Dungeon Defenders Awakened 1 - CASH GRAB OR WORTHY SUCCESSOR? - First Look, Let's Play

[@MrJuicebags]

Have loved your content for years. Awesome to see you dipping in to some DDA!

[@KatherineOfSky]

I appreciate that!

[@bestechYtBotBH]

yes, i have been following KOS channel sense I used to play factorio several years ago. my rm told me about MrJuicebags a year ago and i''m obviously subbed to both channels

[@erroristmusic]

whats a DDA? Google says Demand Deposit Account haha

[@teldinstarstorm]

Heya Heya, Yes, this is an awesome game, and it gets better with every update (another update coming soon btw). I do hope you have as much fun with this as I have. You may not need this but I'll try to answer a few of the larger points you brought up. I won't talk strategies as I figure you'll have more fun playing through it yourself. The Devs said that unlike DD1, they will not put content into DLCs, so all new content and characters comes free with updates. The existing DLC's are only cosmetic, and they said they're there should someone want to support the devs. For the runes, they're items that you collect. When you collect them you and 'use' them and add that rune to your useable inventory. The Summoner/Outcast is actually the newest toon to the game. It's a great at using pets for damage, but you don't get pets until much further in the game. Not having a starting pet is actually something people have asked about, but no idea if there are plans to do something about it yet though. The EV heat cannon is also a new revision. It was put in after a bunch of player feedback surveys. Anything left on the groundis automatically sold for gold. Also, Chromatic actually got the rights back for DD1, and DD1 just got it's' 1st updates in 10 years. So that's a thing too. Again, Have fun!

[@alexandrenackers4605]

Wait is dd1 still available to play???!!!!

[@teldinstarstorm]

@@alexandrenackers4605 Yes, and now that Chromatic Games has gotten the rights to the game back, they're even started updating DD1 again. DD1 just got it's 1st updates in 10 years.

[@teldinstarstorm]

And now DD1 has a new Hero on the way !

[@michaelnorman4476]

Always loved this game. Haven’t played it for years, now I’m going to pick it back up. Glad to see that there’s a sequel coming out and thank you for previewing it. I agree about the beams, instead of may be a flamethrower, making it a DOT beam.

[@GustavoBondezan]

Is that group you mentioned called "DDFRBR - Dungeon Defenders Free Runs by Request"? I used to be super active there, great community. Brings back many good memories.

[@KatherineOfSky]

Yep. I was active there for a few years, was organizing all the events, community stuff. It was cool.

[@TwistedFire85]

DDA when it first released was promised to be the successor in the series, after they killed off DDE. BUT DDA turned into a very water downed version of the original, for awhile. It took a while for it to become what it is, which is a great game that's different enough from the first but similar. I love it. But it took a long time to get here and it's getting better with every update. Looking forward to more content for the game soon.

[@TwistedFire85]

Oh and this game hasn't been in early access for a long time. It's been fully released for years. It's just being worked on and tweaked and getting all the better for it.

[@TwistedFire85]

DDA graphics are a bit dated but it released in 2020, so it was probably 2018ish graphics. Maybe if/when they make a new DD game they'll have really updated and noice graphics. But I'm happy with DDA for now. Couple thousand hours in it and a couple thousand in DD1 and a couple hundred in the now gone DDE.

[@TwistedFire85]

Oh and the premise behind the EV and summoner, along with the other heroes with different towers from the original, is to make every hero be more viable to use. Instead of using 1 character for only 1 of its towers now you can use pretty much any tower and have tons of variations on builds instead of only a small handful. Imo I like this change a lot. Makes it more fun and interesting to use whatever tower you like to clear any map.

[@KatherineOfSky]

I'm a bit disappointed that so many of the maps are either direct copies of DD, or reskins of them. There are very very few original maps.

[@merryexmus]

Personally, I rate it. You can sink endless hours grinding. I often bounce between the 3 different games

[@michelbruyas4086]

I don't know and havn't read if someone else told you why G at start : it's because if someone join you, the mana is splitted between all player, but yeah make no sense if you play alone / offline / private session

[@st1734]

definitely not a cash grab. theyre trying really hard to make the game great but, theyre overworking themselves. theyre trying to update 4 different games at once since theyve gone back to update the first DD game aswell. so the content and updates for all 4 of these games is just releasing in very unpolished states. this game and going rogue suffer the worst from this. they just dont quite feel right. they dont look right. everything is just a little off. they also keep adding new things to make heroes stronger, while doing nearly nothing to make the enemies harder. its made the game easy to the point of being boring. the rewarding grind from the first game is completely missing here

[@meganpoll9554]

I actually played this game on my switch, and I found a glitch were you drop mana on the ground loosing 5 from your stash and getting back 10 from the same mana, meaning you can use all your defense points on fully upgraded towers before you even start the first wave. Every. Single. Stage. If you want the game to be absolute baby mode, just do this glitch

[@KatherineOfSky]

Ooof, you should report that bug/duplication glitch.

