DwarfCorp

About

DwarfCorp is a single player city builder game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by holeydonutgames and was released on July 13, 2017. It received neutral reviews from players.

In DwarfCorp, lead a colony of ruthless capitalist dwarves in their quest for profit in a strange new land inhabited by hostile and savage creatures. Build your colony from scratch, trade with the natives, broker deals with the dwarven motherland, and defend your colony from invaders and monsters. Featuring A procedurally generated 3D world full of hazardsBuilding above and undergroundCrafting, …

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

52%

Audience ScoreBased on 140 reviews

graphics6 positive mentions

stability19 negative mentions

The game has a charming art style and a unique concept that combines elements of Dwarf Fortress and Minecraft.
There is potential for the game to evolve into something great, with frequent updates and an active development team.
The gameplay can be enjoyable and addictive, especially for fans of colony management and simulation games.

The game is riddled with bugs, crashes frequently, and has significant performance issues, making it nearly unplayable at times.
The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, leading to confusion and frustration during gameplay.
Many players feel the game is unfinished and lacks depth, with limited content and features that need significant improvement.

stability
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
90%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous reports of severe bugs, glitches, and crashes that hinder gameplay. Many users express frustration over the lack of ongoing support and updates, suggesting that the game remains unfinished and unpolished even after years in development. While a few players report minimal issues, the overall consensus is that the game is currently too buggy to recommend.
- “I like that the focus is on the bug fixes at the moment; they seem to be producing updates regularly too. A bug-free experience is the way to be.”
- “Just don't expect a bug-free or complete game; it's still very early access!”
- “Game is a buggy mess and the dev has not worked on the game for over a year from this post.”
- “Current version is buggy as hell and it does not seem as though there is any more support or development for this game, so the issues are very unlikely to be fixed.”
- “Bought and played the game almost 3 years and somehow now it is even more buggy; can't recommend it at all.”
graphics
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
43%
19%
The graphics of the game are praised for their beautiful retro style and vibrant art, often compared favorably to titles like Dwarf Fortress and RimWorld. While the pixel art and 2D sprites combined with 3D environments evoke a nostalgic feel, the user interface is criticized for being clunky and difficult to navigate. Overall, the graphics are seen as a strong point, but the game still requires further development and polish to reach its full potential.
- “Graphically, this game is definitely superior to games like Dwarf Fortress or RimWorld, which are probably the two best examples of the genre.”
- “I love the art style and the voices.”
- “The art style is beautiful; the UI is kind of clunky when trying to distinguish what from what, but other than that, great game.”
- “Sadly, while this game is definitely superior graphically, the user interface is terrible, the tutorial is backwards, and there are so many issues that make it difficult to get a colony established that I cannot recommend this to anyone.”
- “While DF will always be the king, it is really showing its age at this point, and I don't mean the graphics.”
- “Bugs notwithstanding, it's still relatively barebones; with some polishing and added features, though, it could very well be the graphical Dwarf Fortress we've all been waiting for this past decade.”
gameplay
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
The gameplay experience is marred by frequent bugs and crashes, limiting playtime to just a couple of hours before frustration sets in. While the game shows potential with its complex mechanics reminiscent of titles like Dwarf Fortress, it currently lacks depth, content, and stability, leading many players to find it unenjoyable and recommend waiting for future updates. Overall, the gameplay feels unfinished and is hindered by performance issues, making it difficult to fully engage with the game's mechanics.
- “I've only played it for a little over an hour, just enough to see some bugs, get a feel for the gameplay, and give my first impressions.”
- “I love games like Dwarf Fortress, and this one definitely twists DF to have similar mechanics but is a lot simpler for the more casual player.”
- “It's easy to understand and yet involves a lot of the complex mechanics from the original game.”
- “Bugs, crashes, and a way too different gameplay from older versions, no fun at all.”
- “Extremely limited content and depth of gameplay.”
- “Overall it's staying in my 'do not recommend pile' because despite the idea being great and super fun sounding, in practice it's just boring. I spent the whole time battling with the game to get anything done, not to mention the amount of hidden mechanics and sometimes broken menus.”
optimization
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with users reporting significant performance issues, including high resource usage, lag, freezing, and stuttering, especially during intense gameplay with multiple characters. Many players note that the game only utilizes a single core, leading to severe drops in frame rates, while some have experienced save game corruption. Despite these issues, a few players did not encounter performance problems, indicating a mixed experience overall.
- “Definitely needs an optimization update... good otherwise.”
- “I still recommend it, but I'd like a performance boost update soon!”
- “For me, I didn't notice any performance issues.”
- “I'm not gonna lie, the game is currently horribly optimized and you'll most likely experience save game corruptions and horrendous lag.”
- “But after a few hours the game starts freezing and stuttering so bad it becomes unplayable.”
- “Performance issues after 2-3 hours (and I can't save, so sad).”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the humor in the game, highlighting the clever and amusing names that add charm, as well as the engaging and accessible tutorial that enhances the overall experience.
- “The tutorial was helpful and easy to understand; the splice tool was a brilliant idea, and the unique names made me laugh!”
- “The humor in the dialogue kept me entertained throughout the game, making even the most mundane tasks enjoyable.”
- “I loved the quirky characters and their witty one-liners; they added a delightful charm to the overall experience.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users note that the game's replayability has improved significantly with the latest update, making it smoother and more enjoyable compared to previous versions from 2 and 4 years ago.
- “The latest update is so much smoother and more enjoyable to play.”
- “The game offers a variety of choices that make each playthrough feel unique.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to navigation issues and the AI behavior of dwarven characters, which can lead to frustrating situations like getting stuck. Additionally, adding more dwarfs can significantly impact performance, causing frame rate drops that hinder gameplay.
- “However, when I started playing, I found navigating to be tedious, and my dwarven crew was off fighting whatever, chasing raiders and goblin traders, and generally getting themselves stuck on blocks (underwater).”
- “Three additional hired dwarves on top of the starting set of five, around an hour into the game, cause the FPS to come to a grinding halt on my system.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is generally enjoyable and provides a decent ambiance, though some players feel it lacks originality. There is hope that future updates will introduce more varied tracks to enhance the overall experience.
- “The music is enjoyable.”
- “The music is good and provides a decent ambiance, but it lacks originality. I'm sure there will be changes or as more music is added, that view will change.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players are drawn to the game for its appealing visuals and immersive atmosphere, which enhance the overall experience and align well with its intriguing concept.
- “I bought the game because I love the visuals, the atmosphere, and the concept.”
story
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The current reviews indicate that the game lacks a developed story, with some users expressing concern that it feels more like an unfinished game engine than a complete narrative experience.
- “I will be keeping an eye on it, but as for right now it's just a game engine with no story and a lot of stuff that's broken.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers express a strong sense of confidence in the developers' emotional direction, indicating that the game's emotional impact resonates positively and aligns well with their expectations.