With the amount of RTS games coming out recently, it can be easy to miss a gem like DwarfHeim, but if you are a fan of the likes of Starcraft, or Age of Empires, then DwarfHeim is a must-have RTS for 2021.
There are several mechanics to DwarfHeim that makes the game unique, one of those is the underground mining system that allows players to play both above and below the ground.
This system is pushed further with the ability to create buildings designed to move resources from the mines underground, to your town above the ground.
I’ve reviewed a lot of RTS and city builder games recently, and the one common issue with them is that they do nothing to set themselves apart from the others, but I didn’t feel that DwarfHeim suffers from a lack of originality at all.
DwarfHeim Gameplay
There was something about my time on DwarfHeim that reminded me of my time playing games like Warcraft, even though I had never played DwarfHeim before, I felt a blast of nostalgia while playing, something that I haven’t felt in a long time while playing an RTS game.
Personally, I decided to skip the game’s tutorial and jump straight into the action, something I now highly advise against.
When it comes to the underground section of the game, there are a lot of unique buildings and mechanics that might take some time to understand, so make sure to play the tutorial and get to grips with these mechanics first.
DwarfHeim currently has mixed reviews on Steam, but I must admit, I’m rather impressed with it, the underground section of the game in particular, which takes you away from the standard RTS / Tower Defence gameplay, and moves towards a Factorio style of gameplay to some degree.
Players are able to plan out areas of the underground for mining, much like Dungeon Keeper, and then use special buildings to refine and even transport these goods to the town above ground.
Summary
DwarfHeim is a unique game in a saturated market, that with some more tweaks and updates could be great.
The underground system is where the game really shines, but unfortunately, once you are above ground, the game feels generic and does little to set itself apart from other games in the genre.
As it stands, I would reccomend grabbing DwarfHeim if and when it goes on sale, it might not be the best RTS game you play this year, but it certainly has some unique aspects that makes it worth giving DwarfHeim a play.
