Disclaimer. I am not affiliated to any company which is related to this game, a similar game, or any game news website. I didn't get any restrictions what to write, besides a time limit when to post it. I got this game for free though, to write this review.
I haven't played any beta versions. I played approx. 30 hours, one full game and half into the 2nd one. These are my observations and thoughts I had while playing.
Overall / summary
First things first: the game is absolutely worth playing. It is beautiful, engaging, dynamic and it is 100% pure “just one more turn” addictive. Exploring the map is fun. Especially in early eras. Animals, curiosities, hostile tribes, etc.Battle are fun. Building your empire feels good. This all is very dynamic and engaging. I didn’t sleep much in the last week lol
The game is beautiful. The map is gorgeous. The terrain details, zooming in and out working smoothly, it is incredible, giving you the details relevant for a zoom level. Plus you have a really neat UI, not only in a form, but also pretty good in content. Modders will make it better
, but right now I don’t see anything super important missing.
I have not encountered any bugs or issues that would prevent me from playing. That is something worth noting. Yes, there are some minor issues (see later in the post), yes probably balancing will be still in question, and yes there will always be people complaining about the AI, but considering this is its premiere and there will be certainly patches, etc. – the QA people did their job pretty well.
However, what is most important in a strategic game: how strategic is it? What systems are available? How are they designed? This is where it shines – the game is really well thought out and designed. When you play it – you can feel like you actually manage an empire, have actual diplomatic relations with your neighbors and when it is necessary – raise armies (actual armies) and go for battles.
Subsystems / Ideas
Cultures – the cornerstone of the game. You either like or don’t J I am on the “like” side. I like the idea that your empire changes, this is good. Getting new abilities allows for much more dynamic gameplay. Each faction has an affinity, a legacy trait, an emblematic unit, and an emblematic district. No more, no less. Legacy traits allows you to build your empire the way you want, because they stay for the rest of the game.
Cities and regions. Another fundamental idea of the game. It grows on me the more I play. It helps AI, also it moves your mental focus more to “empire” level, not “city” level. Same with districts. They are built pretty quickly, plus there are so many of them. You can really develop your cities and regions any way you like.
Diplomacy. It is well done. All the parts cooperate to give the feeling of actually building a relation with other nations. Starting from treaties, through trade, culture and religion, up to grievances and demands that could finally lead to war. Or you can have alliances and be peaceful.
War support. Another idea that when badly implemented could backfire. Here is seems it is working good. It forces you to look for a reason to start a war, plus changes perspective on how to actually conduct a war. A hint – starting an unjust war may get you into lots of troubles
Ideologies – an example of a well designed system which is simple, elegant and meaningful. First, it is simple – 4 axes, 8 ideologies, and each one gives you a specific edge. Second, in the middle they give you stability, when you radicalize – you loose stability, but gain other effects. Third, it is connected with diplomacy via Ideological proximity and influences i.e. war support.
Religion. It exists in the game, but atm is rather a background thing. You have a minimal control over spreading, mostly via a passive mechanic. It gives you 4 tenets, plus some civics. It influences a bit diplomacy (grievances, etc.) This is it. The is a good ground for future developments which I assume will happen. What is missing is an active form of spreading, like missionaries, building missions in other regions, inquisition, maybe reformation, etc.
Units – a wide variety, pretty much everything is covered. I really didn’t have a chance yet to play with late-eras units, especially artillery, air units and nuclear ones.
Combat / warfare. I like it that it more resembles the real life. There are armies, they grow in time, can have a mixture of units. You can attack, but you can also retreat. There are reinforcements. 3 turns for a battle that actually consume 1 in-game turn is great, because you actually have time for wars and the game isn’t running away. Also – the AI is pretty aggressive. They do skirmish, they build armies, they have modern units and they attack you.
