Dverghold – Dwarf Digging [Early Access Impressions]

If I got a coin every time the dwarves dug too greedily, I would have zero coins, since they would nick them too. This will not be a full review of Dverghold, since this Early Access release is far from finished. And I don’t mean buggy, as it’s actually very polished and stable, but there are camp followers that should serve a role but offer nothing at the moment. This means that I’d rather stop now and wait for the complete experience instead of spoiling the game piecemeal. Even so, let’s go over my impression of this EA release!

Fantasy mercenaries
As mentioned, the dwarves in their eternal compulsion for valuables dug too deep and unleashed something most foul and deadly. This prompts a search for willing (crazy) and brave (suicidal) heroes to clear this crypt for gold and fame. This group is of course you and your pick of chosen mercenaries.

The story is not too deep (heh), but what it sets out to do, it does in an old-school way. However, I must say that the presentation is a step above what is required. Especially how the dialogue is written in a ye olde English style, which adds flair and immersion to the experience. A simple but nice addition that creates verisimilitude as far as fantasy dungeon-diving goes.

Management is number one
Now, the number one thing for Dverghold is gameplay, which consists of group management and slaughtering creatures in dark and dangerous tombs. First, you have the basics, like stocking up on bandages to prevent bleeding, food to sate hunger, etc. Lots of stuff like that has a contextual response, like drinking an antidote if someone becomes poisoned. That’s not all, as your champions build up “battle wear”, and when that reaches a certain threshold (based on the individual) a rest is needed back in camp. This means that you will need to rotate heroes, and so in a way, you are running a true fantasy adventure company. 

It works well and prevents you from focusing on just one guy, or one group from becoming monster dominators. If you enjoy management like this, you are in for a sweet ride—and honestly, who doesn’t, if you play RPGs regularly. Dverghold also has a system in place to prevent you from abusing it, by entering a dungeon to immediately dip out, since a dungeon run equals one day moving forward. This system has you collecting three offerings each round from random monsters and whatnot—and if you return without these offerings, the change of day does not lower battle wear. No, rest for the wicked, eh? 

A pretty elegant system, if I say so myself. You can tell that the camp between runs has a pretty significant role in the gameplay, and I personally love it. It makes the run have a purpose and the knowledge of guaranteed sanctuary is a lovely, warm thought when you just battled a brutal boss, with everyone in your party having their intestines on the outside.

Loot and levels
Characters naturally level up and accumulate loot too. One thing that makes the classes stand out here, on an individual basis, is that all champions come with only three randomized skills. Two warriors might not have the same stats, or skills, so making sure the hero fits your needs is very important before you commit. This adds a fun unpredictability to your roster, and that makes the men under your command come off as pretty unique. Some combos of skills are just better, so if that perfect warrior dies (perma-death is a thing), you might have lost an essential part of the squad—not easily replaced with just any old warrior. 

Hacking and slashing
The down-and-gritty combat is done in a turn-based way on a typical blobber grid. And thank the Lord it’s turn-based, since I find real-time combat a tedious exercise in grid-dancing, a la Legend of Grimrock. That’s not to say Grimrock is a bad game, because it’s not—I just find that turn-based suits this style of gameplay much better, as the combat feels tactical, instead of being a deadly dance of avoidance. If I wanted that I would sign up for a salsa course for the middle-aged. 

Being turn-based does not remove positioning, as range, and having a front and rear still play into the fighting. My top mercenary team has three champions with a ranged ability, a fact that has me avoiding melee for the most part, just like I would do in Grimrock—but now I do it in cozy and deliberate turn-based mode instead. Relaxing! 

Otherwise, the combat feels pretty standard for this type of game, but don’t take that as a negative. It’s damn solid, as both shooting magic from your staff and swinging your sword feels hefty and satisfying. The monsters can feel punishing, but also a cakewalk, totally dependent on your skill and planning—especially when it comes down to resources.

I had one harrowing dungeon run where everyone was knocked out by a giant weremole, except my brave warrior. Considering he can’t do anything magical, like reading a teleportation scroll (the dumb oaf), he had to make it out of the dungeon the normal way—with three unconscious bodies over his shoulders. It forced me to sneak, run, and fight my way out back to camp, which was an exhilarating experience. When I finally made it back alive, it felt like gaming gold moment. The warrior dwarf had saved his group! (through me, but still a cool thing).

Looking good
Dverghold has a delightful old-school visual vibe and beyond that—it just looks good and cozy in a modern sense, too, with simple but effective animations. I really liked the effects of magic, seeing how an electric cloud is easily translated to something that would cause brutal hurt, if real, that is. The presentation overall is pleasant, because the atmosphere, like dungeon ambience sounds and music, is very moody—so make sure to turn off that YouTube video on the second monitor to take it all in. The only complaint I have is that there are few avatars for the heroes, as many come with twins or even triplets. But apparently this is in the works to be fixed, if we take postings on RPG Codex as confirmation: 

“There will definitely be more portraits in the future…what can I say, they just take quite a bit of effort to paint ^^ We have a bare minimum version at the moment that at least makes it so each character has *some* thing that differentiates them (beard, hairstyle, a scar…) but yeah, there will be more in future updates for sure.“

Conclusion
Even in this early stage Dverghold shows great promise for the future, most likely delivering us with an awesome blobber in the coming year. However, being an Early Access game, it’s not finished, a detail that makes me hesitant to recommend on principle—but seeing that it’s incredibly good (already) and cheap to boot, means that I must recommend it on those grounds. I want to see it completed and I want it to be a success for the developers, so go get it or the monsters will overrun us!

Thanks for reading!

– Thomas