Both on sale at the moment, and as they both look pretty similar to me, and I'm trying to curb my habit of buying & hoarding games that I have no time to play.... would appreciate hearing if either is thought to be better, or notable differences between the 2?

Thanks

I can’t say anything about Dungeons 3, I didn’t try it, but here is some points that explain why I really like War for the Overworld:

_ It has been developed by Dungeon Keeper fans, and it is easy to see that this game is a love letter to its predecessors.

_ It has Dungeon Keeper original voice actor (Richard Ridings) as the narrator.

_ It looks like a straight up improvement on Dungeon Keeper 2, keeping its mechanics while adding new creatures and new rooms. If a game deserves the title "Dungeon Keeper 3", no doubt it is this one.

_ No game mechanic feels useless or out of place, you can find a use for everything in your evil plans.

_ With the "My Pet Dungeon" DLC (try it, it’s great, you have two free missions in the base game to give you a taste), you can recruit evil disco unicorns (democorns) on one specific map. It’s the go-to game mode for people wanting a more relaxed experience.

_ The included free DLC "Crucible" is some tower defense twist on the formula, that’s so hard I never survived more than a couple minutes on any of its maps. It’s the go-to game mode for people who want more challenge.

I've never played War for the Overworld.

But I have beaten Dungeons 3 and all of its DLCs.

Dungeons 3 is an excellent game, and an amazing deal at its sale price.

One of the main differences is that Dungeons 3 features an Overworld as a core component of its gameplay. In Dungeons 3 your jobs are:

a) to build and defend your Dungeon,

b) to raise your army and level up your creatures,

c) to conquer the Overworld by annihilating all of its towns and the goodly heroes who defend them.

Whereas War for the Overworld doesn't actually have any Overworld in it whatsoever, so there is nothing in it similar to point c) above.

The Narrator in Dungeons 3 is also fantastic. He gives a 10/10 voice-acting performance.

I have the original but haven't looked at the DLCs.
You just sold me on this one, but what about the other...two is it?

Underlord Edition is only cosmetic, I see it more as a way to show support to the developers.
The two other ones (Heart of Gold & The Under Games) are new campaigns. I didn’t try them yet, but I plan to buy them once I’ve completed the main campaign. It looks like they add some more content too (defences, spells, minions, etc.).

Unless I’m mistaken, War for the Overworld even started as a Dungeon Keeper 2 modification before becoming a full game. That’s one of these games for fans, made by fans ;)

From what I've read on the internet, D3 is a bit more RTSer while WFTO is more management-y, so more DKish.

None of them feel underground enough to me, unfortunately. I liked the slightly twisty irregular walls of DK, and the screenshots of both these games feature too many colours and to clean straight walls. Too much order. Also... I see stuff catapulted over walls as if there was no ceiling ?

Where have our underground labyrinths gone ?

The Great Goblin King Sir. David Bowie took them with him :_(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViftZTfRSt8

Anyone know if the War for the Overworld ultimate edition also contains the seasonal workers skins DLC?

There's no mention of it in the game card but it does say it includes the content from the underlord edition. Looking at the underlord edition though, it just says it contains unique models and textures, one of them for workers but doesn't say if it's the same ones as in the Seasonal Worker DLC.