Gnomoria

Gnomoria

You can literally play for 2000 hours (yes 2000) hours of this game, over a year and a half, and not get bored of it. It’s that good. You can create limitless amounts of new kingdoms with each new game, set difficulties, peaceful or not, metal/gem/coal resource abundance etc. There is much more than meets the eye of simple gfx and sound. After a while you figure out that if you want to build a stone temple, you have to dig a hole down and get stone, turn it into stone blocks (with workshops for each type of thing) and craft the blocks and tell the gnomes where to build. It’s total freedom but with that comes the complexity of running your own little kingdom. Are you up to the challenge? It’s like simcity or warcraft meets minecraft. For those that don’t like FPS games or need a break from them, this is a great break. Actually… it is more like a black hole from which you won’t want to escape. It is that fun. Oh, and development is constant. No fears as with some in-development games… the dev is at the ready and giving many new features on a consistent basis. Don’t starve, die of thirst, or get killed by bears, or anything that spawns below level -7 (that is where monsters can spawn, at level -8 and below). Monsters also spawn on the surface but they are usually wild animals only. Occasionally, depending on difficulty you get goblin raids (not too rough at first, again depends on your settings), but after a while they can get pretty tough. You will have to grow your own food, or forage from the naturally occuring fruit trees, or clip and plant some more of your own to make sure you always have plenty of spare food.

Real player with 2886.4 hrs in game


Read More: Best Colony Sim Building Games.


Difficult review. The game’s definitely a mixed bag, with some fairly serious and annoying issues, but at the same a time, a lot of them are quite easy to resolve and I’ve somehow played hundreds of hours so … it did something right?

While not one of the many early access scams like “Towns”, “Timber and Stone” or “Spacebase DF-9”, Gnomoria’s 1.0 release was definitely disappointing.

The game was released feature complete, however it lacks polish and some of the leftover bugs are potentially gamebreaking. (although the 2 most common ones have a very simple solution, more later)

Real player with 542.8 hrs in game

Gnomoria on Steam

Craft The World

Craft The World

I had my fair share of fun in Craft the World, only matched by infuriating frustration it never failed to induce.

Dwarves are beyond dumb. They run from fights they would win and they stand their ground when they should flee. When equipped with ranged weapons they tend to get in close then run away in direction the enemy is coming from ending up in the middle of a horde of hostiles, then obviously being unable to get to safety without your intervention (open a portal if you have mana or take control of them, go through the enemies and hope for the best). This also occurs to melee characters as they flee.

Real player with 536.3 hrs in game


Read More: Best Colony Sim Crafting Games.


At the Time of Writing

Game: Craft the World

Price: $21.99*

Genre: Simulation/Building

Time Played: 95 hours

Personal Enjoyment Rating: ☺☺☺☺☻

Links I Found Helpful**

A Youtube lets play by paulsoaresjrhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FF8kgUIy-U

This video pick might seem strange since it’s episode 18, however I felt that it would give you a good idea of what the game is like. If you enjoy exploring a new game for yourself, then you perhaps don’t want to watch it!

Real player with 244.7 hrs in game

Craft The World on Steam

Fractal Evolution

Fractal Evolution

Fractal Evolution is a 2D space exploration RPG with life simulation elements inspired by Conway’s Game of Life.

You will explore a universe, fight monsters, and complete quests, with the ultimate goal of returning life to the universe in the form of single-celled creatures called Fractals. Each planet begins with just two unique fractals that breed with each other, and ultimately spawn a network of creatures competing for resources and constantly evolving. Study the evolution of these creatures and eventually gain items that allow you to engineer their genome. Every universe is unique, and runs on a non-deterministic simulation that follows two simple equations. One for physics, and the other for biology.


Read More: Best Colony Sim Creature Collector Games.


Fractal Evolution on Steam

Alpha Lyrae Discovery

Alpha Lyrae Discovery

bought the game at a discount of 90%, not a bad game, there is not enough multiplayer, but one is not bad either. it is clear that the developer has not abandoned this brainchild and continues to release updates.

