Dwarfs F2P

About

Dwarfs F2P is a single player casual strategy game. It was developed by Power of 2 and was released on October 18, 2012. It received positive reviews from players.

Dwarfs!? is an addictive, fast paced arcade-like experience, with plenty of difficulty levels and game modes, in the tradition of great games such as “Lemmings” and “Dwarf Fortress”.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,062 reviews

gameplay21 positive mentions

monetization3 negative mentions

The game features charming visuals and a fun mix of resource gathering, building, and combat mechanics.
It's a great time killer, allowing for both short and long play sessions, making it easy to pick up and play.
The voice acting by Simon from the Yogscast adds a humorous touch, enhancing the overall experience.

The game suffers from aggressive monetization, with significant content locked behind paywalls, making progress slow without spending money.
The AI of the dwarfs can be frustrating, as they often make poor decisions that lead to unnecessary deaths and chaos.
Many players report crashes and bugs, particularly on certain platforms, which detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.

gameplay
55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
55%
7%
The gameplay is characterized as addictive and chaotic, with a mix of interesting mechanics that can feel simplistic or clunky at times. While some players appreciate the fun and humor, others find the mechanics too childish or lacking depth, leading to a gameplay experience that can be both enjoyable and frustrating. Overall, it offers a decent balance of fast-paced action and strategic elements, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its simplicity and occasional confusion.
- “The gameplay is addictive and well thought out, if a little clunky in some ways.”
- “This game is incredibly fun to play, and can easily give you hours of gameplay.”
- “Great graphics, gameplay, controls, music, animation, dialogue; you name it, they nailed it.”
- “Battles between warriors and monsters similarly lack that snappy feeling, but for fights it’s due to a lack of mechanical depth.”
- “The only mechanic available to 'micro' your warriors is to step them back and rotate them when they get low on HP, but the situations where this is relevant (bosses) are also the least fun to do so because boss attacks are highly telegraphed and bosses are incapable of moving.”
- “Gameplay: very unappealing to me, not what I expected even though I didn't expect much and there is no story you can follow that I can find.”
graphics
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
52%
10%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players criticizing the pixel art as lazy and outdated, while others appreciate its charm and simplicity. Many find the visuals to be adequate for the gameplay experience, noting that they are not groundbreaking but still enjoyable, especially for those with lower-end systems. Overall, the graphics are described as cartoonish and fun, contributing positively to the game's overall appeal despite some reservations about their quality.
- “Fun and adorable graphics, and best of all: free!”
- “The graphics are beautiful and detailed for a 2D game.”
- “Great graphics, gameplay, controls, music, animation, dialogue; you name it, they nailed it.”
- “This feature is really godawful, lazy pixel crap 'art' instead of real graphics.”
- “The game's graphics have an old look to them, with a horrendously old-fashioned main menu design, which put me off at first.”
- “All in all, the game isn't next-gen and people who are even looking at this shouldn't be expecting groundbreaking graphics.”
music
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
37%
16%
The music in the game is generally well-received, described as relaxing and fitting, enhancing the overall gameplay experience. While some players find it enjoyable and immersive, others note that it can become repetitive over extended play sessions. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, though opinions vary on its long-term appeal.
- “The gameplay is fun and the music is amazing; it was also voiced by Simon from the Yogscast.”
- “There are a few songs on the soundtrack from this game, and they're all very relaxing, giving the game a zen feeling most of the time. However, when lava, water, or boss fights break out, it can feel like running out of air in Sonic, but the music is fantastic otherwise.”
- “The music is very relaxing normally but quickly becomes tense if there is danger, and can be relied on to understand which sound indicates which danger, as almost all of them are unique.”
- “There is only one thing I can say about this game that bothers me: the music.”
- “As soon as I got in, I had to mute everything; the narration and music were a little grating.”
- “I think if one played this game repeatedly for hours, the music might get tiresome, but it shouldn't if you play it in moderation.”
humor
