The Dwarves

The Dwarves is a tactical RPG from KING Art, adapted from Markus Heitz's popular German fantasy novel series of the same name. You play through a storyline steeped in dwarven lore, picking from a roster of 15 heroes each with their own skills, traits, and personality. The pitch is compelling: massive battles where your small party wades into hordes of orcs, ogres, and undead, using positioning and ability timing to turn the tide rather than raw attrition. If you've ever wanted to feel like the stoic, axe-grinding underdog holding a mountain pass against a tide of greenskins, this game is at least trying to sell you that fantasy. The combat is the headline feature and it earns partial credit. Battles lean into a physics-influenced crowd-collision system where launching a dwarf into a packed enemy line sends bodies flying, and timing a well-placed shockwave or charge ability genuinely feels satisfying. You are almost always outnumbered, which creates real tension in the early hours. The problem is that the encounter design doesn't stay interesting long enough. By mid-game you're cycling the same two or three ability combos because the skill trees don't branch meaningfully enough to reward experimentation past the opening chapters. Build variety, one of the things I care about most in an RPG, flatlines around hour 10. The narrative adapts the source material with obvious affection, and if you've read the books you'll find a lot of fan-service moments that land. For everyone else, the story is functional but thin. Characters get introductions and moments of dialogue, but the writing rarely digs into what makes any of them tick beyond their archetype. The dwarf king is stoic. The rogue is sarcastic. The healer is wise. Nobody surprises you. Coming from games like Baldur's Gate 3 or even Pillars of Eternity, where companions feel like actual people with contradictions and history, The Dwarves' cast feels like a coloring book that was never quite filled in. Choices exist in the overworld map segments but their consequences are slim and mostly cosmetic. Technically the game shows its budget. Camera controls are fiddly during frantic fights, pathfinding occasionally sends your heroes on a scenic tour of the battlefield while an ogre beats them senseless, and the UI feels like it was designed for a controller but never quite optimized for either input. The mixed Steam reception reflects these friction points honestly. It isn't broken, but it asks for patience that a more polished product wouldn't need. Where The Dwarves earns genuine goodwill is in atmosphere. The art direction is warm and committed, the music fits the setting, and there's a love for this particular corner of fantasy fiction that comes through even when the systems are letting the game down. If you are specifically a fan of the Heitz novels, or if you want a low-commitment tactical RPG that doesn't ask you to manage twelve inventory screens, there's enough here to hold your attention for a weekend. Just don't come expecting deep mechanical layering or writing that rewards a second playthrough. Monika, Scout Team