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Dawnfolk

Dawnfolk Game Cover
97%Game Brain Score
gameplay, story
replayability, optimization
97% User Score Based on 370 reviews

Platforms

LinuxPCMac OSSteam DeckWindows
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Dawnfolk Game Cover

About

Dawnfolk is a single player survival city builder game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Darenn Keller and was released on February 13, 2025. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

This is a mod for the game Dawnfolk made by Darenn Keller. It adds a new science building, the Light Spire. I've seen a fair number of players a bit upset that the light well does not have an upgrade. But adding this building after release makes the balancing a bit complicated, so a mod is the perfect way to solve this! You can upgrade the light well into a light spire. It produces slighly m…

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Dawnfolk screenshot
Dawnfolk screenshot
Dawnfolk screenshot
Dawnfolk screenshot
Dawnfolk screenshot
Dawnfolk screenshot
Dawnfolk screenshot
Dawnfolk screenshot
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97%
Audience ScoreBased on 370 reviews
gameplay37 positive mentions
optimization3 negative mentions
  • Charming and addictive gameplay with a cozy atmosphere that keeps players engaged for hours.
  • Offers a variety of game modes, including story, puzzle, and endless modes, providing solid replay value.
  • Simple mechanics that are easy to learn but allow for strategic depth, making it accessible for both casual and experienced players.
  • Some players find the user experience frustrating due to hardcoded controls and lack of mouse support.
  • The story mode can feel short and not particularly engaging, leading to a sense of repetitiveness in gameplay.
  • Certain mechanics, like mini-games, may become tedious over time and detract from the overall experience.
  • gameplay
    104 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of this city builder is praised for its captivating blend of simplicity and depth, allowing players to engage in various strategies without feeling overwhelmed by mechanics. The game features a well-structured tutorial that gradually introduces core mechanics, making it accessible for newcomers while still offering challenges for experienced players. With multiple game modes and charming visuals, the gameplay loop is described as addictive and rewarding, encouraging exploration and resource management in a delightful, minimalist setting.

    • “Absolutely captivating game with tons of different strategies and mechanics.”
    • “It's a great game, a fairly minimalistic approach to the city builder with survival mechanics that let you either focus on every small decision to really min-max your empire and conquer the hardest difficulties, or chill and complete the story missions/puzzles relaxed.”
    • “Dawnfolk is a cute grid-based city builder that has a simple to learn gameplay format, but a surprising amount of depth.”
    • “Maybe I just did not like the core gameplay.”
    • “I was looking for more of a city-builder rather than a casual strategy game that uses a few city-builder mechanics.”
    • “But the game has a fairly deep gameplay style to learn with proper placement of different buildings to maximize production of resources.”
  • story
    97 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in this city-building game is described as charming and engaging, albeit relatively short, typically taking around 5-10 hours to complete. Players appreciate the variety of gameplay modes, including story missions with adjustable difficulty levels, puzzles, and sandbox options, which enhance replayability and allow for different strategies. While some find the narrative light and not groundbreaking, it effectively introduces game mechanics and provides a cozy, enjoyable experience.

    • “The story of Dawnfolk, centered around Lueur, is quite charming.”
    • “The main story is short but sweet, and serves perfectly to showcase the mechanics without overstaying its welcome.”
    • “The story mode is excellent: what a brilliant idea to weave a story through a game in this genre.”
    • “It's a very dull story.”
    • “I kept wondering why there was a story at all.”
    • “I felt like the story was playing with the flame narrator having self-realization of his nature as fire being bad, but I wasn't sure what was intended by the end of it.”
  • graphics
    40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming pixel art style, which combines a cozy yet ominous atmosphere reminiscent of Studio Ghibli's aesthetic. Players appreciate the simplicity and beauty of the visuals, noting that they enhance the overall gameplay experience while evoking nostalgia. The art design, paired with a delightful soundtrack, creates an engaging and immersive environment that resonates well with fans of indie games.

    • “The art style is quite amazing; paired with the soundtrack, it creates a really perfect atmosphere for the style of game.”
    • “The graphics are a fun mix of retro nostalgia, fanciful minimalism, and that indie charm that a lot of games strive for, but usually miss.”
    • “Everything about this game is charming, from the pixel art style to the expert sound design.”
    • “Graphics are obviously simple but the actual gameplay and details make up for it!”
    • “I love retro pixel graphics, but trying to read them while severely myopic and with an intense astigmatism is hellish, so being able to switch to a more readable font made this game accessible to me.”
    • “Dawnfolk brings me back to my childhood when games graphics were leading the player’s imagination more than imposing him a full drawn picture.”
  • music
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for enhancing the overall atmosphere, with many players noting its cozy and charming qualities that complement the stunning artwork. The soundtrack features a limited but delightful selection of unique songs that contribute to the game's engaging experience. However, some players feel that the music, while enjoyable, can be overshadowed by tedious gameplay elements.