Battlefield. This is what is advertised – terrain matters. And, boy oh boy… it matters. It really matters. Where you start a battle can be a difference of losing entire army or not a single unit. I had such a case – after I lost everyone, I reloaded the battle and moved my army into an adjacent tile, and then won with no losses. This taught me quickly that choosing a right battlefield is super important. Which also goes to where you settle your outposts and build cities. A good defensive position is precious.
Now some grievances. Maybe later we will be able to convert them into demands
Probably the biggest one – I wasn’t able to setup a game with “random” personalities. You have to select them upfront, so you know in advance how they will behave (ofc, to the extent in which personalities actually influence the game). The lack of “random” option just boggles me – this should be obvious.
I couldn’t find the an option to speed-up movement of units. There is one for battles, but not for movement. I actually abandoned military activities in the 2nd half of the game because the units moved so slow that it would take forever to go to another continent and do conquest. Please add quick movement option (or tell me where it is J)
There is no minimap. Ok, I can understand that is because you can really smoothly zoom-out the map. But still – these are additional clicks, an no matter what the zoom, you never see the entire map. And I was playing on Normal and Large, what about bigger maps?
Scarcity of strategic resources. On my map there were 3 Irons, literally. I had 1 and the other faction the rest. And I couldn’t buy it from them, no matter how hard I tried. They were either aggressive or hate filled entire game, and on another continent. So, I couldn’t get access to many units. Same happened with Uranium – 2 on the entire map. I had 1, they got the other. Nuclear warfare was out of the question. And lack of 1 another prevented me from finishing interplanetary expedition.
The fact that there is no easy way to quickly connect a new leader with an old one when they change factions. Like “English don’t like me” – ok. We do things, etc. Several turns passes and then suddenly Mexicans are in the game and who the heck are they? The only thing that you can use to easily connect them is their color and where they are on the map. Then I have to reprogram my brain.
The find function in Encyclopedia searches only for game content (i.e. units), you cannot find concepts, or keywords, etc. This is important when learning a game.
Finally, last but also maybe least. Cartoony style of leaders. Not my style. Not much more to discuss here.
End of complaining (for now)
In conclusion: “finally a worthy opponent; their battle will be legendary”
Enjoy your game!
I haven't played any beta versions. I played approx. 30 hours, one full game and half into the 2nd one. These are my observations and thoughts I had while playing.
Overall / summary
First things first: the game is absolutely worth playing. It is beautiful, engaging, dynamic and it is 100% pure “just one more turn” addictive. Exploring the map is fun. Especially in early eras. Animals, curiosities, hostile tribes, etc.Battle are fun. Building your empire feels good. This all is very dynamic and engaging. I didn’t sleep much in the last week lol
The game is beautiful. The map is gorgeous. The terrain details, zooming in and out working smoothly, it is incredible, giving you the details relevant for a zoom level. Plus you have a really neat UI, not only in a form, but also pretty good in content. Modders will make it better
, but right now I don’t see anything super important missing.I have not encountered any bugs or issues that would prevent me from playing. That is something worth noting. Yes, there are some minor issues (see later in the post), yes probably balancing will be still in question, and yes there will always be people complaining about the AI, but considering this is its premiere and there will be certainly patches, etc. – the QA people did their job pretty well.
However, what is most important in a strategic game: how strategic is it? What systems are available? How are they designed? This is where it shines – the game is really well thought out and designed. When you play it – you can feel like you actually manage an empire, have actual diplomatic relations with your neighbors and when it is necessary – raise armies (actual armies) and go for battles.
Subsystems / Ideas
Cultures – the cornerstone of the game. You either like or don’t J I am on the “like” side. I like the idea that your empire changes, this is good. Getting new abilities allows for much more dynamic gameplay. Each faction has an affinity, a legacy trait, an emblematic unit, and an emblematic district. No more, no less. Legacy traits allows you to build your empire the way you want, because they stay for the rest of the game.
Cities and regions. Another fundamental idea of the game. It grows on me the more I play. It helps AI, also it moves your mental focus more to “empire” level, not “city” level. Same with districts. They are built pretty quickly, plus there are so many of them. You can really develop your cities and regions any way you like.
