Dinky Guardians

About

In "Dinky Guardians," players aim to repopulate the galaxy with Dinkys, ensuring their safety and automating everything. This task begins by cloning the first Dinky, gathering food, and assigning tasks. As the colony grows, players can research new tech, build automated machines, and launch rockets to colonize other worlds with varying resources. To protect Dinkys from nighttime Zumbys, players must set up smart mines and towers armed with various ammunition. The ultimate goal is to repopulate and automate the galaxy.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 82 reviews

gameplay8 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game features a charming art style and engaging gameplay mechanics that make it fun and addictive.
The user interface is intuitive and well-designed, allowing for easy navigation and control.
The game offers a unique blend of automation and tower defense elements, providing a satisfying gameplay loop.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and technical issues, including game-breaking bugs that halt progress.
Multiplayer functionality is severely broken, often leading to unplayable experiences and loading issues.
The game feels unfinished and lacks essential quality of life features, such as key remapping and a comprehensive options menu.

gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
21%
21%
The gameplay of Dinky Guardians is praised for its fun and unique mechanics, particularly the resource gathering and building aspects, which are engaging and casual. However, many players feel the game lacks depth and polish, citing issues like jarring camera movements, information overload, and minor bugs that detract from the overall experience. While the core gameplay loop is enjoyable, there is a consensus that it feels unfinished and would benefit from additional quality-of-life improvements and complexity in future updates.
- “Love the game concept and mechanics.”
- “Interesting and unique gameplay.”
- “I really enjoyed the simple mechanics; they can really keep you occupied for a while.”
- “There is a really strong game in here somewhere, but most of the mechanics that are there feel shallow and lack depth.”
- “I definitely liked the gameplay feel of this game, but it was lacking, to be brutally honest.”
- “Also, there are some tiny bugs like characters getting stuck while trying to refill energy and some debug texts left in the main gameplay, which shouldn't be the case in a full release, in my opinion.”
graphics
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's graphics are praised for their fun, cartoony style and appealing animations, contributing to an enjoyable visual experience. However, some players noted issues with sound effects and a lack of graphical settings, which could detract from the overall immersion. Despite these concerns, the unique art style and smooth performance on various platforms are highlighted positively.
- “I recommend this game to anyone who wants a calm but fun game with cute graphics and interesting building mechanics.”
- “The first thing that I noticed about certain parts of the game is the lack of sounds. For example, there seems to be no sounds when taking off in your rocket ship, during some interactions, or when hitting zombies. There are times when the game is almost completely silent, even the music has stopped playing. I'm not sure if it's a bug or if the music just stops playing at night on purpose, but there is always no music at night after the zombies are eliminated. The combat is another issue; while I know you're mainly fighting with your defenses like mines and turrets, the combat would be a bit nicer if you could just go up and punch them instead of it being an action. Additionally, there should be sound effects for hitting them. Lastly, I want to talk about the options menu and the lack of settings. I don't think graphical settings are necessary in a game like this, but there is a serious lack of keybinds, which can make the game unplayable for some people, and the inability to change the game's resolution is frustrating.”
- “The graphics are cartoony, which suits me well.”
- “Love the unique art style as well.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating its whimsical nature and fit with the game's presentation. However, there are notable issues, including a lack of variety in tracks, instances of silence during gameplay, and overlapping soundtracks that detract from immersion. Overall, while the music enhances the experience, improvements in sound effects and track diversity are desired.
- “I love the presentation and the whimsical music that accompanies it well.”
- “I also like the music tracks that are in the game; I think they fit well, but there could be a few more different tracks.”
- “Things I would add to improve this game are cooler music, and the game would be awesome.”
- “The first thing that I noticed about certain parts of the game is the lack of sounds. For example, there seems to be no sounds when taking off in your rocket ship, during some interactions, or when hitting zombies. There are times when the game is almost completely silent, even the music has stopped playing. I'm not sure if it's a bug or if the music just stops playing at night on purpose, but there is always no music at night after the zombies are eliminated.”
- “The soundtracks can play on top of each other and also sometimes clip in and out, which takes away from the immersion.”
- “But sometimes I think they need to focus on other skills like music and art to really make their games pop.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Overall, users report significant stability issues, with one player expressing regret for not waiting for a more stable release. However, another user on Linux noted that the game runs well, experiencing only minor graphical glitches during the intro.
- “I'm playing the game on Linux and it runs great with only a few minor graphical hiccups in the intro sequence.”
- “Way too buggy, and I wish I had waited for this game to be more stable before picking it up.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players feel that the presence of a foundational structure in the game enhances the grinding experience, transforming it from a tedious task into an engaging and strategic endeavor that maintains a sense of momentum.
- “There is something about having this first level of scaffolding that seems to be the difference (for me and my co-op partner) between an engaging and strategic experience with a sense of momentum and a tedious mess.”
- “The grinding feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay motivated to continue playing.”
- “I find myself doing the same tasks over and over again, which takes away from the enjoyment of the game.”
story
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story is characterized by a streamlined introduction that quickly engages players, accompanied by a variety of quests and numerous activities to explore, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.