The Dwarves

Having devoted lots of hours into this game I can say that The Dwarves provides a lot of content, but not a lot of meaningful content. It is definitely a game that will drain hours upon hours of your life away, but I felt that the more I played it, the less I actually wanted to.

Underwhelming RPG elements and character customisation, poor loading times and a map screen that now seems to have a mind of its own do hold back the game from being something great. Those with a penchant for a tightly woven narrative and tactical thinking will enjoy the experience, but it is difficult to overlook some of the more glaringly obvious problems.

The Dwarves is a good game which is elevated by its story more than its gameplay. It’s complex and the unique visual design of the characters and the great voice acting make the experience. Unfortunately, the performance problems detract from the package even after the recent update. The problem with the flickering markers on the map is another major annoyance.

The Dwarves boasts a strong story that's taken from a bestselling novel, and it generally honors that lineage with a cast of likable and ably voiced characters. It's a good foundation, but unfortunately it's not strong enough to make up for the deficiencies of its gameplay, which include unfulfilling RPG elements and a stubborn camera.

A strong premise that gets lost with a bad execution on its visuals and dull combat.

I loved the diversity of characters and their abilities in battle. There are some truly interesting mechanics at play here. The bottom line though, is that it is rarely fun to engage in combat. I got frustrated at the useless AI, and starting over battles constantly was a real drag. The world of The Dwarves is interesting, and maybe with some patches down the road this can become a game I can get behind, as it stands now though, this is a tough sell.

The only really good part about The Dwarves is the characters and the world they live in. It’s an interesting tale, and one I’d gladly sit through if the combat was improved, load times were decreased, or any of the RPG elements had more depth.

A list of technical issues really let down what could otherwise be an enjoyable, if simplistic, RPG. [Jan 2016, p.74]

A good story with good cinematics held captive by terrible performance and bad gameplay. There are some good narrative moments in The Dwarves, but they aren't worth suffering through the game. Just read the book its based on.

Imagine a game that has the potential to exceed every expectation you had going into it in some regards, but is so poor in others that you can barely stand to play through the worse sections. That, for me, is The Dwarves. It is a huge missed opportunity.

The Dwarves had so much potential and even though the game looked great for a Kickstarter game, considering their lack of budget and the story it had to work with was a spectacular one, developers KingART just somehow managed to miss the mark.