There is so much passion, love, and talent oozing from Roach Games’ debut title, Kingdoms of the Dump. The Lands of Fill are so fully realized that every character and NPC has a place and purpose within the world. The combat system does just enough to prevent battles from feeling monotonous and adds its own unique flair to classic turn-based combat. Every party member and guest who joins your merry band to save the world plays a role in the story, which is brought to life by some surprisingly strong writing. Unfortunately, I encountered numerous bugs and had to reload saves multiple times throughout my playthrough, which tainted my overall experience. Because of this, Kingdoms of the Dump is equal parts the 16-bit modern RPG throwback I’ve dreamed of and one of the most frustrating games I’ve played this year.
Down in the Dumps
Kingdoms of the Dump takes place in the fictional world of The Lands of Fill. Our main hero is Dustin Binsley, a less-than-capable young squire in the kingdom of Garbagia. After having slept in for an important festival for the kingdom, the king of Garbagia is kidnapped. Thus, to reclaim his honor and save his kingdom, Dustin must venture across the world, fighting hordes of trash monsters while making friends and allies along the way. While the story sounds pretty straightforward and in keeping with standard RPG setups, Kingdoms of the Dump subverts expectations time and time again. It has many twists and turns that left me shocked that a seemingly lighthearted game about sentient trash and clothing would go that route. Even though there is an air of goofiness throughout the game, it still manages to pack emotional punches when it wants to. It’s no easy feat to be able to straddle this line, but Kingdoms of the Dump pulls it off.
If the story wasn’t enough, Kingdoms of the Dump also manages to have one of the more compelling parties I’ve had the pleasure of having in an RPG this year. It’s all thanks in no small part to the exceptional writing for each of these characters. Dustin is a lovable goofball who grows over the course of the game. Ratavia is a complete badass while also being an emotional crutch for Dustin when things get tough. Rounding out the party are Walker, a librarian who acts as a peacekeeper throughout the kingdoms, Lute, Walker’s protege with a hidden past, Musk, a shapeshifting stinkbug mobster, and Cerulean, a self-conscious wizard with a heart of gold. Each one of these characters is pivotal to the plot and has their moment in the spotlight. In addition, there is a fantastic rotating cast of guest party members that join Dustin on his journey, many of whom have more character and personality than some mainline party members in other RPGs. It is an impressive feat, especially for Roach Game’s first outing.
Kingdoms of the Dump also knows not to overstay its welcome. I managed to complete the main story in under twenty-five hours of game time. That includes me taking on the occasional sidequest and optional exploration, and dungeons. It is always nice when an RPG respects your time and doesn’t bloat out its game time with unnecessary filler. That’s not to say there isn’t more content in the game, though. Near the end of the story, you gain access to a great deal of side quests and optional content to take on before leaving for the final dungeon. For those completionists out there, you can probably add an additional 5-10 hours of content if you want to take on these endgame sidequests.
Fighting Dirty
In keeping with its 16-bit JRPG homage, Kingdoms of the Dump implements a turn-based battle system with a twist. Battles typically take place on a 3 x 6 grid, split between the enemy and player side, that you can move across to improve your party’s positioning or dodge enemy attacks. Movement is limited to one adjacent square per turn, each time it is a combatant’s turn. Party members who are closer to the front of your half of the battlefield deal more damage with their attacks, but are also more susceptible to enemy attacks. This system shakes up combat throughout, and the game knows when to throw curveballs at you to keep things interesting. This includes hazards being created on a section of the battlefield that deal damage or status effects to whoever is standing on them, to limiting the player’s movement with a smaller grid during battle.
I initially found the combat interesting, but a little bit too easy. However, some pretty severe difficulty spikes throughout the game make sure you understand the nuances of the systems. These difficulty spikes were usually challenging but fun, but near the end of the game, I found some of them to be rather excessive. The final gauntlet of bosses that are thrown at you is especially egregious. It’s not that they were mechanically complex, but rather that they were more of a test of endurance, which I felt was tedious. I understand wanting the final confrontation to be memorable and bombastic, but Kingdoms of the Dump pushes it a little too far and makes the final stretch a test of your patience.
