A Smithing Game

Forge your own weapon, then fight with it

A Smithing Game is an online 2-4 player party game from solo developer Zoteling. Players gather ore and mushrooms around a shared arena, work through several stages of shaping, heating, quenching, sharpening, and enchanting to forge a personal weapon, then fight each other with whatever they've made, with the last combatant standing winning the round. This review draws on an English review sample, 73 reviews at the time of research, rated Mostly Positive overall.

Praised repeatedly for a genuinely novel core hook

The sample's most consistent theme is how much reviewers credit the idea of tying crafting directly into combat outcomes. "This clever combination of blacksmithing simulation and competitive multiplayer creates a distinctive experience that rewards both creativity and combat skill," reads one detailed review, describing how each forging step "has a noticeable impact on the finished product." A separate reviewer independently credits the same crafting-combat connection, despite finding the system underexplained: "There's clearly a lot going on with the forging but none of it is explained, so you have to experiment a lot to find what works best... it's a fun game to mess around with." This review treats that convergence as fair and meaningful: multiple reviewers independently crediting the forge-then-fight structure as a genuinely fresh combination, even when critical of its execution, is credible evidence of a strong core concept.

Praised for fun, chaotic sessions with friends

Reviewers also specifically credit how memorable the game becomes in a group setting. "One of the most fun games I've played this year. Me and my friends were dying laughing the whole time," reads one review. A separate reviewer independently describes a similar experience: "This game is already a classic in my books. While playing it feels like a measuring contest with all the players as they show off their swords and other creations." This review treats that as fair: reviewers independently describing standout, laughter-filled sessions with friends is credible evidence that the game succeeds at its core party-game goal, at least in short bursts.

Praised for its art style and soundtrack

This review also found consistent, specific praise for the game's presentation, appearing even in largely critical reviews. "Great concept, great art, good music," reads one review that goes on to criticise the forging system itself. A separate, more negative reviewer independently agrees: "Big bugs! no sound effects for my experience and friends said its a coinflip when you log in. Great soundtrack though." This review treats that as fair: reviewers across the spectrum of overall satisfaction still crediting the same specific audiovisual strengths is a credible, consistent signal.

A fair, heavily corroborated complaint about weapon and enchantment balance

Set against that praise, this review found the sample's most consistent complaint concerns combat balance. "Steel is too OP. As a group we decided to get around this by just banning the enchants of it but it is just so much stronger than the other ores," reads one review. A separate reviewer independently reports the same problem: "If you get the steel or bronze on a well enough forged weapon and enchant it your are near unstoppable especially if your happen to get the fire or poison enchant." A third reviewer reports the extreme case: "One player can just make a 700 damage sword 1 minute into the game and spawnkill everyone until they win since players have no way of defending themselves." This review treats that as fair and serious: three independent reviewers describing the same specific balance failure is credible, corroborated evidence of a real design problem.

A fair, corroborated complaint about thin content and unclear systems

This review also found related complaints about the game's depth and clarity. "It feels like its too soon for this to be a full release... The replay ability is lacking, once you play one round of this game, even with the alternating maps it gets stale quickly," reads one review. A separate reviewer independently reports the same staying-power problem: "It doesn't seem like it has much to do, and will just sit in your library till that rainy day you play it again." A third reviewer flags the smithing system's clarity specifically: "I think it needs a tutorial going much more in depth on how the weapon smithing process works because it was a bit difficult to understand at first." This review treats that as fair: multiple reviewers independently reporting thin long-term content and confusing systems, even while enjoying individual sessions, is a credible, corroborated complaint worth weighing against the low asking price.

Achievement data corroborates a small, thin playerbase

This review's own check of Steam's global achievement data, across 16 tracked milestones, shows 39.1% of players completing a single match, but only 1.2% reaching ten wins. That steep drop-off is consistent with reviewer accounts of a small community for a paid, online-only multiplayer game, with one reviewer explicitly noting that "not enough players or lobbies" makes it hard to find matches outside a dedicated friend group.

Final verdict

A Smithing Game is a genuinely inventive party brawler that earns real credit for fusing weapon-crafting and combat into a single system reviewers consistently describe as fresh and, at its best, genuinely fun with friends, backed by a likeable art style and soundtrack. This review found that praise significantly tempered by fair, heavily corroborated complaints about serious weapon and enchantment balance issues, thin content that several reviewers say gets stale quickly, unclear crafting mechanics, and a small paid-only playerbase that makes matches hard to find outside an existing friend group. For small groups after a cheap, chaotic novelty to try a few times together, it's a reasonable pickup; players wanting a well-balanced, long-term competitive game should wait for further updates.