Age of Fear 3: The Legend
Age of Fear 3: The Legend
Game
Game2016
The Dwarves
Developer KING Art
The Dwarves (German: Die Zwerge) is a 2016 fantasy tactical role-playing video game developed by King Art Games. It features music composed by Benny Oschmann. In the game, players must find their way through various maze-like, medieval environments while battling a variety of monsters using a wide array of weapons. It is based on the novel The Dwarves by Markus Heitz. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
237 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 2, 2026 · last updated Nov 2, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
66
Fresh
121 positive · 63 negative
95% range 59–72%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 121 | 63 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 1 | 1 | 39 |
| Mastodon * | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
633 of 910 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
66% recommend · 121 yes, 63 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 184 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (1,548 of 2,095 positive).
Players praise the story and narration as the game's strongest aspects. [1][2][3] Many reviewers criticize the combat as clunky, unresponsive, or weak. [4][5][6] Some players note the game is short and recommend buying it on sale. [1][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [15]
Buggy, bad combat system. The game feels like half ARPG and half visual novel, if you play for the ARPG part you will get disappointed, however the story isn't bad. 4/10 overall.
- [16]
Eesh. Game seems like they spent 90% of their budget making a, pretty good, audio book and tried to cram a game in with the last 10% by getting game design students to work for "exposure". The art is bad. The textures make everything feel flat and plastic. Combined with the truly awful animation you get the feel that you're hopping lego men across a the table instead of interacting with characters. Cinematic …
- [4]
*sigh* Boy, oh boy. I am giving positive to this one, but i am going to be darn' rought with it: 1) it took be about 4 years and 6 attempts to get through the game. I kept on giving up on it so many times. 2) the game can be finished in about 4-6 hours. it is SUPER SHORT (short game about dwarves? that's a grudgin')- aftergame credits took about 30 minutes. In this regard, that is just untasteful 3) How could you …
- [1]
I actually quite liked this game. I think the role play side of things, the world and the characters are very well done and the graphics are truly gorgeous! Unfortunately, the combat is a little bit weak; not absolutely weak and it's not terrible. This is the game's second greatest flaw, only eclipsed by it's price tag! At £35, this game is not cheap, but it really is quite dear when you consider that I beat the …
- [6]
Verdict: Amazing story, totally atrocious combat system. Get it if you are a fan of the books. + Steam achievements (34, single playthrough + challenges) Faithfull adaptation of Markus Heitz's book The Dwarves (Die Zwerge (2003)) The in-game cinematics are pretty damn amazing Unique take on Dwarven mythology The game didn't shy from the more brutal elements of the books (like gouged eyes) Pretty decent soundtrack …
Summarised from 34 of the 230 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
66% of the 184 Steam reviewers we collected recommend The Dwarves. The complaint that keeps coming up: clunky and unresponsive combat. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Reception to the game was mixed. It has a score of 68% of Metacritic. IGN awarded it a score of 6.2 out of 10, saying that the game has a "good foundation, but unfortunately it's not strong enough to make up for the deficiencies of its gameplay."
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 237 · most liked firstLast night's Old World game was amazing. Absolute carnage from start to finish - but a victory for the Dwarves! Despite being on a single wound, the Cart trundled along the road, delivered its ale to the beleagured Bugman, and broke the Goblin line. Some more description in the alt text...
neutral · AI labelView post →Fought an excellent game of Old World yesterday, again the Dwarves proved indomitable and my Tomb Kings army just bounced off! There were some great scraps and mighty challenges, but in the end the only unit I managed to kill was the Dwarf King in a duel with my Tomb King! Oh well, next time...
neutral · AI labelView post →Little gentlemens on big boi adventures.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My Hochland army has had its first outing! I was narrowly beaten by the Dwarves. It was a really fun game, I particularly enjoyed the War Wagon and Pigeon Bombs. I was doing well but some contagious panic really lost me some ground. #Nerdlings #WarhammerCommunity #OldWorld #BattleReport
neutral · AI labelView post →Free Steam Keys. Hey Lemmy, I have some Steam + other keys that I have laying around that I never used / will never use. Some of them are probably already claimed from friends. Take what you want, but let me know what keys are already claimed / claimed by you and I'll remove them from the list. Enjoy! **NON STEAM** ~~Displate 40% off discount code Redemption Key: EK18B9B4~~ ~~Displate Discount Code 40% off Redemption Key: CW36F543~~ ~~Fanatical Wheel Spin spin to win Redemption Key:…
neutral · AI labelView post →Two exciting games of Midgard Heroic Battles tonight testing out a fantasy campaign. The Dwarves of the Iron Valley lost out to the Orcs both times; the first game was close but the second was a disaster 🤣. #miniatures #wargaming #spreadthelard #midgardheroicbattles #warhammer #nerdlings
neutral · AI labelView post →Last night was an incredible game, and a decisive victory for the Dwarves! Most of the Night Goblin army panicked and fled when the Giant was killed, and it was very difficult to rally them. Did get some good Fanatics off though! #OldWorld #Nerdlings #WarhammerCommunity
neutral · AI labelView post →Had a great game of Old World yesterday, my Hochland army took on the Dwarves. My long rifles picked off the battle standard bearer, but I just couldn't break past their artillery into the flanks, and the tough infantry managed to batter their way to my gunline, sending my army fleeing.
neutral · AI labelView post →It's time for the penultimate game - Old World. My Night Goblins faced off against the Dwarves, despite me getting some lucky early charges and good Fanatic hits, I couldn't quite land the final blow and ended up with my army breaking and fleeing the field.
neutral · AI labelView post →Yesterday I ran two hugely fun games for 7 great players at Midgard Moot. A win by the most narrow of margins by the Dwarves in the first game, and a stinking thrashing of the Dwarves in the afternoon game. All followed by several beers and curry. Great day out! #Midgard
neutral · AI labelView post →While the Lonely Mountain and Ravenhill are finished, there’s still some items that need building for our Battle of Five Armies game at The Other Partizan this weekend. Tonight I’ve knocked up the ruined bridge and the Dwarves’ wall. Painting next! #mogsymakes #middleearth #wargaming #miniatures
neutral · AI labelView post →A highly entertaining game which went down to the final Turn, with the Dwarves winning by 2 Reputation tokens! #miniatures #wargaming #spreadthelard #nerdlings #midgardheroicbattles
neutral · AI labelView post →In today’s blog at The Legacy of Dominic Deegan I explain why the dwarves have become “my people” in fantasy, and how a recent Pathfinder game with my friends solidified that. THE DWARVES ARE MY PEOPLE NOW www.dominic-deegan.com/the-dwarves-...
neutral · AI labelView post →*sigh* Boy, oh boy. I am giving positive to this one, but i am going to be darn' rought with it: 1) it took be about 4 years and 6 attempts to get through the game. I kept on giving up on it so many times. 2) the game can be finished in about 4-6 hours. it is SUPER SHORT (short game about dwarves? that's a grudgin')- aftergame credits took about 30 minutes. In this regard, that is just untasteful 3) How could you make combat weakest part of game that is fulyl focused on combat? There is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I read the books, I played the game. You should read the books.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just realized that since you play Ciri, maybe we get to fuck dudes including the Dwarves in this game hell yeah
neutral · AI labelView post →Been watching too much Joey's Castle and now I want to make a bullshit board game about the Dwarves
neutral · AI labelView post →Buggy, bad combat system. The game feels like half ARPG and half visual novel, if you play for the ARPG part you will get disappointed, however the story isn't bad. 4/10 overall.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I actually quite liked this game. I think the role play side of things, the world and the characters are very well done and the graphics are truly gorgeous! Unfortunately, the combat is a little bit weak; not absolutely weak and it's not terrible. This is the game's second greatest flaw, only eclipsed by it's price tag! At £35, this game is not cheap, but it really is quite dear when you consider that I beat the thing in less than 15 hours, which is pretty bad for a game with very limited…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →* Game That Celebrates Play For Its Own Sake Glory to the Dwarves! by Rob Prag "Toasting and boasting turn out to be really fun! In Glory to the Dwarves, players take on the roles of dwarves from 3 clans who will naturally create a bustling atmosphere of a medieval fantasy tavern."
