Small Dwarf, Big Adventure

Dwarf Journey is a 2D platforming roguelike developed and published by Orube Game Studio

Is it just me, or has there been a TON of roguelikes being released lately? Ever since The Binding of Isaac and the more recent Dead Cells, it seems everyone wants a piece of the action of this fluid genre. For me, the aforementioned games are great games, but there came a point that the monotony of starting over became overwhelming, basically causing me to give up on the game. So how does Dwarf Journey fare in this regard? Very well, actually!

In Dwarf Journey, you are a dwarf ( go figure :D ) named Gallar who is nearing the end of his life’s journey. In order to keep doing what he likes doing he is on the hunt for a mystical artifact that can grant eternal life, allowing him to loot and fight for eternity! Your goal is to descend into the caverns and fight your way past the game’s enemies and bosses to claim this ancient treasure, all while mining for different ores used to craft and level gear.

My biggest praise for this game is how well it handles its progression system. Yes, you will die a bunch of times and get sent back to the start, but each time I felt that my character had grown and each death allowed me to temper myself to push forward.

During your time in the caverns you will come across geo nodes that you will mine to collect ore. While gold ore is the primary currency for the shops, you can also use the other ores to create new weapons and armor to raise various stats. The only thing is, if you die while holding a load of ore you will lose it all and come back to camp empty handed. You can stop this from happening by depositing your ore in mine carts scattered throughout the caves.

You will also gain character levels as you defeat enemies (up to lvl 50) and obtain ability points to raise strength, agility, vitality, and luck. The trying out different builds is encouraged with an item sold by the merchant that will reset these points. Want to be a speedy, low heath, crit monster. Got it covered. Slow, tanky dwarf warrior that can take the hits? Also covered. Combine this with the equippable runes to deck out your version of Gallar to your liking.

In the graphics department, I did find some of the enemies to be a bit on the small side which made them hard to see, but both the pixel work and environments are well thought out and look great. The diversity of the four different levels of the cave helps avoid a visual staleness, and the bosses are distinct and well animated. A big shoutout goes to the overworld hub. This piece of environment pixel art is gorgeous.

In the sound department I loved all of the various sound effects, but though fitting, the music didn’t stand out in any particular way me for. Granted I was probably more focus on not dying than listening honestly. Next time I’m in the game I will sit in each of the areas and take in the tunes, just to be sure.

This has to be one of my favorite rougelikes so far this year, and even outside of this year stands very close to the top for me. If this game peaks your interest, go out and grab it now. I seriously doubt you’ll be disappointed!