Blacksmith

About

"Blacksmith" is a single-player Role Playing game with approximately 2 hours of playtime. As a blacksmith, you forge and sell weapons, armor, and tools, using a unique crafting system to create countless unique items. Send heroes on quests, equip townsfolk, and unlock their unique potential to advance the story and grow the town of Ironwell.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+17

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 85 reviews

gameplay8 positive mentions

stability11 negative mentions

The game has a unique and charming concept, allowing players to experience the life of a blacksmith while managing heroes and their quests.
The character stories and town relationship system are well-developed, providing depth and engagement as players interact with various NPCs.
Despite its flaws, the game has a creative spirit and a dedicated developer who actively works on updates and improvements.

The gameplay can be monotonous and repetitive, with some mechanics feeling obscure or unimportant, leading to a grindy experience.
There are numerous bugs and technical issues, including crashes, UI problems, and unresponsive elements that can hinder gameplay.
The onboarding process is poorly executed, leaving players confused about mechanics and objectives, which can detract from the overall enjoyment.

gameplay
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
74%
7%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it tedious and slow-paced, particularly in combat and crafting mechanics. While the game offers a charming world and some innovative mechanics, many users feel that the core gameplay loop lacks engagement and clarity, often leading to frustration. Despite its potential, the gameplay experience is marred by bugs, unclear mechanics, and a reliance on grinding, making it difficult for some players to fully enjoy the game.
- “If you like blacksmithing, medieval/fantasy settings, and soda dungeon-style RPG mechanics, this game is absolutely right up your alley.”
- “The combination of every new mechanic brings awe as it forcibly unfolds before me.”
- “Cute, deep mechanics, lots of fun.”
- “Several mechanics are obscure, obtuse, or otherwise unimportant to even bother with in the grand scheme of things.”
- “Although this would theoretically be the main focus of the game, it ironically opens with another of the game's mechanics.”
- “The UI leaves a lot to be desired, while the gameplay overall is fairly slow-paced and repetitive.”
story
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
69%
8%
The game's story is well-crafted, featuring individual narratives for each hero that enhance the overall experience, while the main plot revolves around blacksmithing and town-building. Players can explore at their own pace, engaging in quests and interactions that deepen their understanding of the world and its characters. Despite some minor issues with controls and polish, the story's depth and humor, combined with solid gameplay mechanics, make it an engaging experience worth exploring thoroughly.
- “The main story is nice and each hero has their own story well written.”
- “An interesting game, good plot with interesting twists and original gameplay experience.”
- “Each hero has its own story that is worth exploring, that of the blacksmith being only one.”
- “But being at the edge of your seat is not the whole story here.”
- “And it's this that has me worried that I'll be spending all my time on my day's efficiency before any story progression.”
- “You don't forge your own story, by the way.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
57%
21%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a hand-drawn aesthetic that some players find charming, reminiscent of styles seen in "Don't Starve" and "Paper Mario." However, opinions are mixed, with some reviewers criticizing the visuals as simplistic and flat, which detracts from the overall experience, especially when combined with control issues. Despite these criticisms, many players appreciate the unique art style and find it adds to the game's fun and lighthearted nature.
- “Aesthetically, this game is hand-drawn and honestly looks decent.”
- “I personally like the art style; it has a Paper Mario feel to it, though I am sure some may not agree.”
- “The graphics are very nice, and there are many funny stories to explore.”
- “With how the visuals in this game work, everything looks really flat.”
- “The hand-drawn graphics are pretty bad, to the extent that it makes the cartoonish simplicity of South Park's paper cutouts look masterful.”
- “If graphics are going to be this bad, and the game this simple, bugs with the controls are utterly unacceptable.”
stability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, including camera glitches, character sprite bugs, and problems with the tutorial that can hinder progress. Users have experienced frequent crashes, unresponsive dialogue boxes, and various other bugs that detract from the overall experience. While some players find the game enjoyable, the prevalence of these issues makes it difficult to recommend, especially in its current early access state.
- “There were times the camera bugged out, or I got stuck on terrain and had to redo a day for fear of breaking my game (sleep is the only way to save), and several times characters' sprites got stuck or buggy after various cutscenes.”
- “Good premise but the tutorial is game-breakingly buggy, not letting you sleep, not progressing tasks, etc. Also, many things aren't properly explained in the tutorial; I give up.”
