Craft The World

Do some research before you buy. If you plan on playing this as multiplayer, be aware that you have to play in single player mode, accomplish some tasks, then link up with other players. I bought this to play with my 10 year old. We weren't able to sort out how multiplayer works and gave up. GOG will not issue a refund, so we're stuck with a game that we won't be playing.

The game is intriguing but ultimately leaves you wanting something... that respects you a little more. If you want to build an interesting dwarven burrow or mountain fortress with it you can... but it takes time. Lots of time. And while you can speed up the action (only up to 2x), the pacing requires that you babysit it. I marked a bunch of terrain to be dug up and trees to be chopped and just let it run for 2 hours at one point. I came back to find all my original dwarves dead, which wasn't a huge loss. They drop their gear and you can reclaim most of it. The AI is terrible at times. Mages try to run behind enemies, which means they're constantly dying because they run straight into enemy lines. The game doesn't match dwarves to tasks based on their abilities or gear. They just randomly start chopping or mining and sometimes you'll have your miner fishing in a corner while your lumberjack prospects for gold. The invasions are sometimes welcome. But... you can just wait them out. If you hide all of your dwarves away from your base there's essentially no danger to them. Once day comes, the invasion will disperse and you can go back to your business. The enemies will take out any obstructions between them and your stash, and they'll destroy any defenses like auto-turrets, but they won't do much else to wreck your place... so there's not a lot of reason to defend it. On the bright side, it's interesting to try out new defenses and build huge, complex bases. I enjoyed trying out new defenses to keep the invasions out and the game kept me playing until I beat the first level (which took 28 hours total).

The constant updates and change logs to this game often cause more problems than they fix. The developers often make bizarre decisions where one feature will really be neat, but is completely wrecked by the behavior of another. A major downside is AI that might look up to a turnip, barely above dumb as a rock. While others hate the burrowing worm, I find that after the updates to the cursed wolves is most annoying. You can pretty much kiss any dwarf that gets bitten goodbye and it's made the game almost unplayable in worlds they appear in. This should be a fun, light-hearted game, not an exercise in constant frustration. It isn't hard, but it is aggrivating. If you're going to get this, get it on sale.

My son and I have BONDED over this game! It’s so fun and it’s so cool to play. My son and I have been playing this game since he was 10 years old? This was back when there was no DLC, NO Mods, No Multi Player, No free updates with added content? Vanilla but great! Now? Here we are, 8 years later! My son is 18 now? He and I STILL! LOVE & Play this game! There has been SO MANY updates, added content, added game modes, added DLC, added MODs that this game continues to stay fresh and fun for a solid 8 years and continues going! How people can complain about a game that is so giving? Oh that’s right? I remember now? People love to complain. (Remember that.) This game is the best. I don’t write reviews. I don’t have ANY other game installed on my computer? (I do play many games, just not on my computer.) It’s very addictive and fun? And I don’t know? One of the things I love about it? You can play the same game for years! Fortifying your underground fortress? Using your imagination to build crazy underground dwellings and decorate them in the neatest ways. They just CONTINUE to add and add some more to this game? There is so much now in this game that wasn’t in it when it launched 8 years ago and the plain version was so unique and fun as it was? Now? It’s like it started with your favorite ice cream? And now you’ve got all the delicious toppings you can imagine. It’s the game that keeps on giving? When they added a mobile version? I played it on my phone? When they added multiplayer? I got to build and play with my son? This game that we both loved and talked about and when they added DLC it was so great every time? And when they added mods? I mean? That IS the ultimate gift a game can give, am I right? It’s like it’s saying? Okay what do YOU want?

In my opinion, Craft the world is a really nice, well made game. I´d like to spend much time on building a fortress for my dwarfes. Of course, it is unnecessary to design something awsome, especially if you only want to reach the portal-built and switching to the next level. But the game invites you with many different options for building everything like you may be able to create. The kind of playing remembers me to old days on playing Sim City, where the goal is to enjoy playing and design something new. The challenge of beating all the undead is easy. But it is interesting to build walls and doors, that prevend them from coming in the dwarfs living room. The technology development is accessible. But you do not need to develop every technology for ending your level and it feels a little bit tiring when you start the next stage and have to start from the beginning with stone and wood tools in small caves. I would like to see more updates in the future (perhaps female dwarfes?) or better a small addon. I did not try the multiplayer, but think LAN would be better for this. All in all I keep on enjoying this game :-)