Diplomacy is Not an Option (DINAO) is an immersive real-time strategy game that was released in October of 2024 from developer Door 407. DINAO offers a refreshing gameplay loop through its simplistic base building, resource management mechanics, and customizable level difficulty, netting it a Very Positive rating on Steam. And with the new Deep update, it seems Door 407 isn’t done with the game just yet.
Imagine you are the lord of a castle with low-poly graphics surrounded by farms with golden wheat fields, stone houses to provide shelter to your subjects, and military barracks training subjects to be defenders of your realm. On the horizon, a single enemy pawn begins attacking your impressively defended settlement, but is easily dispatched by the local archer garrison. As their cartoonish bodies sink into the ground, they have a smile on their face. A chill runs down your spine as the vibrations shake dust from your fortifications, as you rush to the parapets and look at the hundreds, nay thousands, of foes whose only desire is to bring ruin to your fortress, no matter the cost. As you draw your sword and mount a last stand, you realize diplomacy was never an option.
Unfortunately for the enemy, DINAO utilizes an auto-save feature, and I could replay that heroic last stand over and over again until I possibly snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. This is the main gameplay loop offered to the player, constructing your base to overwhelming power while hordes of enemies continually threaten and destroy defensive fortifications to eventually destroy your castle.
The resource management system includes wood, stone, iron, food, and people, which complements the defensive structures to survive the successive waves of enemies. And, no feudal society would be complete without people to strike back at one’s enemies, who then use the aforementioned resources to build stronger and stronger units to achieve victory. And yet, sometimes, defeat was unavoidable, due to unclear difficulty setting differences and AI scaling that would punish the player for an inefficient strategy. This additional pain would be compounded on the player’s experience since a single mission usually requires multiple hours.
Door 407 wanted to make a video game that emulated old-school, hardcore, real-time strategy games that mandated high skill from its player base to complete a level. From the game’s initial 1.0 release on October 4, 2024, DINAO was much more difficult and lacked player-friendly features such as an Easy difficulty (Easy-Peasy Lemon Squeezy), an enhanced User Interface (UI) to provide accurate enemy warnings when juggling army micromanagement vs. base/resource macromanagement, and various cosmetic changes to communicate game state information through visual cues.
Door 407 has listened to its playerbase and continues to iterate and develop through consecutive yearly plans. Door 407’s yearly roadmap has led to 1,000,000 players (as of May 2026), disregarding diplomacy and enjoying the campaign, challenge, sandbox, and endless modes. Or, creating your own scenario through DINAO’s map editor, which is often utilized by fans and promoted by the developer.
Lastly, if the examination of this game’s gameplay loop, difficulty, and knowledge curve does not tempt you to try this unique experience, Door 407’s dedication to continued development over a year and a half after release certainly will. Additionally, Door 407 offers a free shareware option, Diplomacy Is Not An Option: Shareware, which recounts Duncan Ironbrow’s adventures as a narrative prequel through 2 procedurally generated missions and an endless mode to truly experience this unique combination of base builder and real-time strategy for the affordable price of FREE via Steam. A code was provided to Respawn Station for review.
