They’re dwarves and…they’re astronauts with a busted up ship, caught up in a vast debris field made up of meteors, planets, and spaceship pieces.
We are the Dwarves is the first independent release of Whale Rock Games, based in Kiev, Ukraine. Whale Rock Games team members have some very recognizable games on their resumes. Titles like Everquest, Dragon Age Inquisition, and Metro: LastLight. We are the Dwarves is available on PC and now Xbox One.
Combining a fantasy setting with a sci-fi setting isn’t anything new. Star Wars, Thunder-Cats, Master of the Universe…you get the idea. That’s sort of the idea behind We are the Dwarves. Yeah…they’re dwarves in all stereotypical fantasy sense; short, gruff, deep voices, at home underground and they love to fight. They’re dwarves and…they’re astronauts with a busted up ship, caught up in a vast debris field made up of meteors, planets, and spaceship pieces. What caused their ship to crash? Can they fix it? How is it possible that they are able to survive, and why are there so many other creatures here?
Hi ho! Hi ho! It’s off to space we go! All images courtesy of Whale Rock Games
Gameplay featuring Odiumar as the titular Dwarves: Forcer, Smashfist and Shadow
The graphics on the game are polarizing to say the least. The gameplay gives you a bird’s-eye view of the current party’s environment. The land based levels are absolutely beautiful, with flora that is nothing short of amazing. Whomever designed the environments is truly talented. Unfortunately, that doesn’t carry over to the cut-scenes. While the majority are acceptable, there is one moment early on that caused my jaw to hit the floor…and not in a good way. You see, poor Smashfist has some beard issues. The bottom sticks to his chest just as strongly as the top is attached to his jawline. Everything in between stretches, contracts and distorts with every movement. Even now it gives me the shivers. Additionally, this project suffers from some flickering and collision issues that cause things to overlap from time to time. Music and sound affects are definitely solid, though uninspiring. The voice acting is something else. Although it’s jarring at first, and I really got the impression that these guys don’t actually speak English, you can tell that they really tried. After a rough start, they grew on me, and I actually enjoyed that aspect of their characters.
We are the Dwarves’ gameplay starts you off controlling one dwarf at a time, working through their current environment in an attempt to meet up with the others. Of course it’s not going to be easy, as the aliens here are rather intent on killing you. Good thing you’re armed with either explosives, or an axe…you know, because mash-up! Now, as these fellas do get together, you control all of the characters on the same map. Only…not at the same time, so you’ll be running each dwarf through the same level one-at-a-time. Picture the Lost Vikings, but without the puzzles. The non-controlled dwarves do have limited AI, so I found it best to pull enemies back to my partners for the extra firepower. Unfortunately, the potential isn’t delivered, as the controls are far from intuitive. Sadly, the pause control is mapped to a trigger, while actions for attacking the enemies are on the face buttons. Some weapons aim manually, while others seem to auto-aim, badly I might add. In addition, the lack of camera control results in the battle action disappearing behind that beautiful scenery, causing more than one restart from my last save. Resources for upgrades are so limited, there is almost no point putting them in the game. Lastly, there were a few game breaking freezes, though they typically occurred when I died and had to reload anyway.
Achievements here are a piece of cake, and don’t even require you to finish the game. The majority come without even trying, though a couple require a small grind. Even with the easy gamerscore, the $15 entry is a little steep, especially when it comes with a chaser of gameplay frustration. Should you find this one on sale, and love dwarves the way I do, you may just find yourself with a new game.
Verdict – I love it! No…we don’t. Yes I do…hey…who are you? I’m us…now put down the controller before someone gets hurt. But…dwarves… Quiet! Bad Odi!
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