Hammerting Review (PC)

Can a small clan of dwarves conquer the depth of a massive mountain? Should they focus on granite pillars to make money? Are they able to farm in the depths or should they rely on trade for some food? A good mix of exploration, character management, resource extraction, crafting, and trading is required to have any chance to achieve the lofty goals of the clan you control in Hammerting.

The game was developed by Warpzone Studios and is published by Team 17, on the PC via Steam and the Epic Store. It mixes management and survival elements with a focus on the fate of a mountain clan of dwarves.

The narrative is focused on the mysterious mountains of Mara, with the world procedurally generated for each playthrough. A group of three is first to enter the space each time and the player needs to carefully handle their needs and find ways to grow the clan and its power.

As the name of the mountain suggests this is a world greatly inspired by Tolkien, with other races engaged in a conflict that the player can interact with and help or hinder. The game also has a quest structure that gives players goals and some interesting little stories to tell, with some solid writing. The tutorials could have used a little more care, but the game has a solid lore encyclopedia.

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Hammerting is all about mining. A dwarf is happier when he has a pick in hand and is moving deeper, towards the heart of the mountain. To best enjoy this activity, he needs a place to live, with as many creature comforts as possible, as well as food, drink, medicine, and tools. Initially, the player has relatively limited resources and just three characters to control. But it is easy to mine and sell granite blocks to settlements on the surface to get some resources.

Dwarves quickly gain knowledge, and they can unlock new technologies, opening up more resource extraction and processing rooms. There’s plenty of fun in digging up new areas, filling them with rooms, finding veins of metal, creating supply chains, opening up more cities to take missions from and trade with.

Each dwarf has attributes and characteristics, alongside a set of upgrades. These systems, alongside equipment, can be used to specialize them for various tasks, although there seems to always be more work than there are bodies around. Hammerting might need a little more detail for its social elements, but I liked the dwarf society I was building, with its quirks and obsession with mining.

The clan that is exploring Mara is not alone. Above the surface towns and factions expand, do battle, siege settlements, and rebuild. Players can impact these interactions via sales and quests. This element of the game feels under-developed, especially given the way the dwarves can control their own environment and the number of resources that the surface cities control.

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I like how Hammerting makes the individual dwarf, with his attributes, skills, and upgrade path, feel important. It’s easy to care about the small group that works tirelessly to find out more about the mountain and to make money from the people on the surface. The game has all the tools to keep tabs on the characters and to choose who does what and when. I like the way the developers implemented digging as a core concept and built the entire society of the dwarves around it.

Unfortunately, the title loses steam relatively quickly. Unlocking more of the overland map and the tech tree does add some momentum. But all the management starts to feel rote, with tons of clicking required just to get a little money from selling some bronze. The player community is also reporting encountering bugs, including at least one that affects progress.

Hammerting has a solid presentation, with a focus on delivering the details the player needs to carefully plan dwarf lives. I appreciate the attention to detail showered on buildings and the environments. Even the enemies look kinda cute. The dwarves themselves could have used a little more detail, mainly to make it easy to differentiate them at a glance. The sound design is less engaging than the graphics. The music is uninspiring and the various mining sounds need more heft.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion