Dwarfs!? is an indie game developed by Power of Two and published by
Tripwire Interactive. It was released on
Steam on May 4, 2011. In here, you control a colony of dwarves as you help them dig their way to some treasure as you keep on expanding their territory. A free-to-play version has been released on October 18, with all tutorials and challenge modes free and other modes available for purchase.
Dwarfs!? provides examples of:
- Artificial Stupidity: An odd example in which the game is programmed that way intentionally. Dwarf diggers must have ADHD. They will constantly change the direction in which they dig, without regard for what might lie behind the next wall of soil.
- Convection, Schmonvection: Somehow, magma doesn't heat up the soil around them, and your digger dwarfs don't seem to notice that there's magma on the other side. Oh, and walling of the magma and solidifying the soil around it cools it instantly.
- Giant Mook: Starting out with goblin shamans, and with progressively tougher giant mooks as you mine further and further.
- Hazardous Water: It is possible for dwarves to dig into a water vein, causing the tunnels to flood and instantly kill dwarves in their path. The player must establish a barrier to contain the flood before it hits the home base.
- Human Cannonball: Dwarven Cannonball: You can use one of these for your group of Dwarven infantry at their barracks.
- It's Raining Men: It's Raining Dwarfs: You can send dwarfs to other places using cannons.
- Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Sort of. Your dwarfs are bearded, are industrious, love gold, and live underground, but other traits are unknown. Awesome Dwarf also has those traits, in addition to loving booze and stout, but he's more of Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe than Scottish, isn't blunt-spoken, and doesn't have a hatred against elves, although there doesn't seem to any elves in the game.
- RPG Elements: Your dwarfs can gain xp, giving them levels.
- Shout-Out:
- Awesome Dwarf, while talking in his sleep before one tutorial: "I'm a dwarf and I'm digging a... (snores)", a reference to a song Simon Lane of the Yogscast sometimes sings. note On the same update where developers picked up Simon's voice acting
- One of the Achievements is called "Eeeh?! Iisi Moodo?!". note coming from the fanmade Touhou Project music "Overdrive" by IOSYS
- An achievement for accumulating 40k gold unlocks the achievement "Not a Warhammer", a play on Warhammer 40,000.
- Too Dumb to Live: The entire point of the game is to prevent the dwarves from killing themselves. Unfortunately this is harder than it sounds. For example: you can block off water with walls. Dwarves will freely mine through walls unless ordered away.
