Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot — Steam Review
- XPN Network
- Apr 10
- 3 min read
Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot looks simple on the surface, it's a side‑scrolling auto‑battler where your stout little warriors smash through orcs, shamans, archers, and whatever else the game throws at them. But the longer you play, the more the systems reveal themselves, and suddenly you’re knee‑deep in spreadsheets, stat weights, and formation theory like a bearded Sun Tzu.
Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot drops you into the boots of a raid leader with a beard problem. You start with two scrappy little beardlings, barely armed and definitely not ready for the orc‑infested gauntlet ahead. Battles play out automatically, but the real game happens before the fighting: choosing formations, assigning roles, and squeezing every last stat point out of whatever gear the RNG gods hand you
Runs follow a consistent rhythm: Choose encounter → fight → collect loot → upgrade → recruit → repeat. It’s clean, readable, and incredibly moreish.
You begin by selecting a clan (essentially a save slot with its own persistent progression), then pick from three encounter cards showing enemy types, rewards, and biome. Early on, these choices feel small. Later, they become the difference between a promising run and a beard‑singed disaster.
Combat is automated, but not passive. Weight, speed, and positioning create a push‑and‑pull battlefield where your frontline can literally shove enemies into a “death zone” for bonus damage. Battles can become chaotic fireworks of arrows, spells, and crits, especially when sped up, but the underlying logic is surprisingly tactical.
You can issue limited commands (retreat, charge, toggle healing), but the real strategy happens before the fight.
Progression & Customisation
This is where the game sinks its hooks in:
Gear rarity and stat weighting matter enormously. A Knight wants stamina; a Warrior wants strength; a Thief wants dexterity.
The shop can be levelled to unlock higher‑tier loot, and rerolls become a dangerous gold sink.
The forge lets you break down gear for materials and upgrade items with branching stat choices.
Formations add passive bonuses based on class composition and positioning.
The Rune Circle is the long‑term meta progression, unlocking new classes, stat boosts, and build paths across clans.
Even 20+ hours in, you’re still discovering new synergies, new formations, and new ways to optimise your dwarven death machine.
Three difficulty modes in Loot, Glory, and the unlockable permadeath‑focused Death, let you tailor the challenge. Glory doubles gem gains, while Death punishes every mistake with finality. Once you push past 50 wins in a run, Raids unlock: brutal single‑boss encounters that test your build to its limits. They’re optional, but the rewards are tempting enough to lure you into hubris.
Pros
Deep, addictive progression loop that rewards experimentation
Tons of build variety through gear, classes, formations, and the Rune Circle
Satisfying tactical layer despite automated combat
High replayability with multiple clans and difficulty modes
Raids and quests add long‑term goals and variety
Clean pixel art with readable (and customisable) battle visuals
Cons
Repetitive combat animations can wear thin over long sessions
Controller support feels awkward compared to mouse play
Early game can feel slow until systems click
Minor performance hiccups on Switch hardware
Music loops quickly unless you use optional randomisation
Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot is one of those games you boot up “just to tweak a build” and suddenly it’s 2 a.m. It’s simple to learn, surprisingly deep to master, and endlessly rewarding for players who love optimisation, stat‑driven tinkering, and roguelite progression.
It’s not perfect as the repetition and occasional clunkiness hold it back, but the core loop is so strong that it barely matters.
XPN Rating: 4 out of 5 (GOLD)
Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot is available now!
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