I spent most of the past few days playing Craft the World, a world building sim that’s a mix of Dwarf Fortress, Dungeon Keeper and Minecraft. This type of thing is normally what happens when you mix together a steam sale, a trip away with only my crappy laptop and an intensive need to game all the time.
However, I usually stop playing these sorts of games the moment that I get back home and my growling beast of a computer looks up at me expectantly, and who can resist those big brown eyes. Anyway, weird animal metaphors aside, I didn’t do that this time. I kept logging on and playing Craft the World desperate to help the plight of my hirsute civilisation.
So, how can I describe it? Well, you start with one dwarf ably equipped with a stone knife. You get him to chop down trees, mine stone, ore, and coal. After a while more and more dwarves join him, and you can start to dig out your subterranean homestead, and make your happy little chaps a home.
Simple as that? Well no, not quite. Like in any game there has to be those ne’er-do-wells who would revel in your total destruction and in Craft the World these come in the form of monsters. At the start the odd goblin or skeleton will show up to try to ransack your settlement and you’ll quickly despatch them with your wooden clubs, but soon enough portals will appear and drown the landscape in undead souls and your only option will be to run away and hide in your tunnels until day-break.
But don’t think you’re truly defenceless, as you build and make items, the items you can make expand. You may start making ladders and stone weapons, but keep making them and you’ll soon understand iron smelting, gunpowder, spaceflight and planet busting weapons like the one used to destroy Alderaan. Hmm, ok, not all of those are true, but you get the idea.
If there is anything bad to say about Craft the World it’s that the AI can be a little sketchy, and by that I mean that your dwarves may try to run half way across the screen for little to no reason, and some of the things need a bit of a better explanation. Don’t worry about this though, as I will be adding a little hints and tips guide right after I’ve posted this.
Craft the World Final Verdict
So, while Craft the World is in the Steam Sale, I would totally recommend you buying it, even after the sale it will still probably be worth it, and the AI issues which are getting better can be easily overlooked.
8/10
