes for variety, each with their own defenses and abilities.
  • Pets that level up/help attack.
  • Premium Currency Costumes/Skins
  • Many different levels, including one boss encounter.
  • Two difficulties currently present.
If you look at the bullet points, it's a pretty solid game so far.  In order to beat the boss level on the hardest difficulty, you have to have played for anywhere between 30-70 hours.  That time depends on if you had a friend help boost your character and gear.

I loved the first game, it had more content than I could ever accomplish.  I don't think I ever was able to solo the last level of the expansion content by myself on the hardest difficulty.

These games have had a cute art style that appeals to the more casual player, but gameplay elements that cater to the more hardcore.

This new patch for the early access has added the pet system, costumes, and the first boss, and I'm very excited to see what gets added to this game to see if it can become equal or better than the first title.

I'm out of time to write more right now, but I'll be back for a more in-depth post about Dungeon Defenders 2.