A Game of Dwarves

Good
  • Solid dungeon simulation experience with the ability to customise dwarves and dungeon in an impressive number of ways
  • Good presentation across the board allows for some stunningly well designed dungeon spaces
Bad
  • Gameplay, mechanics and general balance feel unfinished which drives a lack of challenge and purpose in some activities
  • Some gameplay bugs and glitches detract from the dwarven fortress experience
7.5

A Game of Dwarves puts you at the head of a dwarf settlement and gives you complete control of building a new and thriving civilisation. This civilisation of dwarves is highly customisable with the experience focusing on the dungeon simulation and creation elements rather than a robust and deep layer of strategic gameplay. While this means A Game of Dwarves can’t live up to the likes of Dwarf Fortress in terms of challenge it does provide the necessary tools and freedom to create a thriving dwarven underground home.

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This home is set within your ancestral lands which was lost long ago but is currently being reclaimed by the dwarven prince for the future survival of the dwarven people. The result is a world that is not free from danger with dark and evil magic lying in wait beneath the surface. As you expand throughout the game levels a range of creatures and enemy types will appear hidden deep within the secret rooms and caverns lost for aeons.

In total there are just over a dozen levels which follow a similar flow and provide a story structure for players to progress through. While there is some enhancements made along the way through additional rooms and enemy types the core mechanics of Game of Dwarves remain relatively untouched from early to later levels although the aforementioned enhancements do slowly increase the difficultly of each campaign level.

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This core gameplay in A Game of Dwarves sees players taking complete control of their dwarven settlers who you’ll instruct to dig tunnels (both horizontally and vertically in the 3D levels), research new technologies, build rooms or train themselves into great warriors to protect the settlement when the time comes. With continued expansion comes heightened risk as new threats lurk at the lower levels but also house the required minerals for expansion.

As you would expect the further you dig downwards from your starting location the minerals become more precious and the enemies more ruthless so careful forethought into your pace of expansion and solidifying your new tunnels is important before further progressing. To enhance this effect and provide some level of replay value A Game of Dwarves  offers random map generation in both the short (13 level) campaign and the custom game modes where players can set their own difficulty along with other map settings.

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While A Game of Dwarves does bring you back to the management and dungeon exploration gameplay made popular by the original Dungeon Keeper game it does so in a slower paced simulation game rather than true management or strategy.

Summary:

  • Rebuild the once great dwarven kingdom one level at a time.
  • Set jobs for your dwarves from warrior to researcher and miner to optimise your population.
  • Dig both horizontally and vertically to explore the large levels and find important resources.
  • Custom game mode adds even more gameplay with control over settings and randomised maps.
  • DLC packs available to add more game content.

Links:

Videos:


Review Platform: PC

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Written by
Samuel Franklin
Samuel Franklin is the founder and lead editor of the Games Finder team and enjoys video games across all genres and platforms. He has worked in the gaming industry since 2008 amassing over 3 million views on YouTube and 10 million article views on HubPages.

Games Finder is a Steam Curator and featured in the aggregate review scores data of MobyGames and Neoseeker.
1 COMMENTS
  1. I love the site. Quick acces to game with videos / trailer/ 1st impressions provided.

    Excellent

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