Thank you Humble Games for sending us a review code!

When I was a teenager I enjoyed playing HeroQuest with the paper constructible dungeons and Dungeons and Dragon styled gameplay. I’m not sure what happened to my copy of the game, but replacing it is quite challenging and I’ve seen it for $149 -$400 or more online. Popup Dungeon offers the same classic gameplay without the hassle of ripping and building cardboard structures. It’s a lot cheaper too!

The visuals are quite charming with the paper construction look of the characters and the destructible environments. Almost anything can be destroyed/burned by clicking on it and if there is a coin on it, you’ll earn gold for doing so! Gold can be used for item upgrades in campaigns and can be spent anytime in a gacha machine for charms that can boost your entire party and/or summons’ stats.  Click here if you want to know more about DnD.

There are various game modes to play including The Wizard’s Tower, Stories (two so far as of this review), seasonal campaigns (Halloween and Christmas themed); and runs (top 10 and endless).   The default game mode is The Wizard’s Tower which has twenty-five floors.  Local multiplayer is an option, but I’ve only played this game solo.

When you start a level you can usually explore it a bit before confronting enemies. Some levels will have a tome to read or a crystal ball to interact with. Be sure to check them out for some free stat-enhancing gifts for your party members. Once a battle is triggered, you can place and orient your characters and start the fight.

The battles are turn based and the characters with the highest speed rating get to go first. The characters have action points that determine how many steps they can take or how many attacks they can do. Once their action points are depleted, or you want to skip the rest of their turn, you can end it and progress the battle. Some of these fights can take a while, especially if there are lots of summons on the battlefield. An option to speed up the battle would be nice. Once the battle is finished, you’ll get some loot that you can distribute amongst the party members. You can tell who needs it the most if a party member praises an item, or if everyone is quiet and there are down arrows on their profile pictures, it’s better to just sell the loot for gold.

Many of the skirmishes have dialogue to set up the scene. There are many opportunities to determine story routes by rolling the D20 dice. Those who are looking for a game to scratch their DnD itch, will be satisfied in this title.

There is plenty of content, places to explore, and loot to acquire. There’s a decent amount of variety in maps and locations. You’ll get to venture through damp dungeons and in outer space. The pop-culture inspired enemies are all fully voice acted and are funny to listen to. The heroes available to choose from are even more numerous thanks to Steam Workshop integration. All of the super heroes and politicians you can imagine are available to download and have in your party. My group usually had a warrior, Templar/healer, mage, gunslinger, and an engineer. The engineer was able to create robotic familiars that lasted a couple of turns apiece. Unfortunately, one of his catchphrases was “Wenches love wrenches” so I wasn’t too keen on that. Thankfully, the rest of the language is pretty tame in this game. Though, there are some sexual jokes dropped and some of the female enemies flaunt their bodies.

Magic is present in this game and will be used against your party. Having a mage in your group is optional. You will encounter zombies and Halloween-themed levels and monsters. In the Halloween campaign you'll encounter a fortune teller. There is mention of drinking alcoholic beverages. References to various deities are made by different characters. The Dwarven warrior mentions Odin and Loki often. Fantasy violence is a given and there is artwork depicting separated body parts.

Overall, Popup Dungeon is a well-polished and fun game. It’s relatively clean and I would imagine it would get a Teen rating had it been rated by the ESRB. If you enjoy tactical RPG’s with some DnD elements, Popup Dungeon is worth checking out.