Dorfromantik review for Nintendo Switch, PC

About a year ago, I reviewed a town-building game called Townscaper. I wasn?t a fan. It made it easy to build up a town, sure, and it had a pretty laidback vibe to it, but it didn?t seem to have a broader point other than just building for the sake of it.

I?m reminded of Townscaper as I play Dorfromantik. It, too, is all about building a town (or, more accurately, a bunch of towns, as well as the countryside, and rivers, and trains in between). It, too, is incredibly laidback. But there?s one crucial difference: Dorfromantik is amazing.

The difference between the two games comes down to the fact that Dorfromantik has light puzzle elements. Rather than just building and building and building, Dorfromantik gives you points for making tiles match up well together. You don?t just slap down some houses next to some trees, you create chains by linking houses to create a town, and linking trees to create a forest. Link enough, and get enough points, and you start to unlock new biomes, and new features like boats to navigate waterways, and windmills to dot the landscape.

To add to the delightful vibe, Dorfromantik also has a pleasantly chill soundtrack. It?s unobtrusive, but it drifts along in the background, and keeps everything on a nice, even keel.

Just about the only complaint I have is that the Dorfromantik?s controls are a bit annoying once your maps start getting big. It?s easy enough to place and rotate tiles when there?s not much happening on the screen, but when you expand outward in all directions, it can take some patience to put down new tiles exactly where you want them.

But not even that tiny annoyance was enough to make me harbour any negative feelings towards the game. Dorfromantik is all about keeping things calm and challenging you just enough to keep you coming back for more, and it?s guaranteed to get you hooked.

Toukana Interactive provided us with a Dorfromantik Switch code for review purposes.