Dawnfolk PC Review
Summary: ... it's a game full of surprises, but perhaps most importantly, a game that exudes sheer joy.
5
Kingdom Come
City builders are, in general, intimidating. You’ve only got to spend an hour with the likes of City: Skylines to know you’re in for the long haul, and it’s long since been considered a genre not for the everyman. But, my friend, that’s about to change. Have you ever wanted to create a kingdom in minutes? What about watching said kingdom collapse under your terrible rule? Well, you’re in luck. I may have just the game for you.
See Dawnfolk. It may not look like it, but it’s a city builder through and through (I promise); it’s just doing the whole thing differently. There’s no need for bulky menus, no excessive resource management, and no need for any lengthy planning. In fact, everything in Dawnfolk can be completed in mere seconds. Do your people need more food? Easy, as long as you have enough resources, find the perfect spot for your crops – and with the quick press of a button – you’re done. Do you think you could do with a few more people in your city to help share the burden of your continued growth? No problem, find an empty tile, and there you go; watch your kingdom grow instantly.
But this instant gratification hides Dawnfolk’s devilishly deceptive difficulty so well. Dawnfolk, in essence, is a simple city builder hiding a genuinely deep but easy-to-learn strategy game. There’s a short but perfectly well-rounded campaign to get you going, where you, as the head of your kingdom, lead your people to reclaim your land from an evil, chaos-spreading force. Luckily, you’re accompanied by a sentient ball of light that keeps the game’s light-hearted narrative flowing while teaching you the ropes of Dawnfolk. It makes for a nice entryway into learning how to play Dawnfolk, slowly introducing new mechanics as it progresses without being too taxing.
And while playing Dawnfolk can be downright tough, the basics are easy to get used to. Depending on the task, each Dawnfolk mission starts you in a predetermined location with a set of resources to get you by. Resources are split into four basic types; people, light, food, and building supplies, with a rare science resource available as the game progresses. Not only does what you build in Dawnfolk affect what resources you earn, but it can also affect how much of another resource you get per turn. For example, a lumber yard will produce more building supplies per day, but as it utilises people, your daily income of workers will be depleted. Thus begins the balancing act that is Dawnfolk. No matter what mission, you’ll always need a well-balanced stream of resources to allow you to create the kingdom of your dreams.
It’s never quite that simple, though, as the world of Dawnfolk is full of things to help and hinder your journey. Perhaps the biggest challenge of Dawnfolk is getting to grips with the map itself, with each square of land dictating what and if you can build. For example, some maps have an abundance of deserts, which, in their natural state, can’t be built on. Other spots are rife with monsters that need to be dealt with before you can progress, while you may find your base surrounded by the sea, drastically reducing your ability to grow your initial kingdom. Clever placements are always key, as buildings benefit from being placed next to one another. For example, placing a group of tents next to a church boosts your light income, and capitalising on such opportunities is paramount to your success. Luckily, a quick do-over is never more than a button away, so it’s relatively easy to right your wrongs.
While most resources help you grow your kingdom, light works differently, and as well as acting as your way of navigating across maps, it can also be used to purify enemy corruption. There are, technically, bad guys in Dawnfolk, but they’re easy to deal with and, just like everything else, can be dealt with with a quick click of a button. That doesn’t mean they can’t be a challenge, though, especially if you let towering monoliths spread their corruption through your townships, which can be detrimental to your resource income.
If it all sounds a little hands-off, you’re in luck, as collecting resources, fighting enemies and defending your land requires you to partake in mini-games. These moments are brief bouts of fun and never overstay their welcome, with each one often completed in around ten or so seconds. That said, if they aren’t for you, there’s an upgrade that plays the mini-games for you, or alternatively, you can opt to shut them off entirely in the menu.
And that’s perhaps one of the key aspects of Dawnfolk I like the most; if it isn’t for you, chances are there’s an option to turn it off. The menu is jampacked with options, and whether it’s further game modes, unlockable extras or simply Easter Eggs, there’s ample content spread through Dawnfolk. I couldn’t wait to get through the game’s campaign, as the more I played, the more I could unlock, and some of my favourite moments have been in Dawnfolk’s challenges and endless modes.
It’s all just so damn charming. There’s a whiff of ’80s adventure games as you play, with random encounters asking you to decide whether to find a lost fisherman or not, whether you think you should befriend a local group of elves – or maybe you should do something about that group of zombies near your camp? These moments are usually low stakes, but I couldn’t help but raise a smile every time I encountered a random trader or a monster that required me to make a decision for my people.
Dawnfolk also plays like a dream. While PC purists will be happy to hear the game can now be played with a mouse (something added days after launch, a testament to developer Darenn Keller’s commitment to Dawnfolk), it plays best simply by utilising the arrow keys and spacebar. As well as trying Dawnfolk out on my laptop, I gave it a spin on the Legion Go and can confirm handheld is perhaps the best way of experiencing the game, especially as most missions can be wrapped up in half an hour or so, making Dawnfolk an excellent pick-up-and-play option.
When you load Dawnfolk, you’re greeted with a screen from Keller stating that he poured his love into the project, and I’m rarely so confident that a statement is true. As well as being a captivating and addictive strategy-come-city-builder, it’s a game full of surprises, but perhaps most importantly, a game that exudes sheer joy. It’s the perfect addition to any genre fan’s catalogue, but most importantly, it’s an excellent gateway for anyone looking to dabble in the city-building genre.
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