Dungeon Settlers' First-Day Steam Reviews: What Players Are Saying

The first player verdicts on Dungeon Settlers are in. As of September 5, 2026 — roughly one day after the Early Access launch — the game holds a “Very Positive” Steam rating, with 161 of 188 user reviews positive (~86%).

What do positive reviews praise?

The gameplay loop comes up first. One 4-hour player: “Really fun and good gameplay loop… Overall great so far.” Another, after 13 hours: “I found the gameplay loop to be fun, research tree is a little small, but besides that the game has quite enough to keep me engaged for some time.”

The RimWorld comparison is the recurring frame — usually favorable. A 6-hour review: “Normal feels more like Rimworld with a fantasy dungeon twist.” Others describe it as an easier, more dungeon-focused take on the colony-sim formula.

Stability surprised several reviewers. A 4-hour player: “no bugs so far, which is quite impressive for early access.” (CanOpener’s own known-issues list is longer than that — individual mileage clearly varies.)

And the art direction wins people over even against genre preferences: “I’m not a fan of settlement sims but this game is so charming and easy to get into, I’m having an absolute blast.”

What do critical reviews say?

Of the 27 negative reviews, three themes repeat:

• Content volume vs. price — several Korean and Chinese reviews say the current build feels thin for the Early Access price, with one noting the full release is estimated two years out
• The random reroll system — characters roll random stats, traits, and classes; one Chinese reviewer reported rerolling for an hour looking for a usable start, and wants an option to lock at least one role
• Skill micromanagement — a Korean review complains that triggering each of four party members’ skills individually on every cooldown is tiring

One English review, positive but waiting: “I will wait to fully dive into it when/if they add a way to create your own characters.” Character creation is not on the published roadmap — the closest planned item is the Update 5 modding beta.

One tip players keep repeating

Multiple reviews independently report that the game starts on Hard by default and recommend switching to Normal for a first run — one puts it bluntly: “Game Auto starts on Hard” and calls it “a real struggle.” That’s player-reported, not official; there’s no published difficulty guide yet. If you’re starting out, our beginner’s guide walks the opening loop.

What to read next

• Early Access Goes Live September 4, 2026 — what shipped, the discount, and the roadmap
• Update v0.4.12 Patch Notes — the first patch, shipped within hours
• Known Issues & Fixes — the official troubleshooting list