Dota Underlords
AUTO CHESS WITHOUT COMPROMISE.
Free with IAP
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 will have 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.