The Dwarves

The Dwarves feels too much like a project still in development to receive a higher grade. The best thing about it, however, is the franchise's future potential.

The story, the characters, the setting... everything that surrounds The Dwarves is really good, but its gameplay and its length aren't that extraordinary. Still, it is a very enjoyable adventure.

But it wasn’t. I thoroughly enjoyed my 15 hours with it, but I’m also well aware of its numerous, easily identifiable, shortcomings. If you’re a dwarf connoisseur, then I can recommend this game. If you enjoy fantasy RPGs, and don’t mind tactical (though it’s hardly that) combat, then I can also recommend this game. But if you don’t particularly love either of these things, then The Dwarves from KING Art Games, may not be the dwarves for you.

A strategy RPG that suffers from a distinct lack of technical polish and unsatisfying combat, The Dwarves superb orchestral soundtrack, intriguing narrative and charismatic cast almost make up for its technical deficiencies, lending hope that future instalments might improve upon what we see here.

The Dwarves is a role-playing game that fails to reach its full potential. Its interesting battle concepts are marred by a mediocre execution, very limited RPG mechanics, and just too many technical issues on PlayStation 4. Despite this, the game still managed to be somewhat enjoyable thanks to the gripping yet not too original story, and charming characters. Due to gameplay and technical shortcomings, however, only die hard high fantasy fans may find some enjoyment in The Dwarves. Everyone else would do better in looking elsewhere.

Offers a unique and enjoyable experience that straddles the lines between RPG, movie, and novel, and delivers a satisfying fantasy adventure. However, the many technical glitches can be frustrating, and the dull combat and noticeable lack of meaty RPG gameplay elements will turn off players looking for a richer gameplay-focused experience.

Even though the setting is interesting and the overall atmosphere is beautiful some serious gameplay issues along with the terrible A.I. and the poor graphics make this game a missed opportunity.

THQ Nordic and King Art Games bring us The Dwarves, an RPG adaptation of Markus Hetiz’s novels that, despite good ideas, doesn’t live up to its source material albeit its entertaining story.

Whilst The Dwarves has an enjoyable, well presented story, the RPG it tries to present has limited character-building and uneven combat. It’s not deep or robust enough for me to truly endorse. Those that persevere might find a tale worth seeing but be prepared to suffer against a troublesome camera and some worrying technical stutters.

Almost everything from The Dwarves‘ gameplay to the presentation seems unpolished. It’s a real shame, since there are some good ideas, and the book it’s based upon is ripe for a video game adaptation.