Dwerve
- May 31, 2022
- Half Human Games
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"Dwerve is a single-player fantasy RPG with an intriguing story and stellar tower defense gameplay. Unearth lost technologies to protect the dwarves from the Witch-Queen's army and solve puzzles in the ruined kingdom. Upgrade your turrets, traps, and artifacts to fight epic boss battles in this dungeon crawler with phenomenal graphics and music."
iPad
iPhone
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Phone
Playstation 5
Steam Deck
Windows
Android
Linux
Mobile Platform
PlayStation
Tablet
Reviews
- The game features a charming art style and vibrant pixel graphics that enhance the overall experience.
- Dwerve combines tower defense mechanics with action-adventure gameplay, offering a unique and engaging experience.
- The game has a fun and interesting story, with a variety of turrets and strategies to experiment with during combat.
- The gameplay can become repetitive, with players often facing similar enemy encounters and objectives throughout the game.
- There are significant bugs and glitches that can hinder progress, leading to frustration during gameplay.
- The character movement is slow, and the limited number of turrets that can be placed at a time restricts strategic options.
- story77 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 49 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its unique blend of action and tower defense elements, engaging characters, and charming graphics, while others find it linear, repetitive, and at times, boring. Many appreciate the rich narrative and well-crafted dialogue, though some feel it drags on and could benefit from a more streamlined approach. Overall, the story is seen as enjoyable but not groundbreaking, with a mix of compelling moments and familiar tropes.
“I really love the story so far and the art!”
“There's a huge variety of enemies to combat and the story is good enough to make you want to know what happens next.”
“The main character looks awesome and the story is very rich.”
“Another part is the boring story; it works since it's not the main focus, but it's still not very motivating. I find myself skipping every bit of dialogue that shows up.”
“However, it soon became boring as the story is very linear; your objective is to go to A, then it asks you to go to B, then C, and so on.”
“The story is pretty bad... and the game focuses too much on its story.”
- gameplay69 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Dwerve" combines tower defense mechanics with dungeon crawling, offering a unique blend of strategy and action that many players find engaging. However, the experience can become repetitive due to similar enemy encounters and objectives, and some mechanics feel underdeveloped or clunky. While the game features solid graphics and a charming story, its core gameplay loop may not appeal to everyone, leading to mixed reviews on its overall execution.
“The core gameplay of 'dwerve' revolves around dungeon crawling and tower defense combat.”
“The combat mechanics are solid, offering a satisfying mix of strategy and action as players fend off increasingly challenging foes.”
“Really neat tower-based gameplay, engaging story and characters.”
“However, the gameplay can feel repetitive, with players facing similar enemy encounters and objectives throughout their journey.”
“Some things are hard to interact with, sometimes the game glitches and you get stuck out of bounds, but the worst and most disappointing aspect of this game is that the core gameplay is... boring.”
“I'd say this is a fine game, but the gameplay loop of 'run around -> find a key -> open a door -> repeat' just doesn't appeal to me.”
- graphics21 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of "dwerve" are widely praised for their vibrant and detailed pixel art style, which effectively brings the game's world to life with charming visuals and a nostalgic feel. Players appreciate the clean character sprites and varied environments, although some critique certain elements that feel out of place within the overall aesthetic. Overall, the art style and graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal, enhancing both the gameplay and storytelling experience.
“The art style is very nostalgic and has great color palettes.”
“Great soundtrack, charming graphics & story, and the combat becomes really fun and chaotic once you start getting past the tutorial/beginning.”
“- really well done pixel art graphics, from character sprites to the tilesets, everything is very clean and original and creates a very unique atmosphere.”
“For example, the lily pads didn't fit the general art style in my opinion.”
“Likewise, I feel like the close-up shots of the characters during dialogue went for a more realistic form of pixel art than was appropriate for the general cutesy and relaxed art style of the gameplay.”
“Aerie burping and such felt out of place given the rest of the aesthetics of the game.”
- music11 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 9 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The music in "Dwerve" is widely praised for its quality and ability to enhance the game's atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its charm and effectiveness in setting the mood. While some find the soundtrack memorable and fitting, others feel it is somewhat forgettable in the context of the overall experience. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's indie charm and complements its pixel art and gameplay mechanics.
