Dorfromantik

Video review: https://youtu.be/dKvglfJWpqE -------------------- * Easy to pick up * Clever mechanics * No time limit * Clean & simple look * Classic mode is not as relaxing as it might seem. There’s actually plenty of strategy involved * Multiple updates since I reviewed it five months ago: new biome, tiles, challenges and achievements. They also added a save function, statistics and a relaxing creative mode.

What a fun little game! Similar to what happens in the board game Carcasonne, randomly drawn tiles are used to piece together a landscape. Players can win extra cards by completing assignments (e.g. build a village consisting of 35 houses), allowing them to expand the landscape further. The game is finished when the player runs out of cards. Quite relaxing, and very replayable. My only quibble would be that the music is somewhat repetitive, but I am sure others are fine with the music as it is. Runs well on my Linux system using Wine. I did tweak the graphics settings a bit as I noticed the graphics card was getting quite hot even though, as an isometric game with many static elements, Dorfromantik shouldn't be too taxing. Installing DXVK and disabling the anti-aliasing fixed this problem.

I usually don't review games because I'm not a good english writer. However, I'm making an exception because this game really surprised me. It's simple mechanics, beautiful art work, and addicting gameplay are simply great. Being still in development makes me hopeful that developers will end up with a masterpiece. I know how hard it is for a development team to find investors and resources to complete a game like this, but hopefully everything works out for the team, and we'll get to see more features, mechanics, objectives, or even a port to other platforms. That being said, the casual approach for this game, makes me want to play it on my iPad so much. So, yes, I recommend this game very much! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I had some pleasurable hours playing this game. At the moment however, I need a break because there is relatively little variation. Unlocking new skins and beating one’s own high score is not motivating enough in the long run. Is the game relaxing? Depends, whether a shrinking pile of tiles, a number of pending tasks and a high score to beat stresses you or not. The music and the setting of the game are very relaxing anyway. Is the game beautiful? The art style definitively is. However, the advertised "endless and beautiful landscapes" are clearly dictated by the points and special tasks given by the game. So be prepared for rivers and railways running in circles and windmills facing different directions while still spinning at the same speed. The focus is clearly on strategy and puzzle mechanics, not on creative building. If you are looking for something like Townscaper, this is (in its current state) not for you.

I know pretty well that the game is still not finished, and yet for the price they ask, this game delivers plenty hours of enjoyment. Is a fun game with simple to understand mechanics, a single game can be a few minutes long to half an hour. The style and music is quite relaxing and beautiful.