shapez.io

shapez.io

This is a great game! Two thumbs up!

Now, this is definitely a puzzle game in the vein of games like Factorio where you have to create long complicated conveyor belts to connect various shapes and colors together to create outputs of ever-increasing form. Unlike other games in this genre, including the previous game made by Tobspr, this is just what it is. There’s no monsters, aliens or zombies at night: you just have to build ever-more-complicated shapes to unlock various upgrades and to win the various levels. It’s very relaxing in a zen sort of way as there’s no way to fail: at worst you build a slightly wrong shape and can adjust the various cutting and rotating widgets as necessary.

Real player with 170.2 hrs in game


Read More: Best Strategy Automation Games.


First, ignore my play time - I have in the region of 40+ hours of playtime racked up from the itch.io version.

Shapez.io is a logistical conveyor-belt game much in the same vein as Factorio or Factory Town, but with an element of puzzle about it in that you must manufacture different shapes using a mixture of cutting tools, rotation and paint in your factory processes (anyone who’s ever played the excellent Flash series Factory Balls will be instantly at home, and for anyone who hasn’t yet, you know what you need to do after downloading and playing shapez.io)!

Real player with 119.7 hrs in game

shapez.io on Steam

Exodus Borealis

Exodus Borealis

I feel like it is important to point that this game this is made by solo dev, who has been great at interacting with everyone in discord and is willing to listen. Now those of us that have dipped into the early access games will know that this is something to cherish lol.

Also the Gameplay well let me go into more detail about that, but it is important to remember that it is early access so may change after i write this review but what i have found so far is:

Tower defence - The towers have this kinda Age of Empires feel to them this brings back that old nostalgia i love that! There also is an Arachnophobia mode this is something i recommend you play i wont tell you why, just trust me it is worth it! The enemy ramp up nicely giving a good amount of failure and felt to me like fun Gameplay

Real player with 84.1 hrs in game


Read More: Best Strategy Tower Defense Games.


This game is excellent for civ building and tower defense gamers. I am a seasoned (72 years old) player of both. The combo of both makes the game intriguing and challenging. It has depth without drudgery. Folks who do not play either of these genres may like this one just for that reason. To me there is a third aspect included - research. Which path should you choose first. There is no formula - one choice may be the best this go round but not in the same sequence the next time. And there will be a next time as you progress from map to map. Deciding how to allocate workers is another juggling complexity. The Dev’s UI design is a thing of beauty. Easy to use, informative info tips and an effective warning/informing system. Whatever your gaming proclivity I encourage you to give this one a try. It is just that unique.

Real player with 63.1 hrs in game

Exodus Borealis on Steam

As Far As The Eye

As Far As The Eye

This game was incredibly brutal until I discovered the Council building and the Knowledge resource, and then it became an incredibly fair and deep city-building/roguelike/4x game.

The biggest problem with the game is there isn’t a good reference for how all the mechanics work. I think it will be better once an online wiki is available.

My tips for a winning initial game:

Opening:

1. Get 40 wood and build a sawmill. Assign one of your workers to be a gatherer and gather wood. Later, when you don’t need wood, switch this worker to be a food gatherer and build a fruit hut for 80 (you can do this earlier if you get a 4th worker). You should have enough rations for this, and the carpenter/fruit gatherer jobs share the first 3 levels.

Real player with 26.9 hrs in game


Read More: Best Strategy Colony Sim Games.


I too believe that this is a nice game if you enjoy roguelike games.

When I first saw the list of buildable buildings I was worried the game wouldnt have much depth, as there are exactly 15 buildings which can be built.

So .. I was worried I will just figure out how things work and lose interest in the game after a few days, because I found some safe winning strategy.

Luckily it was different!

The overall difficulty is quite high. After the tutorial campaign you get to play 4 tribes with increasing difficulty (you have to start with the lowest difficulty tribe). However, even that tribe took me quite some effort to win with.

Real player with 25.2 hrs in game

As Far As The Eye on Steam

Fleeting World

Fleeting World

not much to do and not much to look at.

But the soundtracks is very pleasant and the concept of a changing landscape is interesting.

All things together it feels like I just paid for a very simple ludum dare game.

Real player with 0.2 hrs in game

Fleeting World is a somewhat simplistic “city builder” strategy game where you must build a village, then place various resource harvesting outposts around yourself on the grid (so you can afford to place more resource harvesting outposts, etc etc). The trick is that the small 16x16 grid that is the game world changes over time. You need to regularly pay a bundle of resources to the gods or they’ll increase the rate at which the world changes (and thus destroys your village/outposts etc, setting you back).

Real player with 0.1 hrs in game

Fleeting World on Steam

Legion Gold

Legion Gold

Really cool - suits me down to the ground. I had never played this (or even really heard about it back when it was released) so it was a new experience entirely.

Battles are simple - you give your troops a placement, a formation and advance/hold orders. When battle begins, you have no direct control over your units, in what the manual describes as an accurate depiction of a large-scale battle where commanders could not adequately give orders in the heat of the fray. When setting up your regiments, however, you do have to take into account the terrain your soldiers will be fighting on, and it’s necessary to refer to the included manual on this.

Real player with 37.1 hrs in game

If you like this type of game, it is still fun to play.

Yes 8 hours is not much as yet. However i have played SPARTAN on retail version many hundreds of hours.

LEGION is what I expected it to be, similar to SPARTAN in gameplay, interface, and visuals. I has less depth than SPARTAN, as the latter has a more elaborate diplomacy, more and different types of resources, a trade option and a tech tree.