neutral · AI labelView post →OMG what are these controls and voice lines. The tutorial/introduction section was enough for me. I don't need to put 1 more minute in this.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My first impression of this game was great, cool Dwarfs and horde mode mechanics where you control a few Dwarves slaughtering all the orcs with interesting RPG elements and fully voice story telling. I read all the reviews about the combat system and didn't believe it was that bad the first 5 missions. The combat definitely needed polish but didn't think much of it. That is until you start needing to cheese levels or to execute moves by spamming space every 2 seconds cycling every hero. The…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you'd love the books, you will hate the game. Graphics are passable at best and the plot stays true to the books. But bugs, unbalanced combat, and a broken save system make this more frustrating than fun. You either beat it in one go or forget how to play entirely which adds to the frustration. Additionally, you can become stuck in parts of the game where even a reload cannot save you.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Harding’s quest in The Deep Roads has definitely been a highlight of the game for me. The Dwarves in Dragon Age has always fascinated me, so going through this playing a Dwarf Rook especially felt appropriate #DragonAgeVeilguard #VeilguardSpoilers #VirtualPhotography #VPSupport #VPRepost
neutral · AI labelView post →Combat is clunky and sometimes confusing. And sometimes your guys feel weak, But the game itself is very fun. Story is engaging. And there's dwarfs.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'll give this a thumbs-up, but only under the following conditions: a) do not buy it at full price. 40€ after 5 years is overpriced! I bought at full price - I regret. b) you should love~<3 Games based around Dwarves c) you should not be afraid of a lot of text - and if you are not afraid of a lot of text you should not expect a deep CRPG. Why I love the Game: Gameplay It is a bunch of fun to guide the Dwarves (not those other dudes!) through combat. Build a line, crush the Orcs with…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There might be a good story here but the combat makes the story have no value. I have tried to play this game a few times but I just cant ever get into it because Combat does not feel like a rewarding experience, It feels like a punishment because you dare to play this game for fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I painted a bunch of Dwarves tonight, for the board game The Dwarves, based on the book The Dwarves. Dwarves.
neutral · AI labelView post →I’m new to The Dwarves series by @mahet.bsky.social and am thoroughly enjoying it (English translation). So much so, I’ve started playing the #videogame adaptation (2016) and it is super fun. What game adaptations of #books do y’all enjoy?
positive · AI labelView post →I've seen a lot of negative reviews about this one, and while its true that its not perfect, it's by far as worst as those reviews make it. Yes, I'll start by saying that the combat is not easy to get used and requires quite a few pauses in between special attacks, but its so satisfying seeing tens of orcs and goblins flying all over. Now, while the combat isn't wow, what this game shines is the story which follows the first book of The Dwarves Series(Just bought the first four books, so…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Eesh. Game seems like they spent 90% of their budget making a, pretty good, audio book and tried to cram a game in with the last 10% by getting game design students to work for "exposure". The art is bad. The textures make everything feel flat and plastic. Combined with the truly awful animation you get the feel that you're hopping lego men across a the table instead of interacting with characters. Cinematic animations are similarly jerky and lifeless. Some of the environments are…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is such a mix of quality and it was painful to hear my old house gods Blind Guardian play the score in the end credits. Generally the gameplay is awful and a disgrace. The Dwarves is a Unity game and it has all the typical defects of Unity games; clunky and unresponsive controls, interface, and interaction. It just feels dead and empty. It is clear that gameplay was the lowest post on the budget list. The the strength of The Dwarves lies in the cut scene models/animations, story…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We did it. This game is getting fun: We the Dwarves are going aggro against the forces of Sauron. Watch us with your evil eye in the sky will you? Dwarves do not consent to be watched. We want to be left alone to dig for gold but nooo now we gotta fight the orcs. Sauron keeps spying on us.
neutral · AI labelView post →Happy #ScreenshotSaturday ! Have you tried Mine Cart Operator? It is a puzzle game I made about managing the rail system of a a mine and help the Dwarves delivery their ores in the most efficient way! Mac/Linux/Windows: cherrybit.itch.io/mine-cart-op... Android: play.google.com/store/apps/d...
neutral · AI labelView post →This week’s location showcase for our At the Heart of Ruin expansion reveals the Ember Mines, a highly contested site that once belonged to the Dwarves of Dvendar Tharr.. Read the full article here: vagrus.com/news/dlc-loc... #darkfantasy #rpg #dnd #turnbased #indiegame
neutral · AI labelView post →A very very tense game with both sides down to their last units and reputation tokens. The charge in the rear clinched for the Dwarves, but it could just as easily gone the other way. #Midgard #MurphysHeroes
neutral · AI labelView post →I will be at the GAMA expo in Louisville, February 23-27, to support the first appearance of two new games, Treasure of the Dwarves, probably my last and best big box game, and Trollympics, a fun dice rolling and card drafting game, published by my friends at Trick or Treat Studios Games.
