The Dwarf Run - Review @ RPGCodex

Bubbles (RPGCodex) has reviewed the indie RPG The Dwarf Run:

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The Dwarf Run is primarily a combat game, and a surprisingly good one at that. Sure, it has a number of flaws (most obviously the opaque movement system, the janky camera, and the mediocre AI), but it also offers enough complexity and variety to keep a seasoned RPG player fully engaged from start to finish. For a tiny indie operation from Russia, this is already a great feat; but even in comparison with other modern combat-heavy games, TDR looks pretty good. Pillars of Eternity is certainly a much bigger and grander game, but it's also insidiously buggy, vulnerable to overleveling and rest spam, and stuffed full of trash mobs, which are completely absent from TDR. Blackguards 1 features higher production values and a slightly larger array of spells and abilities, but its balance and difficulty curve are badly out of whack, and the writing is generally snoozy; meanwhile, TDR (on the hardest difficulty setting) offers a continuously challenging, well-tuned experience. And say what you want about TDR's writing, but it's certainly never boring or predictable.

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Good game. It's worth a lot more than the $9 he's charging for it. Everyone here should check it out.

It's brutally difficult at times though. I started on the middle difficulty and ended up lowering it to the easiest which is like normal for most games.

I picked it up today (its on sale for 60% off on Steam). I probably would have passed on it all together if it wasn't for this review. Good review, Bubbles. You sold me.

Played it a day or three after it was released due to a friend raving about it, and he was spot on, what a great game. You simply cannot go wrong with this gem, and you are missing out if you don't play it.

Okay, I'm game.

$3.60? OK, I'll give it a whirl if you guys say so,

Certainly worth a go…

I like the game very much. When i bought it arena battles were already shortened, so it went flawlessly for me. Interestingly, it is similar concept to the World's End http://www.kongregate.com/games/Mezz…-end-chapter-1 just like Alexander Mirdzveli (dev himself) mentioned.

I started this last night. Pretty basic graphics and the heads are much larger in proportion to the rest of the body. Do Russians really look like this? There hasn't been anything special in this so far, but I'm just in the first little cave area. If it is just a series of battles and simple puzzles, I'll get bored real quick, but since it was only $4…

It is but it's quite good for cheap …

How big is it, Pladio? Have you finished it?

I finished it yesterday morning. I played it for 40 hours according to Steam, but I'd subtract a few hours because I tend to leave games running while I eat, etc.

I was surprised to see the 40 hours because it didn't feel that long. That's usually a good sign.

Originally Posted by crpgnut
How big is it, Pladio? Have you finished it?

Not 100% sure.
I didn't finish as I did get bored of the fights in the end.
I played for around 10-15 hours I think.

Great game, finished it before I started doing Final Fantasy games a few months ago. If you like turn based games and dwarves, with a bit of humour tossed in, this is totally worth the plunge.

I got bored around chapter 3. The game is character builds and turn-based battles and that's basically it. Not enough variety for me. I need more elements than the game provided. Nearly totally linear, treasure is not random at all, so you get the same exact items at the same exact times, etc. Worth $3 though, I guess. Glad I didn't spend more.

P.S. If you dig turn-based combat where you must build the exact right party to survive, this will be up your alley. I'm not into long battles, so I got bored real fast. This game is 95% combat. Bleh.

I read ahead and knew the Arena would totally kill it for me. Even more fighting? No thanks.

I think it's a lot better than what you're giving it credit for. What difficulty were you playing on?

As far as the treasurer not being random, well… yeah. That's how it used to be in most RPGs before all this procedurally generated and level-scaled crap took over.

Oops, nope I didn't have any trouble with combat, JDR. It's just this is a great game for that on the higher levels. I play on leisure as I get bored with combat fast. If the average combat takes longer than a minute, I'll get real bored unless there is lots to do outside of the combat. TDR is 90% combat, the author even admits that. It was what he was going for. This game is great if you love TB combat. If not, you're wasting your time. I knew that going in though. I just bought it because it was worth $3 just for a looksee.

I'm not the niche audience for this title and that's okay. There wasn't enough non-combat content to keep me going. I'm guessing that's a common reason the game sold less than 1,000 copies at full price. That and zero advertising budget.

As far as treasure, I like a mix. I want some random and some predetermined. I never want procedurally generated levels. Daggerfall was my last game with that. I'm fine with level-scaling most of the time because that mostly deals with combat and I'm not a combat dude. Combat is like work. You have to have it, so that other things seem so much more fun in comparison

Originally Posted by crpgnut
Oops, nope I didn't have any trouble with combat, JDR. It's just this is a great game for that on the higher levels. I play on leisure as I get bored with combat fast. If the average combat takes longer than a minute, I'll get real bored unless there is lots to do outside of the combat. TDR is 90% combat, the author even admits that. It was what he was going for. This game is great if you love TB combat. If not, you're wasting your time. I knew that going in though. I just bought it because it was worth $3 just for a looksee.

I'm not the niche audience for this title and that's okay. There wasn't enough non-combat content to keep me going. I'm guessing that's a common reason the game sold less than 1,000 copies at full price. That and zero advertising budget.

As far as treasure, I like a mix. I want some random and some predetermined. I never want procedurally generated levels. Daggerfall was my last game with that. I'm fine with level-scaling most of the time because that mostly deals with combat and I'm not a combat dude. Combat is like work. You have to have it, so that other things seem so much more fun in comparison

Yeah the game is mostly about battles and small puzzles.

It's fun and quirky for a bit.

It makes sense that it won't sell much, but I think that has a lot to do with the graphics and polish rather than the game itself.

Black guards is basically the same thing… Battle after battle with nothing else.

I don't think Blackguards is a good comparison. Dwarf Run has exploration and puzzles even if you don't spend a lot of time doing those things compared to combat.

The game isn't 90% combat content-wise, it's just that turn-based combat by nature takes time, and you'll end up spending 90% of the game in combat because of that.

The game probably hasn't sold much because no one knows about it. I only found out about it because I saw you mention it in the Now Playing thread.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I don't think Blackguards is a good comparison. Dwarf Run has exploration and puzzles even if you don't spend a lot of time doing those things compared to combat.

The game isn't 90% combat content-wise, it's just that turn-based combat by nature takes time, and you'll end up spending 90% of the game in combat because of that.

The game probably hasn't sold much because no one knows about it. I only found out about it because I saw you mention it in the Now Playing thread.

That's true, but then Blackguards has more in terms of characters creation and development I think.