Hammerting

Hammerting is a good example of how solid individual mechanics sometimes fail to offer more than the sum of their parts in terms of gameplay. The development team has put together an interesting dwarf clan simulation and management title. It has even created an engaging if derivative universe for the player to interact with. But playing Hammerting often feels like a chore. Make sure that you check all characters to remember their stats and best use in the colony. Deal with all the supply chain issues. Then maybe dig a little deeper to see what the mountain throws at you. Warpzone needs to streamline its gameplay formula a little while increasing the immersion factor to make its future titles more attractive.

A fiddly take on management, survival and city building that you can still lose a weekend to.

Hammerting has grown a lot since its time on Early Access and recently got some updates prior to its release. Yet while it has all the makings of an engaging sim, a handful of glitches and odd gameplay choices mar its potential. Right now, the game is sure to give you hours of colony-building fun, but it needs more fine-tuning for it to feel truly fulfilling.

There is plenty of fun to be had with Hammerting. The aesthetic is delightful, and when everything works as intended, time joyfully slips away. However, the aforementioned issues frequently rear their ugly heads and immediately halt the enjoyment as you’re forced to try and work around it. Despite the full release status, it still feels like Hammerting is in Early Access since it lacks the polish of some of its peers.

Hammerting’s level of character detail and large, explorable areas offer promise for those who love resource management and base-building games. The graphics and concept hold up, and the game runs well. Adding combat, trade, exploration, and an overworld mechanic with faction relationships to a colony sim is a major undertaking that will pay off well if the systems can become fully integrated. However, the game is not polished enough to deliver a dependable experience, and despite its scope, it offers few new ideas to make it memorable. Developers promise more quality of life improvements, but being a small team, the modding community may have to take up the slack as they did with RimWorld. Thankfully, modding is encouraged in C++. Time will tell if Hammerting is a diamond in the rough, or whether it becomes buried under its own ambition.