Recent reviews by TheDJMC

I use a software powered mouse and keyboard for accessibility reasons. The game doesn't seem to recognise software powered mouse movement, making camera rotation and therefore gameplay impossible for me. I'll change this review if this issue is fixed or a workaround is provided (e.g. on-screen camera movement buttons). As it is right now I'll be looking for a refund.

Dota Underlords is the same Auto Chess game from the Dota 2 mod but made officially by Valve. If you don't know what that is give "Auto Chess" a quick YouTube search and there's a few videos explaining the Auto Battler genre. This IGN video from 2019 gives a pretty clear overview of the genre despite its now outdated hype and footage.

Dota Underlords is a lot more streamlined and has a vastly improved UI than the mod and other competing Auto Battlers, with all necessary information now available in the in-game Rulebook (much better than scouring forums, YouTube and wikis for the basics on team synergies and unit stats). It's very quick to learn because of this and the very handy pauseable single player mode.
The game also has a lot of personality in its voicelines and cosmetics and the addition of the Underlords (special boss units) is a nice touch. The removal of the carrier unit/donkey is also a nice addition as items and gold are now automatically collected. The game also gets a nominal thumbs up for not including Pay-To-Win mechanics.

Unfortunately it seems like Dota Underlords may have been put on life support as there's only been one major content update since release but that could very well be because of outside factors like Covid-19 (although it is worth noting that the Auto Battler genre is well past the fad stage it enjoyed in 2019/2020).
Other than that the only thing that the game suffers from is a lack of depth when compared to other titles in the genre, a symptom of the aforementioned streamlining of the game.

At time of writing it's definitely worth trying considering it's free with no pay-to-win mechanics and is very quick to learn thanks to the stated Rulebook and pauseable single player mode. Give it a go.

While we're here, it's also worth noting that there are currently three other Auto Battler games available outside of Steam that are Free To Play as well. These are Auto Chess by Drodo and Dragonest Co.Ltd (the original Dota 2 mod team), Team Fight Tactics by Riot and Might & Magic: Chess Royale by Ubisoft.

Might & Magic: Chess Royale is the most divergent title in the genre and tries several things to shake up the formula. None of these are worth mentioning however, as the game is flat out not worth your time due to it clearly being a straight mobile port with no thought to desktop use that's also riddled with Pay-To-Win mechanics.

Team Fight Tactics is a very good offering and plays almost identically to the original mod, with a couple of innovations here and there. It's by far the more in depth offering and ultimately the better game but suffers in the UI department when compared to Dota Underlords. Migrate to this if you find Dota Underlords too shallow.

I have yet to play the standalone release of Auto Chess but will update this when I do.

I got this in the Complete XCOM Bundle. I couldn't imagine this game without colour coding my soldiers.

The gods (who are implied to be real, tangible deities) have disappeared, causing many to say that they are dead. The sun has stopped moving in the sky resulting in a perpetual daylight. Both Humans and Varl (horned giants) must once again rely on their tenuous collaboration between their people when the huge golem like race known as Dredge return from the north to kill and destroy all intelligent life that they see. That is until it is noted that maybe this new Great War that the Dredge are starting isn't of their own choice, but is rather a reaction to something far more unfathomable: the end of the world entirely.

• A mix between FTL: Faster Than Light, any of the recent Telltale games, XCOM, chess and the lore of TES V: Skirym
  
• Two games in one! The game is split into two halves: scripted & random encounters with decision making and a turn-based combat system that's visually similar to a mix between chess and XCOM. There are also conversations that play out like they do in Telltale's games (e.g. The Walking Dead) which is where most of the character development occurs.
  
• The combat is good and does enough to keep it a game rather than just a "choose your own adventure" story.
  
• An engaging story with likable characters and emotional plot twists throughout. It seems to be set up very well for the recently released sequel.
  
• A constant feeling of urgency is present which greatly emphasises the feeling of importance that every decision that's made carries.
  
• Thematic music and good sound effects, especially at the touching bittersweet end scene.
  
• Phenomenal visual design and animation. This could have easily become a movie instead of a game.

• Because of the combat's simplicity, some people could find it repetitive and/or boring (personally I didn't).
  
• None of the characters are given enough time to properly develop/show their motives and relationships with one another, which leads to many likable characters becoming forgettable. Whether or not any of the characters can be considered memorable I think is in part determined by how quickly the game is played through. I finished my playthrough in roughly 17 hours (two consecutive days) with a few reloads (and toilet breaks XD) in that time and I found that most of the main characters were memorable. However, if you have very little free time then I can see it being much harder to connect properly with the characters.
  
• There isn't much actual animation which is a shame considering how good it is.
  
• The "war" mechanic was especially floaty and never gave much of an impression of change or importance aside from changing your numbers around.
  
• The music and sound effects aren't especially memorable or superbly epic like that of Skyrim (a high bar, I know).
  
• The first chapter is relatively dull compared to the rest of the game.
  
• There's an irritating inability to open the options menu during certain brief segments of the game.
  
• Maybe this should've been a movie instead of a game.

Overall I'd give this a 7/10. A game definitely worth you're time and money with the potential to replay it multiple times to see what happens. I'm looking forward to playing number two!