After an intro that more than derides the so-called "heroes" in this game and their underlying intentions in fighting the forces under the ministry of the Dungeon Keepers, the player is trust into an intriguingly designed user menu, complete with interactive models that are certainly not your run-of-the-mill menu screen.
The interesting first impression is further bolstered when entering the game proper. There are very good tutorials for this game, which is important as Dungeon Keeper certainly does not play like other micromanagement games - even hardly coming close to its cousin in Bullfrog's portfolio, Theme Hospital, if the dark, dank and foreboding underworld environment in the game does not suggest so already.
Crucial to the quest to undermine the cheery and fertile surface world are the controls in the game. Like many other micromanagement games, the player is required to expand his/her operations across the map currently in play - by assigning blocks of earth to dig away by the lowly imps in this case, and, when furnished with facilities, will attract other kinds of underlings. Just about anything within the dominion of the player that has been claimed by the ever-loyal imps will be susceptible to the player's whims.
The kinds of things that the player can mete out to things in his/her domain are varied indeed. The player can pick up and drop minions anywhere convenient or expedient, or slap them for a quick, short boost in their productivity. Or smack them silly, if sadistic satisfaction is desired. This game certainly makes the cursor interactive enough in a way that is very different from other micromanagement games.
The only resource in the game, other than space for expansion, is gold - or more precisely, wealth, as mining gold and gem seams result in accruing of treasures that are certainly not made of just gold and gems. Graphical oddities aside, wealth is used in just about any decision that the player makes in this game, from building new rooms and giving bonuses to creatures (resulting in boosts in both happiness and productivity) to appeasing the evil pantheon of deities, in addition to the usual running of the industries and lining the pockets of underlings within the player's domain.
One use of wealth that is of peculiar note is that it is also the fuel for spells, which range from the usual fantasy-prescribed ones like healing to lightning bolts. Depending on the map and the player's expansion paths, the act of casting spells may either be a straight path to a bankrupt doom, or every spell icon is an automatic "I-win!" button. Casting spells repeatedly drain wealth quickly, but with a legion of imps mining inexhaustible gem seams, there can just be no shortage of magical destruction available to the player. This can be a source of great glee in the campaign, but from this reviewer's LAN multiplayer experience, this exploit certainly makes maps with gem seams rightly despised.
Speaking of spells, one spell that would be most crucial to the player and which separates this game from other micromanagement games is the Possession spell. Using this spell on a creature under the player's dominion buffs its capabilities somewhat, but more importantly, places it under the direct control of the player. The player cannot manage the dungeon in this state as a result, but can partake directly in raids against the enemy or defensive battles. The player can also recruit other creatures into a loose squad, though the game's hybrid 2D-sprite and 3D-environment graphics, as well as dim lighting, makes it very difficult to utilize. Still, this is one of the hallmark of the Dungeon Keeper IP, and certainly provides a different way to defeat opponents other than just claiming their territory piece by piece, as proscribed by the game.
No dungeon can be complete with facilities, so it is fortunate that the game has a solid system for furnishing dungeons with rooms like the all-important treasury and amenities for creatures. However, placing non-room structures like doors and traps can be a bit troublesome, as these have to be manufactured in a Workshop facility and transferred over to the designated location by imps. This can be terribly slow, especially when fortifying a remote but critical forward camp. Moreover, the game does not appear to provide any warning when the player accidentally designates blocks that are important for the presence of certain structures (such as doors) for them to be dug.
In addition, it would appear that blocks of earth that have been dug away can never be refilled. This is a jarring omission of a feature that could have greatly increased the strategic depth of the game. Nevertheless, this is just a minor gripe and it does not affect the gameplay too much, as there are better (and delightfully deadlier) ways to seal off approaches to the player's dungeons.
The design of the missions is also a highlight of the game - for better or worse. Many, if not most, of the missions are accompanied with amusing briefings provided by the deliciously voiced narrator, along with hints left and right on how to best tackle the mission at hand. Furthermore, the game makes the location of gold veins and gem blocks clear right from the start of any mission, giving much needed direction for the player's plans of expansion when there is naught but gloomy solid darkness surrounding his/her dungeon.
Unfortunately, the same can't be sad for the soundness of design of some of the maps in the game. Expansion can sometimes be impossible due to bodies of water (or lava) cutting off regions of the map from each other and the absence of blueprints for bridges (for whatever strange reason that the mission designers intended). On the other hand, every map has been designed with a few more-or-less effective solutions in mind, so this is at worst just a minor gripe. (If the previously mentioned maps with gem seams are not considered, that is.)
The game also sometimes makes it difficult to get a certain type of creature. For example, the Warlock in particular is next to impossible to obtain if there happens to be another Keeper with an already established Library. Such glaring gaps in the menagerie of creatures in some maps do make it difficult to appreciate the great effort invested by the developers in designing the creatures.
There are also some other acute flaws in the game, specifically game exploits. One of them, which is spamming of spells enabled by endless wealth, has already been mentioned. Another spamming technique involve chicks, the consumption of which by the player's minions actually increases their health - even in the middle of battle. (This exploit hilariously results in many game guides and FAQs for Dungeon Keeper recommending that Hatcheries be placed close to the frontlines, if only for the spamming of chicks.)
There are also game imbalances. Certain creatures are notoriously more powerful than the rest. For example, there is the Dragon, which excels in both melee and ranged combat, is very tough to kill and is also a researcher to boot. Similarly, the Bile Demon doubles as a great meat shield and skirmisher, and also happens to be able to work in Workshops. It's easy for players to eventually realize that they should design their dungeons specifically to attract such overpowered creatures, and this certainly does not do justice to the assortment of the other, otherwise well-designed creatures in the game.
Perhaps the audio aspect of the game has the least ingrained issues. Almost every creature, be they 'good' or sinister, have their own unique quips and utterances (the Bile Demon in particular has a LOT), which coupled with their funny animations, makes just about everyone of them endearing to a fault. Combat noises are similarly loud and satisfying to hear, though they serve little utilitarian purposes.
In conclusion, Dungeon Keeper, despite its faults, is an offering of a very different kind from Bullfrog, compared to its other games and similar games of the time. Yet, it is definitely a very, very scrumptious offering indeed, exotic enough to gloss over the flaws in its recipe.