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is widely praised for its humor, featuring funny dialogues and a charming premise that keeps players entertained. The voice acting, particularly by YogsCast's Simon as the king dwarf, adds a delightful touch to the comedic elements, making the tutorials and gameplay enjoyable. Overall, players find the humor to be a significant highlight, contributing to the game's addictive and relaxing nature.
- “It has funny dialogues, an interesting premise, and overall a good theme to it.”
- “The game also features some humorous tutorials with a dwarf voiced by Yogscast's Simon, which was a nice surprise.”
- “A funny game where your little dwarfs mine into hazardous tunnels where they'll go where they want to unless you keep an eye on them.”
story
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its absence, with many users noting that there is no coherent narrative or plot to follow. Instead, the gameplay focuses on collecting gold and completing short missions, reminiscent of games like Minesweeper and MapleStory, but lacking a meaningful story mode. Overall, players express disappointment in the minimal storytelling elements, rating it as virtually nonexistent.
- “While this game isn't fully equipped with a story and plot, it's interesting and might remind you of Minesweeper in some aspects.”
- “It's a cute little game and the only real story or purpose is to get as much gold as possible.”
- “Maybe not for a long time, but since the missions are quite short, it's pleasant to just play a game or two before going to sleep.”
- “Its a cute little game and the only real story or purpose is to get as much gold as possible.”
- “Gameplay: very unappealing to me, not what I expected even though I didn't expect much and no story you can follow that I can find.”
- “Story: 0/10 - there is none.”
monetization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The monetization strategy of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users criticizing it as exploitative due to expensive DLC that locks significant content behind paywalls, labeling it a cash grab. Conversely, others appreciate the free-to-play model that avoids microtransactions, although they note that purchasing the full game is necessary for access to all modes and to support the developers. Overall, opinions vary widely on the fairness and ethics of the game's monetization approach.
- “The free-to-play version is exactly that: free to play, with no microtransactions at all. However, you do have to buy the full game if you want all of the modes or otherwise want to support the developer.”
- “Then, they doubled down on this nastiness by locking chunks of the game behind huge amounts of stupidly expensive DLC. This is basically a cash grab scam from Tripwire, who never fail to work out new ways to be as unethical as possible.”
- “It should be free for all of it, no microtransactions.”
- “The free-to-play version is exactly that: free to play, no microtransactions at all; however, you do have to buy the full game if you want all of the modes or otherwise want to support the developer.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Players consistently highlight the game's strong replayability, noting that it remains enjoyable and engaging even after multiple playthroughs. The simplicity of the gameplay contributes to its lasting appeal, making it a fun experience worth revisiting.
- “It's a great and fun game, lots of replay value!”
- “It's pretty simple, but the replayability is definitely there.”
- “It's pretty simple, but the replayability is definitely lacking.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization is highly praised, allowing smooth performance even on lower-end devices like laptops. Players appreciate how the scoring system effectively encourages repeated attempts, enhancing the overall experience.
- “The optimization in the game is truly top-notch; I can play it on my laptop while being scrubbed in the pool.”
- “The score in this case is still used fantastically to measure your performance, encouraging you to give it one more shot, similar to Tetris.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report stability issues, particularly with achievements not transferring properly from the retail version and save game problems, including tutorial saves failing to load. Despite these bugs, players still find the game enjoyable.
- “The achievements, though not hard to get, are a bit buggy in that they don't all seem to transfer from the retail version.”
- “Lots of fun, though kind of buggy; my achievements didn't save, and my tutorial save game doesn't load anymore.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious due to the constant need for micromanagement, as units often act independently rather than following commands. While some acknowledge this can be challenging, many feel it detracts from overall enjoyment.
- “You're forced to micromanage all your units constantly because after a few seconds they decide to do what they want instead of what you just told them, which I find tedious instead of 'challenging' as I'm sure that's what the devs were going for.”
- “It can get a bit tedious at times but still it's enjoyable.”