How is it now?

[Ygdrad]

So I saw the negative reviews at first and decided to wait, but the few recent reviews are mostly positive. Has something/much changed to make the game recommended now or are the positive reviews just luck due to the low numbers of reviews?

[Honeykonfetti]

Hi! So, obviously I'm one of the team members, so you can wait for some other responses from other players, but I believe that our game really changed a lot in the past few months! We focused not only on eliminating bugs, but also adding new content, one of our recent big updates introduced the 3rd island, added new weapons, new system for consumables, airship that you can fly with, and more! First Dwarf really improved since we released it in Early Access in June, and we are happy with the direction the game is currently heading :))

[.misha.]

Hi there!

I completely understand your hesitation after seeing the initial reviews. To be honest, the Early Access launch didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped. We kept quiet for about three months, focusing hard on improving the game. In addition to what Honeykonfetti mentioned, we've added a ton of new features, like allowing you to build as Ragna, introducing new buildings, clans, a flyable airship, and much more. We've expanded the co-op mode, reworked the in-game UI, added new quests, and many other improvements.

We're a small indie team, and the recent positive feedback has motivated us to work even harder. It really feels like we're moving in the right direction now. Plus, next week, we’ll be at the Tokyo Game Show, as First Dwarf has been selected for both the Indie80 and INDIE Live Expo! If you happen to be there, swing by Hall 10, Booth A09!

Also, we’ve prepared a new trailer for the event, which you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6VU6JY5HK4

Thanks for your patience, and we hope you’ll give the game another shot!

[stylez]

Originally posted by Ygdrad:

Has something/much changed to make the game recommended now

Yes. It's early access and constantly improving. A game that starts out with negative-trending reviews, and continually progresses into positive territory, especially in early access, is generally one to keep an eye on.

For me, the demo is just so out of date, it doesn't provide a good representation of the game any more. I nearly didn't buy the game cause the demo is in such a rough state. Only thing that nudged me into "buy" territory this early on was the fact their previous games were fun & well-polished.

[Dragon]

The game was rather underwhelming at release but it is growing. It's a much richer experience to delve into now. I may be slightly biased because I am a fan of the original Driftland but, this game is slowly but surely turning into what I imagined an RPG in the world of Driftland to be - with its own unique charm.

The airship being functional now also opened up the greater world map, which is a big step forward IMO. Not only is the "playable" map much larger now, you can also explore and build on all the WIP islands if you wish, which makes you appreciate the actual scope and design of the game world so much more. Some islands are still inaccessible due to a max height issue with the airship but this is likely/hopefully just a temporary thing.

Of course, building and messing around on WIP islands increase the risk of breaking the game and the storyline when those islands eventually get released, but that's normal for any Early Access game so no big deal. Resources are quite rare and misaligned sometimes, but still work most of the time, so do nest drops. So being able to enjoy the (almost) full map puts the game on a whole new level for me personally.

The only thing I find really lacking at the moment is some sort of settlement management, something to invest time and effort into. At the moment, once you got a settlement up and running and send a raven, it's over and done with. You cannot use colonists for increased production or defense, or improve their skill, you don't need to keep them satisfied and you cannot get more of them.

Resource transport (other than transporting bundles yourself) and colonist transfer between settlements would also be great. For building more distant settlements where resources and Eskoim ports may be a long way off.

[SOLO]

Good game. Saw big Potential