Diplomacy. It is well done. All the parts cooperate to give the feeling of actually building a relation with other nations. Starting from treaties, through trade, culture and religion, up to grievances and demands that could finally lead to war. Or you can have alliances and be peaceful.
War support. Another idea that when badly implemented could backfire. Here is seems it is working good. It forces you to look for a reason to start a war, plus changes perspective on how to actually conduct a war. A hint – starting an unjust war may get you into lots of troubles
Ideologies – an example of a well designed system which is simple, elegant and meaningful. First, it is simple – 4 axes, 8 ideologies, and each one gives you a specific edge. Second, in the middle they give you stability, when you radicalize – you loose stability, but gain other effects. Third, it is connected with diplomacy via Ideological proximity and influences i.e. war support.
Religion. It exists in the game, but atm is rather a background thing. You have a minimal control over spreading, mostly via a passive mechanic. It gives you 4 tenets, plus some civics. It influences a bit diplomacy (grievances, etc.) This is it. The is a good ground for future developments which I assume will happen. What is missing is an active form of spreading, like missionaries, building missions in other regions, inquisition, maybe reformation, etc.
Units – a wide variety, pretty much everything is covered. I really didn’t have a chance yet to play with late-eras units, especially artillery, air units and nuclear ones.
Combat / warfare. I like it that it more resembles the real life. There are armies, they grow in time, can have a mixture of units. You can attack, but you can also retreat. There are reinforcements. 3 turns for a battle that actually consume 1 in-game turn is great, because you actually have time for wars and the game isn’t running away. Also – the AI is pretty aggressive. They do skirmish, they build armies, they have modern units and they attack you.
Battlefield. This is what is advertised – terrain matters. And, boy oh boy… it matters. It really matters. Where you start a battle can be a difference of losing entire army or not a single unit. I had such a case – after I lost everyone, I reloaded the battle and moved my army into an adjacent tile, and then won with no losses. This taught me quickly that choosing a right battlefield is super important. Which also goes to where you settle your outposts and build cities. A good defensive position is precious.
Now some grievances. Maybe later we will be able to convert them into demands
Probably the biggest one – I wasn’t able to setup a game with “random” personalities. You have to select them upfront, so you know in advance how they will behave (ofc, to the extent in which personalities actually influence the game). The lack of “random” option just boggles me – this should be obvious.
I couldn’t find the an option to speed-up movement of units. There is one for battles, but not for movement. I actually abandoned military activities in the 2nd half of the game because the units moved so slow that it would take forever to go to another continent and do conquest. Please add quick movement option (or tell me where it is J)
There is no minimap. Ok, I can understand that is because you can really smoothly zoom-out the map. But still – these are additional clicks, an no matter what the zoom, you never see the entire map. And I was playing on Normal and Large, what about bigger maps?
Scarcity of strategic resources. On my map there were 3 Irons, literally. I had 1 and the other faction the rest. And I couldn’t buy it from them, no matter how hard I tried. They were either aggressive or hate filled entire game, and on another continent. So, I couldn’t get access to many units. Same happened with Uranium – 2 on the entire map. I had 1, they got the other. Nuclear warfare was out of the question. And lack of 1 another prevented me from finishing interplanetary expedition.
The fact that there is no easy way to quickly connect a new leader with an old one when they change factions. Like “English don’t like me” – ok. We do things, etc. Several turns passes and then suddenly Mexicans are in the game and who the heck are they? The only thing that you can use to easily connect them is their color and where they are on the map. Then I have to reprogram my brain.
The find function in Encyclopedia searches only for game content (i.e. units), you cannot find concepts, or keywords, etc. This is important when learning a game.
Finally, last but also maybe least. Cartoony style of leaders. Not my style. Not much more to discuss here.
End of complaining (for now)
In conclusion: “finally a worthy opponent; their battle will be legendary”
Enjoy your game!
.
so there is some surprise.