Outside of combat, the majority of your time will be spent exploring the Lands of Fill and its many towns and kingdoms. Once again, in keeping with classic RPG tradition, Kingdoms of the Dump has a fully realized world map to roam between towns and dungeons. The world map is huge, and there are plenty of hidden locations and areas to discover, which brings me to one of my favorite elements of Kingdoms of the Dump. Unlike other games with world maps, not every location is visible at first. As Dustin moves across the map, he will occasionally find a hidden area that was not visible until he is close enough to it. The game would pause and fill in the new location, and it never failed to feel satisfying when I found it. Most of the time, these areas had valuable loot or equipment that far exceeded anything I could find in town. This mechanic made me want to check every nook and cranny of the world, incentivizing me to truly explore my surroundings. Towns and dungeons, on the other hand, were a bit of a mixed bag.
Towns are also dense and filled with items hidden throughout them. Unfortunately, traversing them to try and find these hidden items came with its own peril. You see, platforming is a big part of Kingdoms of the Dump’s town and dungeon design, and the platforming just doesn’t feel good. There were many times when I tried to make a jump from a rooftop or platform and fell, even though I was certain I should have landed. A lot of this is due to some shoddy collision. This issue only gets worse as you add more party members and gain access to more complicated and varied traversal tools. On top of this, there were a handful of times where I was forced to reload because I would fall behind a building or some other geometry, and my character would just be stuck with no way to get out from behind it. The game places a massive emphasis on exploration, so it’s only natural to test each jump or small crevice to see if something is hidden. Unfortunately, doing so often led to me snagging on geometry or getting stuck in places the developers clearly didn’t intend players to reach. This brings me to my biggest, and pretty much only, criticism of Kingdoms of the Dump: there are many bugs and QA issues.
Buggin’ Out
I understand that Roach Games is a small studio, and the team probably only had so much budget for QA and playtesting. However, there is a point at which it becomes difficult to ignore or write off the lack of polish. On top of the previously mentioned platforming collisions, I had moments where I had to restart the game due to my character being stuck after a cutscene, by continuously falling through the floor. Another time, I had to reload because I walked into an inn, and for some reason, an invisible barrier barricaded me from exiting it. There were multiple instances of characters phasing in and out of geometry as I walked behind certain sprites, and so on. It was beyond frustrating anytime this happened, and was only amplified by just how incredible the rest of the game is.
I will say that Roach Games has been actively updating the game throughout my time reviewing the game and has been quick to address some of these issues after I experienced them. I can only imagine that this support will continue post-launch, and a lot of these criticisms will likely be addressed. It may take some time, but I have faith that Roach Games will have Kingdoms of the Dump in a much better place after a few extra patches. It’s obvious this team has put a lot of time and energy into the game, and it will want to iron this stuff out. If not, it would truly be a shame, as this is one of the only real blemishes on an otherwise superb game.
A Journey Worth Taking
Regardless of the technical issues, Kingdoms of the Dump is still a great RPG. I couldn’t wait to see where the story would take me on this incredible adventure, and it rarely left me wanting more. Sure, the platforming doesn’t feel the best, but it’s a minor gripe in the grand picture. The lore is deep and rich, the characters are wonderfully written, and the combat is truly engaging, offering a nice twist on the conventional turn-based setup. I could see myself returning to Kingdoms of the Dump in the future to try a 100% run after some updates and some patches. Maybe even a future DLC down the road? One could only hope. In the end, if Roach Games can get Kingdoms of the Dump into a better place technically, I could see it going down as one of the best indie RPGs on the market in recent memory. It really is that good.
Disclaimer: Roach Games provided a PC (Steam) copy of Kingdom of the Dumps for review purposes.
