[ 044 ]
IN WHAT MUST be one of the quickest
turnarounds in history, what began as a
custom mode that launched in January via in
the popular PC brawler Dota 2 has now found
its way five months later to its own standalone
game. Dota Underlords at its core is a clever
twist on Chess, where players are randomly
assigned a range of characters that feature
different abilities, traits and classes, which
fight automatically when placed on a
virtual chessboard.
After each battle with an opponent, which
can be either a real or computer player, players
are given coins and experience based on their
performance. They can use these coins to
purchase new characters or upgrade their
“courier”, which essentially offers better
quality options as well as increased gold and
experience gain. Since battles are automatic,
all of the strategy is based around building a
solid synergy within your pieces, many of
which can combine to perform powerful
attacks, buffs or heals.
Underlords launched across PC, Linux, Mac,
Android and iOS at the same time with the
same client. Every single game session shares a
single authentication system, meaning you can
start on your PC or tablet, then run out the
door once you realise you’re about to miss your
train and pick up where you left off on your
phone. The lack of benefit from using a
keyboard, mouse or touchscreen means that
full-cross play is fair and ensures everyone willI PLAY A lotofmobilegames,obviously,and
it’s rare that I’m both surprised and delighted
by a clever twist on a few well-worn concepts.
Vo i d Ty ra nt is, wait for it, a single player-
roguelike-deck builder-dungeon-crawler with
elements taken from a bunch of RPGs and
casino games. Phew. But it’s this eclectic
jumble of genres that makes for a beautiful,
stylish and extraordinarily fun time that is
different on every single playthrough.
The crux of the game involves exploration
around several alien planets and ships, with
each step pushing you toward an encounter of
some kind – this could be a regular enemy, a
boss, a shrine, a chest, anything. Encountering
an enemy puts you into a battle state where
you and your opponent flip a card deck of
randomised numbers in a similar style to
blackjack. Push your luck too far or not
enough and the enemy will get a drop on you,
with a perfect 12 solidifying a critical hit.
For those unfamiliar with rogue-likes, the
idea is that death does not introduce an
end-game state, but instead a learning
experience. Progression gained by the player is
saved after the avatar is killed, which resets the
game state slightly but provides an advantage
for the next run through. It sets the stage for
an addictive, head-down, nose-buried
experience that is unrivalled on mobile.Dota Underlords
AUTO CHESS WITHOUT COMPROMISE.
Free with IAPVoid Tyrant
ROGUE-LIKE CARD BATTLES.
Free with IAPDISCOVERMOBILEGAMES[ GAMING ON THE GO ]Mobile games
TECHLIFE’S TEAM REVIEWS THE LATEST GAMES FOR
ANDROID & iOS SMARTPHONES & TABLETS.
[ JAMES PINNELL ]5 5have plenty of opponents in the long run. Too
few games feature this sort of cross play and
cross progression, and it’s great to see a
developer including mobile in a positive way.
Performance is also buttery smooth, which is
impressive for a title with such a short
development period and one that is still
technically in beta. DU’s developer, Valve, built
a dedicated network for the game that takes
advantage of its existing global Steam network,
which keeps lag times down regardless of
location. As is the case with Dota 2, the free
nature of the game is based entirely on cosmetic
upgrades and a future battle pass. Perfect.WINNERED’sCHOICE
AWA RDWINNERED’sCHOICE
AWA RD