neutral · AI labelView post →It's certainly not worth 50$ after nearly 10 years that's for sure
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole! Diggy Diggy Hole! Diggy Diggy Hole!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game was ok for $10 until the feminist ♥♥♥♥.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I want to like this game, I really do, but the game mechanics get in the way of enjoyment.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Playing The Dwarves is a whole lot more enjoyable than what I expected. Review became a lot longer than I expected too so.. TLDR. STORY AND LORE that goes into the game is well done and progresses at a good and steady pace. NARRATIONS AND VOICE ACTING are amazingly well written and well done. I particularly loved the comical dialogues that comes up from the interactions between the characters throughout the game and the voice overs definitely give life to each of the characters which…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The games story is well written, however i find the combat and most events to be extremely buggy to the point where they just stop working meaning u have to reload old saves or members of your party just dont respond in combat causing u to fail and redo it all over and over again. overall i found despite the rich story telling that the flaws with events and the janky gameplay ruins the entire experiance
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can say i loved the story, The art work, the music. But there are so many bugs i found in the game. npc's stuck in T pose. The controls are horrible. Like it felt like i should have more control over my character but somewhere down the line they changed the controls. Because the right click to move and then use an ability and left click. It did not always work or you are marked for action to your left and your guy swings to the right. I mean i cursed a lot at this game. But what kept me going…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not the last time, they also have quest and song in game The Dwarves, but unfortunately the concert is only narration song still a banger non the less www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5X7...
neutral · AI labelView post →For sure, which yes, it's weird to have that take with a game. Honestly, I knew by Trespasser something horrific had happened to the Dwarves, but DATV showed us all, just how horrific it was. Yet, no one talks about it.
neutral · AI labelView post →Rock and stone!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →eh. this is not a bad game actually. and i really liked all the references in the game. But more than several ocasions, i felt my hand forced towards the reason and i hated it; like that time that i got offered to use one of two potions to help someone in my fellowship but it didnt work like it should and forcing me to murder someone with poison. poor dialogue choices leaves a bad after taste.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While the story and the overall aesthetics of the game are pretty decent and interesting, it all falls apart with the gameplay and combat. It is already sort of annoying, that nothing in this game is real time as you will be pausing the game every two seconds or less to issue commands, but the thing that killed the game for me was, that even after switching to very easy, the difficulty was still spiking a lot. If you don't like a game, where you cheese your way through a level instead of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Atrocious gameplay, decent story. As a massive dwarf fanatic who loves everything about dwarves and dwarfdom, I found this to be a complete waste of money, despite picking it up on an 80% sale. The story is still not good enough to wade through the quagmire of diarrhea that is the gameplay. If you really want some dwarf lore, read Markus Heitz' books that the game is based on. 3/10, some interesting characters, decent story, dreadfully terrible combat system and gameplay.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Table two for Sword Weirdos. This time a secenario from Frostgrave. In the center of the map we have the Well of Futures and the scenario awarded 5pts for finishing the game with a model who drank from it, 2pts for killing a model who drank from it, and 1pt per taken lootbox. The Dwarves won.
neutral · AI labelView post →Rock and Stone!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I must say if you like DND and love dwarves. This is the game for you. The story can be somewhat hard to follow, but the story building is fantastic and so is the Combat. 10/10 would Oink, Oink again to any orc.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →bit of a short game, innit?!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Story seems interesting but the gameplay is super boring
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →actually entering the mines of moria in this game (LOTR: Return to Moria) is SCARY THE DWARVES DELVED TOO GREEDILY AND TOO DEEP
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a hidden gem but unfortunately there are a lot of annoying bugs. The game is short but in my opinion thats a good thing. You can easily complete it under 12h. The combat is a bit clunky and the progression is as deep as a puddle. But it was still satisfying to mow down hordes of orcs. The story and narration are very good and definitely the best part about this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Combat is tedious, annoying, and boring to engage in.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The good about this game Fantasy dwarves are cool, I love them, there aren't enough quality games with this loveable race in them. If you like dragon age origins dwarf playthroughs you might like this. The story in this game is based on a best selling book, so the story has some good characters and interesting elements and plot twists. Although I'm sure the book would be better storywise. The combat is quite challenging and the normal difficulty may be too difficult for a lot of people. I do…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Verdict: Amazing story, totally atrocious combat system. Get it if you are a fan of the books. + Steam achievements (34, single playthrough + challenges) Faithfull adaptation of Markus Heitz's book The Dwarves (Die Zwerge (2003)) The in-game cinematics are pretty damn amazing Unique take on Dwarven mythology The game didn't shy from the more brutal elements of the books (like gouged eyes) Pretty decent soundtrack Amazing narrative experience (fully voiced) A lot of companions and they all…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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