Hammerting

Had potential, but was abandoned.

very cool game but it was abandoned

Played all day for 2 days and there are so many bugs I am pulling my hair out. I play a lot of video games of this genre, and it is so buggy I cant even play it anymore. I am so tired of these broken games being allowed to be sold. It seems like it could have been one of those games you play forever, but unfortunately, the game bugs out once your heavily invested. I have started over 3 times with hours invested and get stuck at the same points. Shame on you steam for allowing slop to be sold.

Hammerting is an ambitious dwarven colony simulator that mixes deep crafting systems, vertical base-building, and resource-driven progression into a sprawling underground world that constantly shifts between discovery and crisis. Developed by Warpzone Studios and published by Team17 Digital, the game places you at the helm of a fledgling mining outpost carved into the side of a colossal mountain. Your dwarves begin with little more than rudimentary tools and a few torches, and from there the experience grows into a complex interplay of production lines, subterranean exploration, and logistical problem-solving. The sense of early expansion is undeniably captivating: each swing of a pickaxe reveals new pockets of stone, hidden caverns, rare minerals, and opportunities to expand your growing dwarven stronghold into something intricate and impressively layered. What makes Hammerting stand out initially is its unique approach to base construction. Instead of a traditional horizontal map, the world stretches downward, requiring players to think vertically—building shafts, lifts, ladders, and rail systems to help dwarves traverse deeper and deeper into the mountain. As new ores are discovered, the crafting possibilities expand, allowing you to forge weapons, produce advanced alloys, brew potions, or fabricate complex machinery. Slowly, rooms begin to fill the mountain: forges glow red, breweries bubble, farms sprout in artificially lit caverns, and smelting operations rumble through stone corridors. The satisfaction of watching your dwarven industry evolve into a living machine—complete with bustling workers, automated routes, and interconnected production hubs—is one of the game’s strongest appeals. For players who enjoy games about optimizing workflows and orchestrating sprawling craft chains, Hammerting offers a rich sandbox. Yet this complexity comes at a cost. The deeper you progress, the more the cracks in the game’s systems begin to reveal themselves. Dwarves, despite their hardy nature, do not always behave predictably. Their AI frequently struggles with prioritization and pathfinding, causing them to idle inexplicably, wander into danger, or ignore tasks that seem urgent or obvious. What should be a smooth logistical network sometimes devolves into micromanagement as you attempt to force dwarves to pick up resources, deliver goods, or complete construction tasks they’ve decided to avoid. As the colony grows, so does this friction, occasionally turning what should be a graceful dwarven machine into a disorganized workforce prone to inefficiencies. Another area where Hammerting strives for depth but falls short is its overworld system. The game hints at a larger conflict on the surface—a war that your dwarves indirectly support through crafting, trading, and fulfilling faction requests. Although this concept has potential, it feels underdeveloped in execution. The deliveries and faction missions often lack meaningful progression or strategic impact, reducing what could have been a dynamic external pressure into a series of detached chores. As a result, most of the emotional and mechanical investment falls squarely on the underground colony itself, leaving the overworld as little more than a thematic backdrop rather than an engaging outside front. Visually, Hammerting has moments of charm. The contrast between rough, untouched stone and the warm glow of torch-lit workshops lends the mountain a sense of life and transformation. Watching your handcrafted settlement stretch across multiple layers—bridges spanning chasms, lava-lit caverns humming with industry, high-altitude farms producing mushrooms and vines—carries a strong sense of dwarven identity. The deeper you dig, the more diverse and dangerous the environments become, occasionally revealing vast chambers, hostile creatures, and rare materials that renew the thrill of discovery. This ebb and flow between routine production and unexpected exploration gives the game an appealing rhythm, even if its systems sometimes struggle to keep up. However, Hammerting’s learning curve can be steep. New players, especially those unfamiliar with colony-management titles, may find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer number of systems at play and the lack of thorough onboarding. Tutorials offer a basic introduction but leave many details unexplained, requiring players to piece together the logic of the game through trial and error. Understanding resource flow, prioritization, production bottlenecks, and transportation efficiency becomes essential, and until these frameworks click, the experience can feel confusing—and occasionally frustrating. In the end, Hammerting is a game defined by both ambition and uneven execution. At its best, it is a sprawling dwarven engineering playground where creativity and optimization intertwine beautifully. Watching an intricate, multi-level colony run smoothly is immensely satisfying, and the game offers countless hours of tinkering for players who love complex management challenges. At its worst, however, it struggles under the weight of its own systems, with inconsistent AI, underdeveloped mechanics, and micromanagement requirements that can sap momentum. It remains a compelling but flawed gem—brimming with ideas, rich in atmosphere, and rewarding in moments, yet constantly in need of refinement to reach the full potential of its dwarven vision. Rating: 6/10

I love the concept, but it's very clear that the devs gave up somewhere along the way. Too many bugs, lack of polish, poor documentation, and very little QoL features. I don't blame the devs. They were probably forced to release ahead of when they were comfortable and gave up on patches because of all of the negative reviews. I hope they take pride in their work and keep on developing. This game is definitely an abandoned child, but I wish the devs luck.

Ich hab knapp 427 Stunden Lebenszeit in dieses Game versenkt. Es hatte das Potential das allergeilste Zwergenminen-Game nach oder sogar neben Dwarf Fortress zu werden (neben weil andere Optik/Ansatz). Aber die Entwickler, entweder freiwillig oder vom Publisher gezwungen haben das Spiel 3/4 fertig fallen gelassen. Das ist eine Schande und echt traurig. Es gibt so viele räudige Spiele in Steam die von nutzlosen Entwickler angefangen, für teuer Geld im EA verhökert und dann verlassen werden, aber Hammerting hatte richtig viel richtig gemacht und schon toll abgeliefert. Sie versprachen: Wir machen es fertig. Haben Sie nicht. Sie versprachen Modsupport: Haben Sie nicht gemacht. Mit Modding hätten wir das letzte Viertel fertig machen können. Mit Modding hätten wir die Geschichten erzählen können von den Zwergen aus Mittelerde, aus Warhammer, aus dem Geborgenen Land, aus Aventurien, aus Faerûn, aus all den Zwergenreichen die wir so lieben. Aber sie haben ihre Versprechen nicht gehalten. Sie sind EIDBRÜCHIGE. Daher: Daumen runter.

every time I play this i'm reminded why I stopped. there are so many places where you are just stuck waiting to upgrade things, there is so little quality of life features added, and you can soft lock yourself out of tech due to you not being able to unlock something.

I need to watch some reviews before buying games. This game is so unplayable for normies. No explanation but incredbly complex systems - zero tutorial - just 50 different popups explaining things with little text bubbles. It felt like sitting through corporate mandatory training just to technically qualify as an "introduction" to the game's systems. This game was designed for robot-humans. If you are a complete spreadsheet autist with an endless quantities of Adderall, then it's right up your alley.

still loving this game, even if unfinished

I see people complaining about endgame, and I have no idea what that's like, but as it sits at 90% off for only €2, I think it's a very good deal. Interface could be better, but is workable. It's interesting enough to entertain me for probably quite a few hours yet to go. If you like stuff like Fallout Shelter, this is for you. Thumbs up, with the caveat that it probably isn't worth the full price but for two bucks, heck yeah.