Dwindle Demo

Being stuck somewhere is a pretty terrifying experience, especially if you are slowly running out of supplies, or even worse, air. Hence, many people prefer to take their chances and make a run for it when the opportunity arises. On the other hand, in some situations it may be better just to wait for the rescue, especially if other people already know that you are missing.

Dwindle is an interesting experiment that plays a lot like a top-down RPG, but it’s actually more of an adventure game with survival elements. Hence, it all revolves around a group of miners that are stuck in a coal mine together with their foreman. Your goal is to find a way out and keep as many people alive as possible along the way, or at least try to.

You play the role of the foreman, which means that the people do not really like you. Even so, it’s your duty to talk to them and make sure they follow your lead. Unfortunately, the writing is not stellar, so it’s difficult to empathize with the miners, or even with the main character. This becomes a problem when you realize that the game is meant to have a psychological effect on the players.

The mine can be freely explored if you wish to do so, but there’s barely any light, and the maps are not reliable anymore due to the collapse. However, you can light up the torches you find along the way and make it easier to find the road back. It’s also possible to send other people out there in search of an exit, although you have to be prepared to deal with losses.

As far as the graphics are concerned, the top-down perspective makes it difficult to observe any details about the environment, but then again everything is quite dark anyway. The level design is a bit disappointing as well, because although the action takes place in a coal mine, that’s no excuse for the lack of detail. Not much can be said about the sound either, which is important for the atmosphere.

Even if Dwindle is still under heavy development, something needs to change in order for the final game to be worth your time. As of right now, the story is a bit too weak and badly exposed to capture your interest.