Real player with 1541.1 hrs in game

My 5yo absolutely loves this game. It’s just simple enough to where he’s learned the WASD and mouse movements enough to play it by himself. Really appreciate developers who put stuff out that little ones can play.

Real player with 10.0 hrs in game

Alpha Lyrae Discovery on Steam

Castle Story

Castle Story

OK, so a while back I did a review on this game. I still said it was positive, but I basically said “It’s buggy but it’ll get better”. And now I feel is the time to re-review it.

Let me start off by saying this is one of the coolest and prettiest castle builders I’ve seen in a long while. It has a near perfect arrangement of blocks to suit all of your construction needs, yet it simultaniously keeps you materials as basic as possible. You can build with Stone, or Wood. There are a few other materials that can be used to make useful structures, but those are the two things your castle is really gonna be made of. Yet in that simplicity, you can make very cool-looking castles with ease. And what’s even cooler is that in the survival gamemodes, all of the castles you built for purpose and purpose alone still turn out looking amazing.

Real player with 233.1 hrs in game

Game is worth 10USD. If that is what you’re paying I think it’s worth it. Unfortunately it isn’t 10USD.

The game lacks content and barely works, but it is quite fun for what there is. The devs have left it alone rather than milking it for DLC so they have my respect for that, but they fall short in most other categories.

My gripes:

1. Instead of optimising the AI, pathfinding, job finding etc. they made a limit of 15 units. There are videos of people playing with 130+ units and having no issues.

Real player with 179.6 hrs in game

Castle Story on Steam

Catizens

Catizens

Herding cats is easy! Said no one…ever

Your main job in Catizens is to build your town around the personality traits of its inhabitants. Just like in real life, cats require personal attention and special treatment. Combinations of different personality traits and moods affect their proficiency and obedience. Catizens form relationships with each other and will occasionally issue personal requests, so you will need to learn what makes each cat happy in order to stay on their good side.

Create unique cats and design the perfect home

Pick from an assortment of facial and body features, as well as personality traits to create cats with distinct looks and temperaments. Design a place just for them by decorating the interior of their home with pieces of furniture, plants and other items. The better furnished a house is, the happier your catizens will be. So get creative!

Build and manage your settlement

Catizens can learn a variety of professions – from farming, to blacksmithing or offering protection from local wildlife. Different building types unlock depending on the traits and professions available. There’s no need to micromanage the entire settlement when it gets large. Invest your time and attention in a few outstanding cats and let them become town leaders.

Explore the wilderness

Develop your settlement, complete objectives and expand to areas with different environments that offer new adventures. Carefully examine your surroundings to find the best fishing spots, hidden treasures and quirky characters that may offer a quest.

Catizens on Steam

Deadwater Saloon

Deadwater Saloon

Create Your Character

Playing as a rich and dynamic character in the old west, you will be able to fully customize your attributes to fit your playstyle, such as Mixology, Seduction, and Sneakiness. You will manage your life as well as your saloon, such as maintaining your reputation and getting married. You will struggle with the effects of disease, aging, sanity, and addictions.

Form Relationships

Provide travellers with a distinct drink parlour, gaining legendary stories to regale and build your legend. Interact with townspeople as they populate the town, forging friendships with blacksmiths, sheriffs, and preachers, romance prospective partners, or blackmail, abduct, and murder those who threaten you.

Build

Build your saloon from the ground up. Expand the walls, build bordellos, opium dens, high stakes gambling rooms, and railed porches. Buy and place spittoons, tables, chairs, handcrafted bars, pianos, chandeliers, and diamond dust mirrors.

Manage

Thrive within a complex economy system, stockpiling booze, food, guns, and opium. Research a diverse array of drinks and foods to serve customers. Hire and manage staff from within the town populace, including barkeeps, cooks, servers, prostitutes, croupiers, pianists and bouncers. Help them reach their full potential, or fire and replace them with those more skilled.

Hundreds of Events

Face the forces of nature, meddlesome customers, firebrand Preachers, rival outlaw gangs, and much more. At some point, you will be tested by stronger and more formidable nemesis in longer event chains. Whatever you choose, you will face the consequences of your choices. The frontier is an unforgiving place.

