The game was a pioneer that turned the gaming scene at the time on its head by allowing the user to play as the bad guy . Mix in some dark and occasionally campy humour , and you have a winner in my books .

The game was as much of an ecosystem simulation as it was a war-mongering god game . Each demon had its own needs and desires . Commands could be issued and blueprints put in place , but it was ultimately up to the individual citizens to decide if they would follow orders . Keep your demons paid , fed and entertained

, and they were more likely to obey your orders . What ’ s more , some demons would refuse to get on with others and infighting would often ensue . The player would have to either decide to remove one type of demon , or at the expense of more resources and space , create a separate , mini-ecosystem to house just that one demon . The amount of micromanagement for a game of that time was mind boggling .

There was nothing quite like designing your own dank dungeon and watching its inhabitants go about their daily lives with

minimal interference from their ‘ god ’. I would happily spend hours planning out where hallways would go and the intricacies of sizing

each room . Everything had to be aesthetically pleasing , occasionally at the expense of strategic positioning .

Of course this would all and go down the pan once war broke out , but that wasn ’ t much of a problem . It was just as satisfying to watch the enemy dungeon crumble .

Dungeon Keeper falls into an odd niche of god games that everyone seems to remember fondly , yet not many developers have tried to tap into . The few Dungeon

Keeper-esque games that have since been released have either failed to capture the game ’ s original flair or go too far and become a carbon copy – at which point I just tell myself that I may as well play the original

. Unfortunately , EA holds the rights to the game and has shown very little interest in doing anything meaningful with it outside of releasing an insultingly money-grabbing phone app .

I have vivid memories of arguing with my father as a child about what games I could and could not play . A game with the name “ The Sims : Hot Date ” was surely inappropriate for a boy of my age ; sex scenes would

Developer : Bullfrog Productions Price : £ 4.69 ( GOG . com ) Platform : PC Release date : 26 June , 1997

Publisher ' s Description :

" Discover your dark side as you build your own underground Kingdom . But beware - you are not alone .

" Carve out a living , breathing world and attract a host of devilish creatures to swell the

surely ensue . That ’ s why , looking back on it , I ’ m amazed that I somehow managed procure a copy of Dungeon Keeper - a game whose mascots are literally skin tight , leather-clad dominatrices . I ’ m glad I did manage to get a copy - Dungeon Keeper was a huge part of my childhood and ultimately shaped how I play games today .

DUNGEON KEEPER

ranks of your dark hoards . Expand your empire in the quest to reach the daylight and invade the realms above .

" To succeed you will be forced to form an alliance with the evil Horned Reaper , a powerful ally who can be summoned to become your most potent weapon - if you can control him ."