Dorfromantik, a nifty little gem perfectly put together by a small team of game design students in Berlin who formed studio Toukana Interactive and have the ambitious aim of bringing more small and original high quality indie games to our screens. As I started up this world-building strategy game, I was washed over by a calming zen-like theme and soundtrack that instantly invited me in, and as I listened on I sat there for a moment in silence at what a charming and delightful title I had just opened to explore. Before I say more, let’s join hands and dive into this together as we take in what is yet another brilliantly made indie game.
Luscious Countrysides and Tiny Houses
When I first loaded into Dorfromantik, it threw me back to a game I reviewed not so long back, by the name of Preserve, a tile building puzzle game in which you had to build little ecostrutures and biomes for cute animals to live in, all with each other in perfect harmony. However, what this game does differently, is their world design and how it resembles an old-timey style of Scandinavian/Germanic structural design, all tied into lush forests and open water. As I hit the tutorial and set down my first few tiles, I easily got to grips with how the game worked and how I had to piece together each tile in order to perfectly create a biome that overflowed with a kaleidoscopic range of colour and depth.
Smooth Transitions and Modes for All
The manoeuvrability within this game is smooth and as I shifted and edged the camera around the world I was building, it made me feel that little more immersed within the green landscape I was building, and not just that the tutorial is informative and intriguing as it had my cogs turning within my head to figure out my next placement to best fit what I was building. After I mastered the art of developing a landscape, I took to the other game modes that this title has to offer in the form of: Classic – a world building mode with limited tiles and the challenge of hitting a new high score, Creative – a free building mode in which you can craft and perfect your tile placements and just have some fun creating a gorgeous world, Quick mode – short and snappy, aiming to beat your last high score as you place down a limited number of tiles and pick up points where you can with good strategy, Hard Mode – steep difficulty curve and complex tiles await you here in what is a tighter and more strategic game mode, Monthly Mode – within this, features a new monthly configuration of a fixed seed each month which allows you to compete with other players in that months map of the month! And lastly, Custom Mode – create a custom seed and experiment with different rules to create a mode you enjoy!
A Nostalgic Memory Alongside a Feel Good Factor
Now, if I draw your attention away from how the game plays and works, and just talk about how gorgeous and good-looking this indie gem is. Genuinely, I play a lot of games with unique graphical designs and not just that, some downright bloody and disturbing designs, but every now, and then I love to play something that just takes me somewhere else, and Dorfromantik did just that. Vibrant colours danced along my screen and if I shut my eyes, it was as if I was in the middle of a field on a bright, sunny day, with birds chirping in the trees and the fields of grass blowing in the wind with cows and chickens awakening with glee. It’s safe to say that it took me back to the days of my childhood when I used to go with my mum to the open fields on a summer’s day and let the feeling of safety wash over both of us as we let the world float by. A little note may I add here, shoutout to my mum who created these moments, even if it was just for a while to look back on and smile.
How Does Your Track Stack with Ben!
The soundtrack is just special. As you know from all my reviews, game scores need to fit into their respective games with ease and really make the game have that pull to gamers’ cores. Now this soundtrack is something ripped right out of a storybook, elegant, charming and most of all just creative, a calming environment for you to play your way. Whether I was placing tiles, designing my own world or crafting the perfect biome, the track really made me feel at one with what I was doing, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Track score – 10/10.
A Blanket of Warmth to Comfort the Chaos
The overall verdict for this game is one that, for me, receives high praise. A team of four students put together an amazing strategy, tile building game that features puzzle elements and really engages you in every aspect of what you do within it. For me, titles like these make instant gems because of how different they are and how they really let you play around with a beautiful world which is teeming with life and has you wondering how, if there are people within this landscape living in their houses and in the forests, they are living their lives as you place the next tile down. Bravo to the guys at Toukana Interactive for crafting a brilliant “village romanticization” and a nostalgic pull to the countryside.
Overall Score – 10/10, Available on All Platforms Now!