[@tjep2670]

I was really disappointed in DD 2. I had loved the first one so much I backed or bought it early access and was so saddened by how it turned out. So I'm very apprehensive of this one. Edit: oh wow, I haven't played since 2014!

[@KatherineOfSky]

DD2 was.... interesting. At least it didn't turn into a MOBA

[@HopeB555]

No no no bad KOS. I don't need another new obsession game 🤣 this looks awesome.

[@KatherineOfSky]

hahaha! Oh, this one is FUN! BTW, do you have discord? Message me, I might have a thing for you

[@chebikitty5566]

I have never played dungeon defenders or seen anything on the previous games, I like your videos alot though so I'm going to watch and hope I might understand a little bit.

[@KatherineOfSky]

Enjoy! Feel free to ask any questions that come to mind!

[@wsinbad1356]

Great Fun Katherine! Having spent a thousand hours plus in this game It's cool to see a fan of Dungeon Defenders play it for the first time. I love that you are coming to it with a completely fresh take on it.

[@Christhulhu]

I loved Dungeon Defenders back in the days. But Part 2 was... hm... cash grab, yeah. I curious how this might be now.

[@Onionslime]

Played original DD on 360. Finally stopped because game breaking bug made high end content nearly impossible. Mage tower rate of fire wouldn't go up after a certain level even though you'd upgraded.

[@FlamespeedyAMV]

Sincd Dungeon Defenders is on sale and the 2nd game is free 2 play, is it worth picking up the first game and not bothering with 2nd?

[@KatherineOfSky]

Depends. Awakened is not the "second", it's like the 5th game or something. With the first game, you will need to buy all the DLC, which can be costly unless you get it on a humble bundle or something. Awakened has some new maps, some old ones, and free updates. So it's up to you to play the content you want to

[@Metaz]

I really liked DD and DD 2. I'm considering picking this up but still not sure if I'm better off playing DD 2. Keep them coming Katherine! :D

[@KatherineOfSky]

Will do! There's another one (that I've asked for a key for) which is more about personal combat, so I'm hoping to feature that one soon too.

[@TwistedFire85]

Dungeon Defenders Going Rogue. It's a rogue-like.

[@paiichan-Pyeicedup]

I just saw this for PS4 and was shocked owo I was hoping it was like Dungeon defenders 1

[@Agent-26]

Have D1, D2 and Eternity. And they have 100ish hours each on them. I don't even remember owning the game so have no idea if Awakened would be better or worse or which one is even the best one to play.

[@mathewhosier9739]

I tried dd2 on the ps4 pro about 4 or 5 years ago but i just couldn't get into it, im just not typically a fan of f2p games, but i picked up the ps4 version of dda back in April 2023 to play on ps5 seeing as that this is an actual paid premium title and it completely changed my mind on the series, i love dda, in just over 9 months ive put over 900 hours into the game vs just 5 hours in dd2, and i dont have to worry about the game being shutdown because it has an offline mode on the ps4 version, i just hope the next dd game on Playstation isnt f2p

[@KatherineOfSky]

Nice! Glad you got into it!

[@MrFranklynMiller]

Great Job with the review🤠

[@lolmao500]

4000 hours of dungeon defenders? Damnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. I played quite a few dozen hours but 4000... you must be a pro

[@KatherineOfSky]

I am. I did a lot of runs for people in the highest level content. It was fun :-)

[@zoolooz2327]

So many memories of the first dungeon defender, too bad they messed up the folowing ones

[@KatherineOfSky]

They had their bright spots, but none of them really caught my imagination like the original DD

[@Labben91]

you start the build phase because on hardcore it's a count down if you start from wave 1

[@KatherineOfSky]

Makes sense

[@Downiesstudios]

This game brings back so many memories of the original. Was super disappointed by dd2 so am excited to see this series.

[@maddogpaddy1]

Hij Kath.. Long time No see.. (veetoo here) this game has grown a lot... In the beginning it was boring, now it has some Nice new systems in..

[@KatherineOfSky]

Hey Veetoo! I remember you! Glad to see you here. Please feel free to come to my discord if you wanna play sometime!

[@maxschii2791]

The original is one of my most beloved multiplayer games and seeing this video i got really ecxited. After seeing the video im kinda disappointed, i was hoping for a big upgrade in the graphics and ui, but it just looks like the original.

