Dwerve is an innovative Zelda inspired dungeon crawling action RPG with tower defense elements, where you use types of towers to fight the enemies you meet on your adventure!
Previously featured on Alpha Beta Gamer during the closed Alpha sign ups, at first glance Dwerve looks a lot like a classic Zelda style action RPG adventure, complete with a charming fantasy world and beautifully animated top-down pixel art visuals. However, the gameplay is very different – instead of hacking away at enemies with a sword, you place different types of towers that attack them (as in a tower defense game).
The current build of Dwerve features around 30 minutes of gameplay and does a good job of introducing you to the world and the innovative tower defense-based combat mechanics. You roam around the world, smash objects, collect loot, talk to characters and complete quests as in a traditional action RPG, but (most of) the enemies you encounter spawn from nests and attack in waves like creeps in a tower defense game.
You can build a tower anywhere on the ground you like at the press of a button, with each type of tower mapped to a different face button on the controller. It costs you one or two crystals when you build a tower, but you get them all back when the tower is destroyed or you dismantle it. There are four different types of tower in the current build, each of which has their uses and there will be a lot more in the full game, each of which will be upgradeable.
The fusion of RPG and tower defense mechanics may seem like an odd fit, but they work surprisingly well in Dwerve, and each battle requires you to think fast to build the optimal defenses to suit the environment and the enemy type. The pixel art animation and sound design are excellent throughout, and the story is far more engaging than the traditional “save the princess” fare you normally get in top-down action RPGs. Highly recommended.
Check Out the Dwerve Kickstarter Here
Check Out a Gameplay Video Here
Download The Dwerve Kickstarter Demo Here (Steam)