In the gaming world, there is a lot of talk from gamers about game studios being “overrated.” Fans and haters of different critically acclaimed studios battle it out on forums all across the internet in a never ending flame war over which studio is overrated or why another studio isn’t.
What about the other guys though? The game developers that bring us great titles, but don’t necessarily get the appreciation or attention they deserve. There are some that bring up how underrated a developer may be, but for every one of those, there are thousands of gamers saying a developer is overrated. Well, in these “Underrated: “ articles, we are going to take the time to name developers that could be considered underrated and tell you why they deserve your time.
Trendy Entertainment (Dungeon Defenders)
In 2011, Trendy Entertainment launched Dungeon Defenders, its first title, on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Trendy Entertainment took what made the tower defense genre so popular and pushed the envelope even further. The addition of RPG elements such as stat points, loot, and leveling gave gamers a greater sense of presence and individuality within the game. This helped to immerse gamers in a genre of gaming that generally lacks the feeling of immersion.
Just about all tower defense titles suffer from a poor narrative, if there is even one at all. Trendy Entertainment creates a situation within the RPG elements of Dungeon Defenders that allows for a stronger story. There is still plenty of room for improvement with the narrative in Dungeon Defenders, but it shows promise and is currently the best attempt at having a narrative in the tower defense genre.
With a strong showing of DLC on the PC version of Dungeon Defenders, ranging from new characters to new game modes, Trendy Entertainment has proven its dedication to support its titles and support them well. The console versions of Dungeon Defenders did not receive all the DLC the PC version did. This was due to multiple reasons, including patch size limitations and patch stacking requirements associated with the individual console networks.
With Dungeon Defenders 2 on the horizon, it looks like Trendy Entertainment is looking to push the envelope even further. Adding a new competitive PVP mode alongside the classic cooperative play modes and rumored to have a roster of 23 different playable character classes, Dungeon Defenders 2 is looking set to improve on every aspect of the first title. Only time will tell if Dungeon Defenders 2 lives up to expectations.
Trendy Entertainment is a studio to watch going into next gen for its unique take on the tower defense genre. Trendy Entertainment met with a fair amount of success with critics and gamers alike with Dungeon Defenders, but the studio does not stand alongside big indie studios like thatgamecompany in terms of popularity amongst gamers, and it should.
Next week we will talk about another developer that we believe is considered underrated. If you missed out on last weeks installment of Underrated: check it out right here. Do you think this studio could be considered underrated? What studios do you think are underrated? Let us know in the comments section below and most of all, be sure to come back for next weeks installment.