Buy it on sale though, scenarios are limited and there is no grand campaign feature to conquer the ancient world.

Real player with 20.4 hrs in game

Legion Gold on Steam

Savage Tower Defense

Savage Tower Defense

Regretted my purchase after 10 seconds.

Real player with 0.2 hrs in game

Savage Tower Defense on Steam

Scrap Games

Scrap Games

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1442450/Monsters_Domain/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1505940/Orc_Warchief_Strategy_City_Builder/

In a world abandoned by humans, with nothing left but piles of rubbish, evolution took on a completely different dimension. Life is … but artificial. Evolution is still in force, but on opposed principles. Try a different life from scrap to ultimate hero!

Design, build and program machines to test them in the fight.

In your workshop you can put together pieces of junk and machinery. Plan new designs and improve its moves and functions. Power them, add shielding and attacks. You can build different shapes and kinds of robots with specific abilities. Each material has its strengths and weaknesses, can give more protection or offence and each machinery requires a specific amount of power. There are also different power sources - some can regenerate or drain power but can be easily destroyed while others rely on fuel or storage that can be heavily shielded.

Program your Robot for fight

Your program takes input from different sensors like distance meter, power management, damage receiver and diagnostics. Robots can fight as long as they are powered and have functioning central units. It’s up to you to design simple moves and entire fight styles. Combine moves into sequences. Add reactions to sensor’s input and behaviour for specific power levels. Plan ahead your counters and ways to use your advantages.

Win battles and prizes

You can test your robot and gain experience with fights with AI or start in tournaments. There are specific limits on certain arenas and tournaments put on size or weight of the robot so you need to be flexible and change your parts or entire frame if needed. You can also own multiple builds and play any of them or against each other to test new ideas and counters. You can collect scrap pieces from quests and tournament prizes or from challenges and missions. You can also buy some pieces if needed. There are multiple types of materials with different qualities. And remember that different builds require different energy strategies.

Fight your way to glory and become a winner of the Scrap Games!

Scrap Games on Steam

Table Top Turrets

Table Top Turrets

I downloaded ‘Table Top Turrets’ out of curiosity as, although I play a lot of tower defence games, most of them are quite boring and are very similar to each other. It was refreshing, therefore, to see such an eye-catching and colourful game appear on Steam. I thought I’d take a chance with it and I am delighted that I did.

The game is very fun to play. There are about 10 different levels, each with 3 different difficulties, all of which completely change the dynamic of the game. In essence, therefore, there are about 30 levels. The levels all have interesting track designs and the possibilities of placing down turrets are almost endless. Although the game is not what I would describe as a ‘sandbox’ mode, once you get some experience, it begins to feel this way. With a great selection of turrets to choose from, each one having a different effect on the enemies, it really does feel like you have unlimited ways of playing the level. Not only is this just fun from the get-go but it means that the game does not get boring.

Real player with 27.3 hrs in game

It’s almost a good game!

When you find-out how to turn off the terrible music, play on ‘Hard’ level, and

! refrain from using any of the ‘Beamers’ , this game is….almost not boring!

Oh! And you need to be a HUGE fan of TD games too!

But outside of that: Go for it! You’ll have a formidable 20 minutes of enjoyment!! ;)

Real player with 1.0 hrs in game

Table Top Turrets on Steam

Build and Discover: America

Build and Discover: America

Build & Discover: America


Building simulator based on the history of the United States.

You will take part in the first moments when the conquistadors arrived on the new continent.

For centuries, you will participate in developing the

  • political

  • economic

  • cultural foundations of the new continent

That will lead you to the signing of the constitution, the establishment of congress, and industrial cities.

How does the story start?

Explorers are approaching unknown areas, which in the future will turn into something they cannot imagine.

They do not know what to expect and what they will encounter on their way.

The areas are vast and unpredictable.

The reality of the Wild West, unknown environment and countless possibilities.

The game is based on a true story but a lot depends on you!

Will you manage to collect all 50 stars?

The game presents historical challenges that encourage players to make decisions and experience real-time management and develop political skills based on understanding the needs of citizens.

Develop trade, modernize, arrange transport, conquer new territories and face unexpected threats. The atmosphere of the Wild West, international trade, new spices and food, the clash of cultures and undiscovered land await you.

Features of the game:

  • economic and political development of the new territory

  • building a strong state based on three pillars: transport, law and industry

  • changing latitude-dependent environment

  • storyline based on historical events

Build and Discover: America on Steam

Epic Palace : Knossos

Epic Palace : Knossos

This game was developed in close cooperation with an archaeologist of the period to make the art, resources and mechanics as close as possible to our state of the knowledge of the Bronze Age Aegean. The art of the game is beautiful and conveys very well the overall mood of the Mediterranean seascape. As an archaeologist of the period myself, I really enjoyed the historical accuracy, as well as the immersive reconstruction of the throne room. The game has good replaybility and I found it overall very enjoyable. Would recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about this fascinating period of Minoan culture while having fun!

Real player with 103.3 hrs in game

TL;DR A simple yet entertaining resource management game with around 15-20 hours of replay value and well worth the price if you’re looking for a fun management/trading experience.

Pros:

  • Outstanding art direction (some of the best representations of Palatial Minoan society in media, period)

  • Fun core gameplay loop (2-3 hours/game)

  • Good visuals & decent, albeit repetitive score

  • The trading system though not the focus of the game is very enjoyable (‘lootboxes’ appear after sending ships on trading missions)

Real player with 19.1 hrs in game

Epic Palace : Knossos on Steam