Dwarven Skykeep
- April 25, 2019
- Dwarven Skykeep
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Dwarven Skykeep" is a card-based tower defense game where you, as a mage, construct a magical tower to find the lost citadel of Dwarves. With a limited deck capacity, you'll acquire new cards throughout levels to build your tower, place rooms, spellcast, and repair. Strategic decisions are crucial in building rooms efficiently and choosing the right cards for your deck to shape your late-game strategy.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features beautiful pixel art and charming animations that enhance the overall experience.
- It offers a unique blend of base building, deck management, and tower defense mechanics that can be engaging and fun.
- The humor and quirky dialogues throughout the game add a delightful touch to the gameplay.
- The game suffers from frustrating RNG mechanics that can lead to soft failures and make progress feel overly reliant on luck.
- Controls are clunky and awkward, making the gameplay experience uncomfortable at times.
- There are numerous bugs and design flaws, including poor hitboxes and confusing tutorials, which detract from the overall enjoyment.
- story21 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized as cute and humorous, featuring engaging characters like Dr. Sevendar Kness and his interactions with a raven, set within a whimsical adventure framework. However, the storytelling suffers from weak writing and grammar, with quests often feeling more like chores than enjoyable challenges. While the narrative has potential, its execution is hampered by gameplay issues and a reliance on RNG, making it difficult for players to fully appreciate the story.
“Nice and cute, story-puzzle adventure!”
“This is a funny little adventure game played in chapters that reveal a bigger story.”
“The story is fun and funny, but you don't have to read everything to enjoy the game.”
“And all of it involves dreary clicking here and there just to advance the story.”
“The writing is a seriously weak attempt at storytelling and grammar.”
“But multiple bugs in the tutorial and a bunch of early missions where you have no offensive abilities do not incline toward fun, in my opinion, even if it is occasionally funny.”
- gameplay20 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a unique blend of card mechanics, base building, and tower defense, offering a mix of tactical challenges and strategic depth. While many players appreciate the cute story, art style, and addictive nature of the gameplay, there are notable criticisms regarding its execution, with some mechanics feeling cumbersome and basic gameplay flaws remaining unaddressed. Overall, it presents a charming yet flawed experience that may require further refinement to fully satisfy players.
“It's quite an unusual blend of card mechanics, time management, building, and tower defense.”
“You have deep combinational game mechanics and an endless stream of tactical problems coming at you.”
“Dwarven Skykeep is a unique base-building RPG that blends deck-building mechanics with tower defense gameplay.”
“Crucially, the mechanics differ a little from the original game - where the deck building and management worked - to this game, where they largely are a pain.”
“But it's been pointed out that there are basic gameplay flaws that haven't been addressed yet.”
“I only played in Goblin World when the demo was available, but now I am in Shadow World, where the gameplay changed a lot.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming pixel art style, which enhances the overall aesthetic and atmosphere. Players appreciate the detailed visuals and the cozy vibes they create, contributing to an enjoyable gaming experience. However, some critiques mention that while the art style is appealing, the execution and level design may detract from the overall enjoyment.
“I'm in love with the art style, by the way.”
“Dwarves, beer, magic towers, and beautiful pixel art graphics.”
“Cosy vibes, rather easy to learn base mechanics, beautiful pixel art aesthetic, and lovely music will make this game an awesome weekend afternoon.”
- humor13 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, featuring a mix of cute animations, hilarious voice acting, and a unique blend of postmodern self-aware jokes that resonate well with fans of nerdy and traditional fantasy tropes. While some players found the humor occasionally overwhelming or distracting, many enjoyed the comedic elements woven throughout the gameplay, making it an entertaining experience overall. However, the game's early bugs and tutorial issues may detract from the enjoyment for some players.
“I love its pixel art and funny little animations :3”
“An amusing game, cute humor, a delightful fairytale world.”
“Just about everything has a comedic bent, so it'll probably irk anyone who doesn't get the humor, but if you do, it'll keep you entertained the entire time.”
- music10 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, creating a magical and cozy vibe that complements the pixel art and sound design. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a key element that contributes to the game's charm and enjoyment, making it a delightful experience for players. Overall, the combination of engaging music and appealing graphics leaves a lasting positive impression.
“Music envelopes you with the mood.”
“Great pixel art, great sound design and music, hilarious voice acting.”
“Cosy vibes, rather easy to learn base mechanics, beautiful pixel art aesthetic and lovely music will make this game for an awesome weekend afternoon.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, featuring a captivating blend of multifaceted strategy and charming pixel graphics, complemented by enchanting music that enhances the overall magical experience.
“I have just passed the tutorial, and I'm already in love with the atmosphere.”
“At first glance, it's an interesting multifaceted strategy game with construction elements. The pixel graphics look nice, and the music creates the perfect magical atmosphere.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is criticized for being poor, particularly in train levels, which are seen as overly reliant on random number generation (RNG) and designed for expert players, often necessitating a walkthrough for completion.
“But it's also horribly optimized, designed for experts, and requires a walkthrough for the three tower mission. It's almost entirely RNG dependent, especially in the train levels.”
“The optimization is a mess; the game struggles to run smoothly even on high-end systems.”
“I encountered frequent frame drops and long loading times, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
