One of the highlights of the UploadVR Showcase, for me, was the trailer for Overworld Overseer; created by the developers of Deisim, the game attempts to being back the classic Dungeon Keeper games albeit in the immersive world of VR. Whilst this game isn’t officially part of that franchise, it feels close enough that it absolutely could be!

We were given the opportunity to preview a pre-release version of the game before it releases at the end of October (just in time for Halloween!). Whilst this is still an unfinished build, it is worth noting that the version I played is content complete and is only lacking in QA. As such, I don’t expect my final judgement to change all that much upon release, although we will no doubt still update this preview to a full review regardless when the time comes.

Many thanks to Myron Games for this early preview opportunity. If you’d like to pre-order the game, you can do so either on the Meta Quest store or over on Steam.

PROTECT THE HEART
Much like the Dungeon Keeper series from which this game takes its inspiration from, your role is as an omniscient overseer who orders his minions around whilst ordering the construction of his (hopefully) impenetrable dungeon. There are adventurers who will come to try and destroy it, but with careful management you should be able to fend them off.

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Both the controls and the gameplay loop of Underworld Overseer are simple and intuitive, yet are filled with enough complexity to necessitate the need for management. You typically start off each of the eighteen stages with the dungeon’s heart and the very basics of a dungeon, which will soon be expanded by your goblin minions who will happily dig out any passageways and rooms that you require.

In these spaces, you can then build libraries,  training rooms, farms, living quarters and so on in order to build up your evil army. Each room has a purpose, whether it be to build warriors to attack any troublesome adventurers or to create spare parts that you can then use to make handy traps that will help fortify your defence. Doing this is all simple enough due to the handy wrist menu that you can bring up with the touch of a button, which handily breaks everything down into a manageable number of intuitive categories. Naturally, you won’t have access to everything at first, but these will be unlocked over time as you start earning enough research points.

Defending against the waves of adventurers that attack the heart of your dungeon will be your primary goal, but it’s also important to ensure that your minions stay happy too. They’ll need food and shelter, as well as a living wage (don’t we all!) otherwise they’ll simply walk out and leave you in the lurch to fend for yourself – which is certainly possible as you will gain access to a number of spells that can help make or break a particularly fierce attack.

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What really makes the game though, is just how gorgeous the visuals are. We’ve seen some pretty bad cel-shading recently, but Underworld Overseer shows you exactly how it’s supposed to be done. Each stage may be dark and dreary, but the characters are full of bright colour and detail. I just love zooming into each new building and creature and examining just how stunning they all look. It really is a tour de force, and I didn’t even encounter any technical issues nor bugs during my time with the game.

In fact, it’s hard to really criticise the game at all. For €20, you’re getting a well-designed evil dungeon creator with 18 stages that take around half an hour to beat, assuming that you can actually complete them on your first try. And the great thing about the gameplay loop is that due to how open the dungeon creation is, you can go through the entire game again in completely different ways. Definitely one that I would recommend adding to your wishlist!

VERDICT
I know many people, including myself, had high expectations for Underworld Overseer after its announcement – and I’m pleased to say that the game actually manages to exceed them. With intuitive controls, wonderful visuals, and an addictive gameplay loop, this is well and truly one of my highlights of the year so far!