Naheulbeuk’s Dungeon Master review: a valiant parody of a satire-proof genre

5 months 2 weeks ago

Naheulbeuk’s Dungeon Master is a staff management game disguised as a dungeon management game. At the start of each week, your minions might choose to go on strike, demanding everything from more cells in the prison to fewer dwarves in the workplace. If that second example elicited a startled little “yikes”, then good, you’re paying attention. Your minions are also occasional racists – which at least makes some of the more brutal options at hand for dealing with striking workers more palatable.

You can sacrifice the entire picket line to your in-house demon lord, or terminate their employment without tribunal. You can also lock them up in those prisons they repeatedly claim are so lacking in cells. Or you can agree to their terms to expand the canteen and sack all of their shortest colleagues. But no matter which option you choose, minion strikes are inconsequential, only ever amounting to a comedy aside. Just as the turn-based Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk set out to skewer D&D, Naheulbeuk’s Dungeon Master is a brave and self-aware parody of dungeon management games. But it's far too barebones to invest in seriously.

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Author
Steve Hogarty