“Great soundtrack, charming graphics & story, and the combat becomes really fun and chaotic once you start getting past the tutorial/beginning.”
“The soundtrack is surprisingly good and catches the mood in areas.”
“Really intuitive design, emotive music, and so, so many pretty pixels.”
“It's kind of RPG, kind of tower defense, but doesn't do either particularly well, and the music and story are pretty forgettable.”
“While I still definitely think the game is worth a purchase, the music is unfortunately one of the minor issues that have resulted in my putting the game down after about only 20 minutes of gameplay.”
“The music is emotive, but it doesn't stand out enough to leave a lasting impression.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, often feeling that the upgrade system is unclear and not worth the effort spent gathering resources. The slow pacing due to lengthy dialogues and puzzles further contributes to a sense of monotony, making combat feel repetitive and less engaging. Overall, while there are enjoyable elements, the grind can detract from the overall experience.
“Where the problem is though, is that the upgrade trees are obscured so you don't know if a particular branch is going to be worth the investment of the scrap that you tediously gathered (largely by standing still to break pots/crates and then walking into the absolutely tiny magnetism range).”
“Sometimes felt tedious to travel around the map and autoattack pots for a single coin.”
“Well there is a solid game here, the slow pacing from the puzzles and the lengthy dialog makes it very tedious to play the game, and with so little progression from the very limited tower upgrades and the fact you can only use 4 towers at a time, you'd be better off just choosing the 4 best towers, then just upgrading them exclusively since it takes a decent chunk of time to max out the very small tech tree for them.”
- stability5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
The game experiences significant stability issues, including frequent bugs, glitches that can cause players to get stuck, and occasional freezes and crashes. While it runs well on the Steam Deck, the overall gameplay experience is marred by these technical problems.
“It runs great on the Steam Deck with a 40 fps frame limit, consuming around 8 watts, and it should last 4-5 hours.”
“It's pretty buggy.”
“Some things are hard to interact with; sometimes the game glitches and you get stuck out of bounds. The worst and most disappointing aspect of this game is that the core gameplay is... boring.”
“The game suffers from some glitches, and the difficulty curve is a rollercoaster.”
- character development3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is highlighted by charming designs and smooth animations that enhance its overall presentation. While the visuals and story are praised, some reviewers feel that the character development does not stand out significantly, despite the appealing aesthetics and unique mechanics.
“The character designs are charming, and the animations are smooth, adding to the overall polish of the game's presentation.”
“The game is great, and I love it. The story and the graphics are great, the mechanics are fun and unique, and the character designs are top-notch.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game receives mixed feedback; while some players find the story enjoyable and wholesome, others feel it lacks depth and motivation, leading them to skip dialogue. Overall, it may evoke some feelings, but it doesn't reach the emotional impact of other titles.
“The game and dialogue feel wholesome.”
“The story is pretty enjoyable, with a few twists, but I have been more emotionally moved in other games.”
“The story is boring and not very motivating; I find myself skipping every bit of dialogue that shows up.”
“The emotional depth is lacking, making it hard to connect with the characters or care about their journeys.”
“I expected a more engaging narrative, but the emotional aspects fell flat and left me feeling disconnected.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is criticized for its lack of replayability, with many players noting its linear structure, minimal character development, and absence of secrets or alternative paths. Suggestions for improvement include implementing meaningful progression systems that allow player choices to impact gameplay mechanics.
“Locking players into short but meaningful progression trees where their decisions affect the mechanics of gameplay will really help replayability.”
“I walked away feeling like it was missing something after the last battle, and there isn't a whole lot of replay value unless you want to impose artificial limits on your play.”
“Zero replayability; it's linear with no backtracking, very little RPG or character building, and no secrets to find.”
“Locking players into short but meaningful progression trees where their decisions affect the mechanics of gameplay would really help replayability.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a familiar fantasy narrative enriched by interesting characters and strong writing, despite relying on common tropes. Additionally, the well-executed pixel art graphics contribute to a unique and visually appealing environment, enhancing the overall experience.
“While the story is what you'd expect from a fantasy atmosphere, it still has interesting characters and good writing despite using the same tropes that you would expect.”
“The pixel art graphics are really well done, from character sprites to the tilesets; everything is very clean and original, creating a very unique atmosphere.”