[@ThomasCarpenter-zu2xh]

Did you ever set up the pillow fight combo of monk auras?(slow,weaken,& enrage)

[@KatherineOfSky]

On occasion. Enrage is a bit random, so rarely used in high level content.

[@HeroBeatbox]

It looks the same as dd2, maybe it is just me. Is it worth buying this? I loved dd2. But does this give you a different experience?

[@KatherineOfSky]

The experience is almost exactly the same: insane grind. This game just gives you a few more maps.

[@joelholpers2691]

Great video! This is the predecessor to one of my favorite childhood games!

[@ruinationmkII]

I adored the first game so so so much. The DD2 felt really gross with the pile of timed and paid for content. Glad to see this game looks like it might have some legs. I feel like even in DD1 you needed to spec into personal combat and tailor your gear to it. Have you tried maxing out your combat stats to see if it's viable?

[@KatherineOfSky]

Viable for what? It would almost impossible to kill every enemy on the map with just the hero. Much more fun for me to use towers. I suppose you could make a combat character just for fighting.

[@ruinationmkII]

@@KatherineOfSky Back when I played DD1 I often ran into people who just maxed out combat stats and zoomed around the stage while we would sit and tower. They actually managed to solo lanes very well. I prefer towering as well, but I was just curious if it was still a viable way to play. No worries though, it was just an idle thought!

[@zoltankurti]

​@@ruinationmkIIthat wasn't viable in dd1 either. Yeah, you can solo a lane. But you can't get the gear to solo a lane without a full set of builders to begin with unless others carry you.

[@thaodan2350]

There is an auto loot filter in the options menu that picks everything up for u at the end of the wave

[@KatherineOfSky]

It apparently requires some sort of programming, but doesnät have ANY directions. Literally a blank space.

[@dicoterra6113]

it is a bit of a cash grab but it is allowing the company to require their independence.

[@kyoukotsukino6322]

To me, it's the third or fourth "cash grab" of theirs, because they've been re-releasing the same game with less content for years now (DD2 was their only attempt at something new, and it failed hard.) DD1 was their summit, and they're just nosediving down the hill with every new attempt at "innovating" they make. It's a bit like geriatric rock stars, at some point someone should probably tell them they're just a joke nowadays, but since the joke's quite amusing, people lets them go on tour again and again...

[@KatherineOfSky]

It's still a lot of fun to play. The other games also had new maps.

[@itslonechief]

Loaded the video and was like am I watching watch mojo? lol that voice is amazing :P

[@KatherineOfSky]

Thanks, no mojo here, though. My name is Katherine. Nice to meet you

[@takeetos1]

I played this game years ago wtf, like so many years ago I thought they gave up on it

[@boredindahouse4818]

Can i beat this game solo?

[@KatherineOfSky]

Yes, but it will take a lot of grinding for the best gear.

[@MODcrew17]

I have 800 hours into the dungeon series

[@KatherineOfSky]

Nice!

[@Zach135]

Gonna be honest, this shouldn't be priced at 30 dollars. I was honestly kinda disappointed. This game doesn't have half the charm as the first one and not to mention the UI and how the inventory works is just bad. Plus I saw actual lines of code when inspecting certain things. Everything is just so confusing! I just wish they would import the original to the newer Xbox's, god knows how much money that'll make em.

[@KatherineOfSky]

Weird that you say "it doesn't have half the charm" because more than half the maps are from the original game

[@KingOfDemons123]

I have been playing dd1 and dda and this new one has so much better of a user experience in my opinion, a lot of stats cleaned up and things of the sort, compared to dd1 i see it as a lot cleaner so far, having a hard time going back to all the dd1 content when everything feels messy compared to dda. dd1 is harder though

[@lordjosh9000]

I have enjoyed my time with awakened. It is a little shallow compared to the original.

[@KatherineOfSky]

It's the same exact gameplay loop, just fewer maps, which is what you might expect without 1k DLCs :P

[@shipcommanderlol6577]

Katherine I don't believe you. 😋

[@KatherineOfSky]

You don't believe what?

[@shipcommanderlol6577]

@@KatherineOfSky 0:07 That Dungeon Defenders is your most played game.😉

[@KatherineOfSky]

@@shipcommanderlol6577 According to steam it is. Why wouldn't you believe me?

[@shipcommanderlol6577]

@@KatherineOfSky jk, don't worry.

[@MrLinus1326]

its like they forgot how to do UI and thats kinda sad, it kinda looks like a moble game. otherwise this game seems great

[@KatherineOfSky]

Oh no, definitely NOT a mobile game. Have you never played this series of games before? Way too complicated and precise for mobile...

[@KingOfTheHuts]

Gotta put the spidar down