They may be small, but their hearts are large (metaphorically speaking); dwarves have always been a staple race in fantasy (and even in fantasy sci-fi). It's high time they get their proper recognition in gaming, which shouldn't be a tall order given how they're some of the fiercest, most loyal, and most resourceful people in fiction.
Sadly, there aren't really many games about dwarves as there are about elves or humans; but the few titles that encapsulate their dwarvish nature sure do stand out from the rest. Anyone aching for more of those beards, axes, ale, crankiness, grudges, and mining will surely find these following games about the short kings as good as gold.
9 Deep Rock Galactic
- Release Year: 2020
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Series X and Series S
It's good to hear that even in the grim dark future of sci-fi dwarves, they're still more or less the same. Deep Rock Galactic sees dwarves as a space-faring race who traded their kingdoms of stone for intergalactic mining corporations, meaning they still shut themselves in caves and crevices.
The goal for this four-player Left 4 Dead-esque title is to dig, explore, fight, and when all that's over, dig deeper. Combat is made more fun and dynamic compared to the usual high fantasy setting thanks to guns and high-tech dwarven weaponry.
8 We Are The Dwarves
- Release Year: 2016
- Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS
Like Deep Rock Galactic, We Are The Dwarves shares a newfound fondness for sci-fi dwarves. We Are The Dwarves features a party of three dwarven astronauts in this tactical turn-based adventure game where players must lead them against countless enemies.
In this story, dwarvenkind is dying and its up to the said astronauts to find a new domain that will house their race in an expedition for survival. Each dwarf astronaut has their own unique ability and the gameplay as well as the visuals are akin to top-down MOBAs.
7 The Dwarves
- Release Year: 2016
- Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Mac operating systems
There's a 99 percent chance that The Dwarves is not about elves, based on the title. Unimaginative title aside, players can treat it like a high fantasy version of We Are The Dwarves, except the dwarves have more personality and banter because it leans more towards the action-RPG genre.
It's also based on the novel of the same name, which is also about slaughtering numerous low-quality enemies with just a party of well-trained and cranky dad-bod powerlifters. Combat is real-time though players can pause it if it gets too hectic enough.
6 Regions Of Ruin
- Release Year: 2018
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac operating systems
Regions of Ruin is one of the lesser-known video games focusing solely on dwarves and this time around, they're on the brink of extinction. So players must take their dwarven heroes to rebuild while digging for riches and destroying any obstruction be it organic or rock.
While players are also indulging in their dwarven tendencies to be literal gold diggers, they also mustn't neglect their whole race of men who are under six-feet tall. On top of being an RPG, it's also a kingdom and settlement management game, a perfect hybrid for a dwarf game.
5 Dragon Age: Origins
- Release Year: 2009
- Platforms: PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox Cloud Gaming, macOS, Classic Mac OS
Dragon Age: Origins' isn't exclusively about dwarves, but there's nothing stopping the players from doing that. Players are allowed to pick a character from a dwarven race and make the dialog about them as much as the game allows in this classic BioWare RPG.
So while it barely classifies as a game centered around dwarves, one of the game's main acts takes place in the dwarven kingdom in the Deep Roads, meaning a big chunk of the game is about dwarves, along with the player's dwarven character. In any case, it's a good proper RPG for those who want more flexibility about their dwarf gameplay.
4 Craft The World
- Release Year: 2014
- Platforms: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Classic macOS
Craft The World taps into one of the most persistent traits of dwarvenkind, the compulsive need to build. It's a simple yet addicting sandbox strategy game where players must also explore a randomly-generated world, so they can build their own dwarven kingdom.
And don't be fooled by the "strategy" categorization, the game has everything a dwarf should be doing from strenuous overproduction of building material and jewelry to killing anyone who stands between them and their treasures.
3 Dwarf Fortress
- Release Year: 2006
- Platforms: Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Mac operating systems, Classic macOS
Speaking of building and digging deeper into the abyss to escape height discrimination and beard hate, Dwarf Fortress provides that experience in spades. It's a construction and management simulation game with roguelike elements sprinkled in for added drama and stakes.
The simple yet epic game which was facilitated by a two-man development team with the project kept alive and in development by donations. The main star of the game is its randomly-generated world which features a complexity that puts most open-world games to shame in this simulated rise and fall of civilizations.
2 Age Of Wonders 3
- Release Year: 2014
- ​​​​​​​Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Classic macOS
Like the previous Age of Wonders games, Age of Wonders 3 offers players an opportunity to play as dwarves and dwarves along in this 4X RPG/strategy hybrid. There's no other reason to play as anything else especially if one finds himself this deep into the list, and into the dwarven digging obsession. While it's not exclusively about dwarves, players can make it that way in a long enough timeline.
Dwarves will need to do more than digging here; Age of Wonders 3 is a fantasy game about domination where players must lead their faction into superiority through whatever counts for them as a victory. And in order to make the game truly-dwarf-centric, they'll have to pickaxe their enemies to death, starting with those goblins who share the underground with them.
1 Total War: Warhammer 3
- Release Year: 2022
- ​​​​​​​Platforms: Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, MacOS
As far as dwarven depictions go, not many are as imaginative or as extreme as those hailing from the Warhammer franchise. In the strategy game Total War: Warhammer 3, the dwarves are in full swing with a dedicated grudge mechanic where they list their grievances against other factions (petty or severe) to be dealt with in retribution colder than their alcohol.
Like in Age of Wonders 3, players get to lead their race of dwarves— nothing else preferably, in a grand playground of a world map primed for domination. While players could also settle for the first game, Total War: Warhammer 3 is special in that it's about to feature Chaos Dwarves; it's a special race of wicked dwarves who have sunk too much into machinery and greed to increase their stature, among other evil goals.