Dorfromantik is another example of a chill game that really just wants you to relax. Indeed, the game is about building landscapes and thinking things out. Ultimately, we want you to take your time, relax, and just have fun. It’s the type of game that’s perfect for the Nintendo Switch. Want to pick it up for a quick 20 minute play session? Perfect, the Dorfomantik is perfect for that little playtime. What about hours-long sessions? Dorfomantik fits perfectly with this playstyle as well. It’s that unusual combo that makes Dorfromantik fun to play, even if the Switch port’s controls aren’t ideal.
Dorfromantik gameplay is simple puzzle building done in a beautiful way. Align the hexagonal grid with the stack of hexagonal tiles. Forests, houses, plains, fields, and other things he can mix in any of his six planes. Your goal is to match same side to same side. For those familiar with the Civilization franchise, consider that game. But it’s a jigsaw puzzle where you have to slide the pieces into the right place instead of calculating detailed numbers. As the game progresses, this element becomes more complex, making you wonder if that hexagonal piece can fit on all the surfaces it’s currently in contact with.
This simplicity of Dorfromantik hides a series of deeper, fun and interesting things to do and create. Sometimes you get small missions that give you extra points, like building a forest next to more forest tiles and giving you a specific size forest area. Other times, you’ll focus on matching the rest of the tiles to earn the points you’ve made. How you play is up to you, but small missions will make you rethink how you play. This allows you to keep playing further as you have to beat your previous high score.
Dorfromantik’s presentation is also top-notch, and the world expands as you progress through the game. Land of different colors, autumn trees, forests, lakes – everything is visually striking. At first, your world is smaller and visually the same. But when it really starts and the world expands, the land is really beautiful.
The only big problem is with the Switch version itself. It performs pretty well, but Joy-Con is not an ideal controller scheme. Rotate the camera with the directional pad and rotate the tiles with the trigger. If we’re being completely honest, this should be the other way around. Cameras need to be mapped to triggers and tiles need to press the directional pad. There’s also no easy way to jump to the tile the camera is hovering over without using the touchscreen. There should be a button you can press to jump to where you are currently trying to place the tile. Even if this was the default control scheme, if there was a way to customize the controls, we could allow this.
Dorfromantik is a unique puzzle game that anyone looking for a chill experience should check out. Yes, it has some strange control scheme decisions that rob it of a fun, relaxing experience. That said, Dorfomantik does what all good puzzle games should do. In short, it offers smart simplicity. It’s easy to understand, but it’s an increasingly challenging game that people should check out. .
