Hammerting review

Reviewed on: PC

At first glance, Hammerting may confuse newer players with both its interface and its mechanics, since it is evident that the game from Warpzone, published by Team17, draws heavily on RTSs far older than its time.

The game revolves around a group of medieval fantasy dwarves who lost their home, as well as their standing and respect among the kingdoms of the fictional world. The goal is to guide your units to conquer the mountain, trying to turn the small group into a civilization again.

The maps are randomly generated each match and your goals are to develop each of your units individually so they can be better used in the process, and also to explore the mountain, get rid of monster infestations, build structures, make new paths viable and house the faithful little ones in all the glory their people deserve.

It is primarily a simulation and management game, but with several RPG elements and some inherited from its strategy-genre grandparents.

The graphics are not the heart of the game and at times I would say the textures are a bit too dark, which makes everything look like it’s made of modeling clay, but that’s not a criticism in itself, since it works with the game’s style; it’s charming.

The game has many mechanics and the tutorials are subtle, which can be a bit confusing for those who aren’t used to it and have dropped in out of the blue, but after the initial impression, it’s easy to grow fond of the valiant little ones.

At times it becomes complicated to control them individually and it seems to me there is an automatic priority on certain tasks, which gets in the way a bit when it’s necessary to repair structures or produce resources but the units insist on entering fatal fights before an infirmary has even been built.

There is also the diplomatic relations side of the game, where two great nations constantly at war order all kinds of resources from these dwarves, which can be alternatives for generating wealth and acquiring materials without the proper structures, but what are the consequences of profiting from war?

In conclusion, Hammerting is fun, even if losing a match is frustrating and some mechanics still need refining, but as a pastime, a simulation game with rogue-like elements can be quite interesting.

Score: 7.0