We’ve recently discussed the launch of the final update to the original Dungeon Defenders, a final farewell to the classic title that ultimately has experienced its progeny suffer in lakes of microtransactions, developer gaffes, and the oft-mentioned ‘soulless grind’. Many gamers have spent thousands of hours tweaking character builds and tower strategy in the classic across multiple platforms, and the developers formerly known as ‘Trendy Entertainment’ have seem unable thus far to replicate that success.
Not for a lack of trying, granted. Trendy Entertainment attempted a free-to-play title, Dungeon Defenders II, for the beloved franchise that has struggled to maintain momentum throughout its Early Access period, finally resting at a ‘Mostly Positive’ Steam review rating with 74% favored. A bizarre combination of Skinner Box experiment and tower defense, many find it only to be successful on the back of the original Dungeon Defenders.
Cry0_ via Reddit
There was also a mobile game, Dungeon Defenders Second Wave, that notably never worked for the majority of Android users; those that could get it to work were plagued with crashes and freezes, poor controls, egregious load times, and more stuttering than Forrest Gump offered throughout the film.
What’s a developer to do when they’ve failed to reach cult-status with a title along a franchise as well-received as Dungeon Defenders? The developers formerly known as ‘Trendy Entertainment’ rebranded themselves as ‘Chromatic Games’, and are back with yet another Dungeon Defenders title.
They’ve readily stated that they’re ‘super serious’ about making Dungeon Defenders: Awakened more along the lines of the original classic, and there rebranding was showing that they’re under new management that is less interested in ekeing additional transactions from players, and more interested in bringing the fun back into the title.
It’s up to individuals to discern if they’re as serious about that as they claim.
Dungeon Defenders: Awakened does have more than a glimmer of similarity to the first title; namely, because many maps and items have been remade in Chromatic Games new engine on a 1:1 scale. The offered heroes are standard fare as well: Squire, Hunter, Monk, and Apprentice.
The new engine doesn’t show any impressive changes that are readily visible to the untrained eye; everything frankly looks like the original title. Cross-platform saving is possible, and that’s worth noting; a save via Steam can transfer to the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, and Xbox One, and vice-versa.
The only way to get access in the closed beta is to prepurchase Dungeon Defenders: Awakened on Trendy Chromatic Games website, where they offer three various editions for $40, $50, or $60, all with various inclusions of expected parcels; pets, skins, forum titles, and so on all announcing what you paid for the title.
It remains to be seen if Dungeon Defenders: Awakened will be the resurrection of the beloved franchise, and fans are forgiven if they’re skeptical of the newest title. The planned release for the newest addition is currently set to February 2020.
