200 years later, Dungeon Hunter 6 still knows how to scratch that ARPG itch
Set 200 years after the events of Dungeon Hunter 5, Dungeon Hunter 6 still has what it takes to draw the downloads in – as 120 million people have already proven.
This article is sponsored by GOAT Games.
You’d think a series that’s been around as long as Dungeon Hunter would start to lose steam after the first few entries, but if Gameloft SE has proved anything, it’s that there’s always more life in the ARPG genre than you may think. There are other genre stablemates that might hog the headlines, but Dungeon Hunter – as a series – has got some serious chops behind it, and the stats are worthy of your attention.
The series isn’t even that old, in the scheme of things – it’s been dominating the action role-playing game on Android and iOS since 2009, when the first Dungeon Hunter game launched for mobile devices. Since then, the series has achieved over 120 million downloads across the world, with players coming back instalment-after-instalment because of that fast-paced gameplay, immersive world, and a deft understanding of what this sort of game needs to do to work on mobile – this isn’t just a PC port, it’s developed with mobile in mind.
At the heart of Dungeon Hunter is hack-’n’-slash gameplay, an ARPG staple. Since Dungeon Hunter 5 launched in 2015, there has been a particularly long wait for the newest game in the series – the freshly-released Dungeon Hunter 6 – and there’s been a lot of pressure on developer Gameloft SE and publisher GOAT Games to deliver, too. But whilst we, in the real world, have had to wait the better part of eight years, for those enduring the in-game events of Dungeon Hunter, a massive 200 years have passed.
Playing as a wholly new protagonist, you return to the Valenthia 200 years after the brave sacrifice of the Bounty Hunter (the player character in the previous game) and experience brand new adventures, realised on a scale never seen before in a Dungeon Hunter game. It’s bigger, better, and busier than any game in the series before – and the hordes of demonic beings really do need to be seen to be believed.
But, its not just time that’s passed: a new game means new features, and perhaps the most notable addition we’ve seen in Dungeon Hunter 6 is the new Lieutenant system. In essence, this new-fangled feature allows whichever player character you’ve chosen as your avatar to team up with one of roster of powerful, intimidating creatures. Whether you opt for the inferno of Flame Lord, the succubus Delphyne, or the two-headed Demonic Wolf is up to you – but whichever you choose, you can count on more complexity and strategy in the game itself as a result.
These Lieutenants can complement and contrast your powers: if you play the Warrior, you may find your second-in-command can boost you with ranged attacks, if you play the Mage, you may see your chosen ally rip into the frontlines as you hang back and cast – figuring out which Lieutenant is best for whatever class you’re playing (Warrior, Archer, Assassin, Mage, or Boon Sister) is all part of the fun. There are hundreds of these Lieutenants to experiment with, so figuring out your – and assessing how they work in the meta – will keep the game alive for a long, long time to come.
Gameloft has also intentionally gone back through the classic games in the Dungeon Hunter world to fold in more ‘nostalgic’ elements from past games – all the while, bringing in new features and Quality of Life updates to save you time, and make it even easier to play. So, no matter whether you're a grizzled veteran craving the classic Dungeon Hunter experience or a relative newbie looking to dip their toes into the ARPG pond in slightly more casual fashion, you should be well catered to.
You can check out Dungeon Hunter 6 now on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android). You can also find more about the game at its official site, and check out its Youtube channel for more trailers and info.