Deadwater Saloon on Steam

Dungeon D14

Dungeon D14

Fun little toy. Not super deep and you only really play it once or twice, but for the price its good.

Real player with 8.3 hrs in game

needs more info. unplayable in current state. you will fail because of a resorce you didnt know you needed to make another requires the first, and a string of 3 more, however this is more info on that fact then the game will give you. playing you will have fun untill you grind to a halt because you didnt rush iron-steel bars-copper- copper bars-copper plates-microelectronics-gas-fuel cells, if you get behind you have lost, there is no coming back from one of these buildings losing power, your guys are best suited to doing one or at max two jobs as they run around like chickens with there heads cut off chasing invisible resorces. i lost 2 times one because i didnt understand my guys have ZERO controll minus telling them were to mine or build, not to mine or build. and a second time i microed my 2 chaines well and didnt figure out that coper plates/microelectronics were part of the power the building chain, lost because you cant make enough to power that chain with one building, meaning you somehow have to create extra energy or never build a building incorectly dont try for shoes or armor or anything cool it will ruin the power chain you have to run, taking the power grids away from the main chain will also resault in one or more of your buildings going unpowered, and they compeat for resorces with your units “life” bar battery thing, taking iron bars and a fair few people to make it. the food/ o2 system will almost never come into play if you take 1 min every half-hour of play to mine water/seaweed from the ground. this is the best tutorial for this game out there btw. cement=hard rocks , sand , water . steel bars= iron ore. coper plates= coper bars= coper ore. batteries=acid+steel bars. acid=sulfer. food=seaweed+water. o2=water. legit better than ingame id sugest if you get this get a notebook and wright it down, share it with the next chump afterwords.

Real player with 3.7 hrs in game

Dungeon D14 on Steam

Outer Space Shack

Outer Space Shack

Plan your space program, and send your precious rockets to the Moon or Mars. Build a small space base at first, and ensure the well-being of your astronauts. Feed them, protect them from hazards and radiations, and keep them happy.

Progressively, use more and more local resources, and make your settlement sustainable.

NEW Kickstarter campaign has started.

Space Center

Prepare your ‘rocket’ missions in the space center. Optimize every kilogram of payload of your precious rockets, and launch engineering projects to improve your rockets and the base hardware.

Base Building

Plan an efficient layout for your base, and increase its capabilities through new buildings and machineries. Start doing all the heavy work with a few rovers, and when ready, make your first astronauts come. Grow from an uncomfortable shack to a small village. Develop businesses on your base to make it sustainable

Astronauts

Feed your astronauts, ensure they have proper living space, protect them against hazards of space: radiation, space dust. Make sure they stay sane in the complex environment

Outer Space Shack on Steam

Stonehearth

Stonehearth

Stonehearth is a game about building a small town, with the help of a group of ‘hearthlings’ who build, mine, farm and craft their way to victory (sometimes) over ever-stronger groups of enemies. You have an amazing amount of control over the appearance of your town, and you can custom build every house, road and wall. There are a variety of decorations and tools to place around your village, and there are two main storylines to follow (if you aren’t playing on peaceful) - fighting the enemies, and becoming a township. You also get to pick one of two types of hearthling: The Ascendancy, who live in the forest, or Rayya’s Children, who live in the desert. They have slightly different skill trees, so the gameplay is a little different.

Real player with 1318.7 hrs in game

UPDATE 3: No I don’t recommend this anymore, the build system is completely borked. Tried to build a simple road with a few block columns and 5 hours of wasted time later I discover the engine has broken so bad not even instant build will build it. I tried to make it into a template to place it again but no, roads won’t lower. Absolutely disgusted the game was left in this condition.

UPDATE 2: I would switch this to recommend but since it’s one of the most helpful negative reviews I thought maybe leave it so people worried could see this update. The most important thing I want to say is: The devs have REALLY stepped it up, they are fixing bugs, updating often, and even responding on Steam which is hugely important to me. It feels like there’s been a major shift in priorities, and to be frank it’s making me very excited! :D

Real player with 552.3 hrs in game

Stonehearth on Steam