Dawnfolk
The Summer of Demos - Day Nineteen
In a world suffocated by darkness, bring back the light one tile at a time. City builder are rarely my thing, to the point of me calling them all “map games”, but the development and protection of my little settlement compelled me.
One thing setting Dawnfolk apart is the minigames you play to increase rewards when sending your people out to hunt or fish. Taking part in these is optional and can be disabled, but these little diversions where you move left to right and occasionally shoot or dodge projectiles break up the pace.
The game is presented as a map of tiles, with the tiles adjacent to your base already illuminated. With the help of the fire sprite Lueur, you build a settlement from crop fields to tents to churches. Churches are especially useful as they generate Light that can illuminate other tiles. Homes also generate Light but you can ask people to Pray at the Church to produce extra Light.
Every now and then, Lueur will warn you that the darkness is approaching and you need to be prepared to defend your settlement. When it arrives in the form of a Dark Storm that slowly takes over tiles, fighting it directly is the best course of action but costs Light. Leave it for too long and it will dissipate but leave many of your tiles enshrouded once again.
The game has a story mode, with the demo covering the first level “Last Hope”. Here you build up civilization in a variety of biomes and chip away at the darkness, coming to know its true nature. Each level also has challenges to reshape how you approach its challenge. There are three difficulties : Settler, Survivor and Deity. There is also a free play mode more in line with most strategy games and a puzzle mode not available in the demo.
Developed solo by a former Ubisoft game designer, Dawnfolk is a fun experience. Between the minigames, the cute fire sprite, the light story and the short play sessions, I look forward to seeing more of Dawnfolk and bringing light back to the world.
In a word : illuminating.
Dawnfolk (formerly Lueur & The Dim Settlers) is an upcoming survival city builder developed by Darrenn Keller and published by Astra Logical for PC via Itch and Steam, targeting a 2025 release. A Nintendo Switch port is planned. You can request access to the playtest on the Steam page now. All images copyright of Darrenn Keller unless otherwise stated.
This article is part of the Summer of Demos series, where I’ll be releasing a Demo Diving preview article each day in July. If you liked this article, be sure to share it with a friend or enemy. If you back me on Patreon, you get access to articles one day before they release anywhere else. If we reach £25/month before the end of July, I’ll extend the Summer of Demos into August.