Developer: Darenn Keller
Publisher: Astra Logical
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Dawnfolk – Review
As soon as we booted up Dawnfolk for the first time, we knew we were in for a treat. One of the first things we saw was a pixelated photo of solo indie developer Darenn Keller, accompanied by a short message explaining how the game was a passion project for him. It’s an unconventional way of opening a game, but Dawnfolk is an unconventional game in itself. It’s technically a city-building sim, but just like What the Golf? is a golf game for people that don’t like golf games, we’d describe Dawnfolk as a city-building sim for people that aren’t necessarily into city-building sims. But, I hear you ask, what does Dawnfolk have to offer then? Well, dear reader, read on to find out.
Story
Both Dawnfolk’s narrative and its literal world are shrouded in darkness and mystery when our story begins. Players take up the mantle of the ruler of a fallen kingdom covered by darkness. Guided by a sentient flame, Lueur, it is their task to restore the kingdom to its former glory and drive away the shadows covering the land. Dawnfolk’s backstory isn’t told linearly, and is instead told through campfire stories and found notes. As the kingdom is slowly but surely being rebuilt, the darkness will fight back too. Who is the mysterious entity behind the darkness, and why are they doing this? The only way to find out is by defeating them.
Graphics
It’s unlikely that Dawnfolk’s pixel art graphics will impress anyone, as the game looks very simplistic. In this case, that’s a good thing, as Dawnfolk doesn’t need any fancy bells and whistles. Instead, the visuals should be functional and easily readable at a glance. This is something that the game does excel at. The tile-based nature of the map has a board game-like feel to it, and you can easily identify everything without having to go into menus or by clicking on things.
Sound
Audio-wise, Dawnfolk sticks to the same philosophy as with the visuals, opting for functionality over impressiveness. There is no voice acting, although sound effects do add some emotional impact to Lueur’s dialogue. The music is serviceable but forgettable altogether.
Gameplay
City-building sims are generally known for being daunting time sinks. Your typical entry in the genre throws all kinds of micromanagement your way, resulting in a steep learning curve. Granted, mastering said curve can be incredibly satisfying, and it’s easy to see why games like Highrise City have such a dedicated fanbase. In contrast with this, Dawnfolk throws most of the conventions of the genre out the window, instead opting for a fast-paced, minimalist approach that is highly accessible. The core is still there and still recognisable, but this is a city-building sim unlike any other we’ve played. It’s based on a tile grid, for starters, and you can play its various scenarios in different ways, opting for a real-time approach or a turn-based one instead, depending on your personal preference.
Your main goal is to build a thriving city, of course. You start out with a humble town center, and a small portion of the surrounding tiles that make up the map is visible. From here, you’ll start building your city. In this way, Dawnfolk is your typical resource management game. You’ll need different resources like food or ore to create new structures or upgrade existing ones. You’ll also need to keep an eye on your population, as manpower is needed to perform tasks. However, having more people means a higher need for housing and food. You’re constantly juggling your resources in order to develop your city. So far, so familiar. Where Dawnfolk differs from other games though, is through the use of light as a resource. Your surroundings are shrouded in darkness, and in order to expand your territory, you need to spend light. The darkness holds secrets as well, as some of the tiles you unlock with light can contain treasure or random events.
Exploration also ties into the darkness that you’re opposing. Darkness storms will appear throughout the scenarios, and you’ll need to fight these off by spending light. As you uncover more and more of your surroundings, you’ll find black monoliths. Destroying these weakens future darkness storms. An added benefit is that darkness storms will spawn on the outskirts of the explored area, so the more you explore, the further a storm will be from your city center. Each map in the story mode has a number of these storms you need to weather. Playing through a story scenario doesn’t take very long. Depending on your playstyle, you can complete one in about an hour or so, making Dawnfolk a suitable game to play in short bursts, especially compared to other city-building sims.
The relatively short duration of a scenario is also reflected in that your upgrade capabilities are fairly limited. Improving your buildings to their final form requires an extremely rare resource called science. You typically gain a single science token whenever you upgrade your city stronghold, and they are also rare finds in your surroundings. This means you can’t just upgrade everything to its maximum power, and instead, you’ll need to carefully consider the best option for the current scenario. In yet another deviation from the genre, Dawnfolk isn’t played with a mouse and keyboard, but entirely with a controller instead. This fits with the accessible and fast-paced gameplay overall. Dawnfolk also features several minigames that let you obtain bonus resources, and these were designed with a controller in mind.
Don’t let the short length of Dawnfolk’s story scenarios trick you into thinking that this is a short game overall. You can complete the campaign in roughly 10 hours, but like with any good city-building sim, the story mode is only the primer. Dawnfolk has a whopping six modes, including the expected sandbox and endless modes. There is also a daily puzzle mode that gives you a limited area and a difficult goal to complete within it. There is a constant sense of progress to unlocking new modes, as you’ll need to earn points through playing and then spend them in the main menu. Unlocking everything will take around 60 hours. Combine this with the inherent replayability that comes with the different modes, and you’re looking at an incredible value, as Dawnfolk will only set you back around €15.
Conclusion
While Dawnfolk is definitely a city-building sim at its core, it’s also a game that breaks a lot of conventions of the genre. It’s accessible, fast-paced, and most importantly, fun. Dawnfolk may not impress on the audiovisual front, but this is the kind of game that doesn’t need to. Instead, it hooks you in with simple and easy-to-understand mechanics, but before you know it, four or five hours have passed.
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