    • “The art style is quite amazing; paired with the soundtrack, it creates a really perfect atmosphere for the style of the game.”
    • “The music is the icing on top of an entertaining and entrancing game.”
    • “There are about 6-7 unique songs which are quite nice and add a cozy element to the game.”
    • “Mainly, all the dialogue, mini-games, music, and enemy cycles just felt tedious, and obscured what I had hoped to be a pleasant synergy/efficiency roguelite game.”
  • replayability
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game boasts strong replayability through various modes, including achievements, puzzle challenges, and different difficulty levels, which keep the experience fresh and engaging. Players appreciate the addictive nature of the gameplay, with options like endless and sandbox modes enhancing replay value. Overall, the diverse content and challenges ensure that players remain eager to return for more.

    • “Between achievements, puzzle mode, challenges, and endless mode, the game offers solid replay value and keeps things fresh.”
    • “A truly engrossing, unique, highly replayable roguelite city builder and resource management game that I simply cannot stop playing.”
    • “The puzzles, endless, and sandbox modes add a fair bit of replayability, although the story section is fairly quick to complete and not terribly difficult on its own (impossible difficulty is a different story, though).”
    • “There seems to be a lot of content to ensure replayability among the different modes.”
    • “I like that the storyline is available at different difficulties and that there are other game modes with daily challenges to keep up the replayability.”
  • atmosphere
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its stunning artwork and complementary soundtrack, creating an immersive experience that enhances gameplay. Players express a strong emotional connection to the atmosphere, which contributes to their enjoyment and engagement with the game. Overall, it is described as a captivating environment that encourages extended playtime.

    • “Personally, I really enjoy the atmosphere, the artwork, and the music.”
    • “The art style is quite amazing; paired with the soundtrack, it creates a really perfect atmosphere for the style of game.”
    • “Fell in love with the atmosphere of this game ever since the demo, and still love it and the gameplay loop of exploration and development.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's interface is well-optimized for gamepad use, enhancing the overall user experience. Successfully completing mini-games can significantly impact resource management, especially at higher difficulty levels, making optimization a key element of gameplay.

    • “The whole thing is wrapped up in a really charming interface that is optimized for gamepad.”
    • “Doing well in a mini game either provides bonus resources or reduces the cost of resources required, and while they aren't difficult, maximizing your performance in them can make a large difference in the higher difficulty levels.”
    • “The optimization in this game is severely lacking, leading to frustrating performance issues.”
    • “The game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, especially during intense moments.”
    • “I often experience long loading times, which disrupts the flow of gameplay.”
  • stability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game generally performs well, especially on the Steam Deck, where users report good stability and low battery drain. However, some players have encountered freezing issues when using a controller, necessitating a manual restart.

    • “Runs great on the Steam Deck and barely drains the battery :)”
    • “Runs great on the Deck, super fun to play and creates a great little atmosphere - I'll be sinking tons of hours into this.”
    • “I have run into a bug when playing on controller and trying to restart; the game just freezes and I need to manually restart it. I didn't see a way to report a bug, so I thought I'd leave a comment.”
  • emotional
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players appreciate the game's emotional depth, noting its reflection on resource extraction and ecological themes, which alleviates guilt associated with in-game actions. The cute and wholesome dialogue, along with unexpected references, adds to the overall emotional support the game provides, making it a comforting experience for many.

    • “I like how the story reflects on resource extraction games, conveying an ecological message that made me feel less guilty when cutting down trees.”
    • “The cute and wholesome dialogue, along with some surprise references, really adds to the emotional depth of the game.”
    • “I need this game for emotional support after seeing the reviews.”
  • monetization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization of the game is perceived positively, with players appreciating its affordability and expressing a willingness to engage with ads due to the game's quality. However, there is a desire for additional content to enhance the experience further.

  • grinding
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and repetitive, particularly criticizing the witch's hut mechanics and the overall dialogue, mini-games, and enemy cycles that detract from the intended enjoyment of the roguelite experience.

    • “It's easy to abuse the witch's hut, and very tedious.”
    • “Mainly, all the dialogue, mini-games, music, and enemy cycles just felt tedious, and obscured what I had hoped to be a pleasant synergy/efficiency roguelite game.”
  • humor
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players appreciate the humor in the game, highlighting the amusing characters they encounter and the whimsical nature of the poetic universe. The blend of humor with engaging puzzles and challenges enhances the overall experience.

    • “I loved exploring this poetic universe, meeting funny characters along the way, protecting the light against the shadow, and engaging with the puzzles and challenges the game offers.”
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38h Median play time
26h Average play time
2-50h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Dawnfolk is a survival city builder game with fantasy theme.

Dawnfolk is available on PC, Mac OS, Steam Deck, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 26 hours playing Dawnfolk.

Dawnfolk was released on February 13, 2025.

Dawnfolk was developed by Darenn Keller.

Dawnfolk has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its replayability.

Dawnfolk is a single player game.

Similar games include Thronefall, Against the Storm, dotAGE, Shogun Showdown, Town to City and others.