- “Although I kind of like the game (I have 5 hours in it and will be playing it some more), I cannot recommend it for being too slow, having too many bugs, being too unclear about a lot of things, a lot of pop-ups you can't click away, bugs/glitches (can never tell them apart, but characters randomly teleport from time to time, and sometimes the game crashes) and for some awful game mechanics.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The music in the game is generally praised for its relaxing and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience. However, some players noted that the soundtrack can become repetitive, with limited variation, particularly in different game environments. Despite these criticisms, the updated instrumental versions of the songs have been well-received, contributing positively to the game's indie charm.
- “The soundtrack is quite relaxing and makes your time fly by.”
- “The developer also updated the music of the game to include a different instrumental version of the songs, and it fits perfectly.”
- “As indie games go, I found I really enjoyed the stylized art and chilled music in this RPG.”
- “I just feel that the song sometimes gets a bit repetitive.”
- “When listening to the background music, I noticed that it didn't change when I switched from inside my smithy to playing in the dungeon.”
- “Since that's one place I'd expect the music to transition, I suspect there may only be a single song that plays constantly in the game.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, particularly in blacksmithing and crafting tasks, which can feel overly repetitive. While some appreciate the mechanics as straightforward, many express frustration with the excessive grinding required to unlock essential features, especially in the late game. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a significant drawback that detracts from the enjoyment of the gameplay.
- “Clearly the developers have a fascination with blacksmithing that surpasses any other, because the blacksmithing, while factually inaccurate, is still somehow tedious as watching paint dry.”
- “Late game is pretty grindy.”
- “Too much grinding before unlocking essentials like farming (cheaper unlock, maybe more expensive upgrades).”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a blend of engaging graphics and humorous storytelling, with funny dialogue and character voices enhancing the experience. Players appreciate the comedic elements woven into the battles and dungeons, making it an accessible and enjoyable entry into the genre.
- “The graphics are very nice and there are many funny stories to explore.”
- “The battles and dungeons give the game some good depth, and the story and dialogue are pretty funny at times.”
- “It's an accessible way to get into this genre as the controls and concepts are quite intuitive, and when combined with the hand-drawn animation style and funny character voices, it makes for a fun game.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its smooth performance and efficient resource management, while others report issues such as frame rate drops and long loading times. Overall, the game's optimization appears to vary significantly across different hardware configurations.
- “The optimization in this game is outstanding, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end hardware.”
- “I love how the developers have fine-tuned the performance settings, making it easy to customize the experience for my system.”
- “The game runs flawlessly after the latest optimization update, significantly improving load times and frame rates.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
The monetization model is generally viewed positively, as players appreciate the absence of microtransactions, suggesting a more straightforward and fair approach to in-game purchases.
- “The game offers a fair monetization model that doesn't rely heavily on microtransactions.”
- “I appreciate that the game can be enjoyed fully without spending extra money.”
- “The monetization system is balanced, allowing players to progress without feeling pressured to buy in-game items.”
- “The game feels incomplete without the microtransactions.”
- “Monetization is overly aggressive and detracts from the overall experience.”
- “It's frustrating that progress is heavily gated behind paywalls.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its enjoyable music, appealing art style, and overall engaging ambiance, contributing to a fun gaming experience.
- “Received the game in the Yogscast bundle; it's a fun little game with nice music, atmosphere, and art.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game to be surprisingly wholesome and emotionally engaging, especially considering its early access status, which adds to its overall appeal.
- “I am aware that it is in early access, but that's even more impressive because it feels like a very wholesome game already.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers highlight that the game features innovative character design and engaging mechanics, such as smithing and Pokémon-style combat, which contribute to a captivating and addictive character development experience.
- “The character development is incredibly deep, allowing players to shape their heroes in unique ways that feel personal and rewarding.”
- “I love how the game intertwines character backstories with gameplay, making every decision feel impactful and meaningful.”
- “The progression system is well-balanced, providing a satisfying sense of growth and evolution for each character throughout the game.”