Recent reviews by No Dread

So, I have 2k hours on C:S. After playing C:S II for over 50 hours, I can say that it's a very decent game even with the launch issues. Yes, C:S I will have more content. If you're looking to paint cities, go back to the original for the next year or so. But if you want deeper simulation, C:S II delivers. Also yes, there are bugs. But for me, they never ruined the game experience. I was able to run it fine on an Nvidia 4060 with mostly high settings.

TBH, the game gets a 7.5/10 for me in its current state. But that's a far cry from the current score, and it's tracking to hit 9/10 in the next few months with the fixes already rolling out just a week after launch. So this is to help balance out the hate it got for the launch bugs; I think it's an over-reaction. Yeah, probably should have been Early Access flagged, but I for one am happy they released it now and not in 4 more months when it would be closer to perfect. I'm fine with it being Early Access quality for now. If AAA megastudios release $70 titles that still have bugs as a given, I don't see how being so harsh on a small studio putting out a title more ambitious than them is surprising to have bugs in it.

Anyways, my 2 cents. This review might change later as they improve the game (or don't). But for now, it really deserves 'mostly positive', not 'mixed'.

I understand a lot of the criticism this game has gotten regarding frustrating mechanics but....I sincerely have to disagree. The game is hard, most certainly. Punishing at many points and rather vague as to how to solve the problems. Sometimes you will have to restart. But imo this is the besty game in the genre since Frostpunk. Lots of other reviews cover the positive individual aspects, but I wanted to address the criticisms. Only thing the game could use is a 'story mode' below easy, which allows the player to focus almost entirely on the story instead of the challenges. But never the less, absolutely reccomend this to everyone who has some tenacity or love of management sims.

So, I'll admit, I'm that guy who only leaves negative reviews.

But I had to do something about the reviews on Hammerting. After playing through it, I can say that the reviews are either wrong, or ignoring normal EA expectations. These kind of management sim games are my bread and butter; 200 hours on Craft the World, 500 hours on Oxygen Not Included, etc. and this has the potential to make my top 2 of all time when it's finished.

Complaints I'll address:
*The pathfinding/AI sucks*
Uhhh, yeah, so does ONI, CtW, and every other vertical celular simulation game's AIs frankly. At least here your dwarves only rarely get themselves stuck if you give a large mining order, unlike ONI where the dupes ALWAYS get stuck. This one has a bit of issues in how dwarves select tasks, but the solution is simple; assign fewer tasks. People complain about only having 3 priorities, but some games like Ad Astra only have TWO priorities. Once I realized that, and only prioritized -critical- tasks, my life in Hammerting was MUCH better. Once I realized HOW you're supposed to use the priority system, I've had no issues with 5 dwarves or 40 running my mines. I'm sure they will improve with updates and time too; remember ONI and CtW are over 5 years old.

*The overworld is incomplete/dumb*
Yep, it's also a brand new feature they launched a couple of months ago. If you want finished features, don't buy EA? Mechanics are there, but balance/polish isn't. That applies to everything in this game past earlygame. And is expected of an EA title.

*Endgame content is dumb/unintuitive/lacking*
Yep again, but what comes LAST in a game? Endgame! xD Seriously, the reviewers have some of the highest expectations of an EA title that I've ever seen.

*Waaahhhhh the devs aren't fixing things!*
If you check reddit, -everything- that they complain about content and feature wise the devs have said they mean to fix; unintuitive weapon making, endgame content, world map content, ultimate goals lacking, late game challenge lacking, job assignment issues, -ALL- of it. Team 17 is backing them, so it's not abandonware; the publisher wants their money back! So just give them time; most EA negative reviews are like "no fixes to things I want in 4/6/12 months - devs abandoned game!" ....you do realize Minecraft had a 5 year EA, ONI had a 2.5 year EA, KSP had a 4 year EA, and Dwarf Fortress has had a 15 years-and-counting EA....? Yet everyone loved them. I just don't get the hate here.

So don't believe the reviews; this game is great for an EA title. Don't buy if you don't like EA. Do buy if it looks fun and you're willing to wait or like EA. Simple as that.

TL;DR - Decent 'king sim', but choices DONT matter in the end - not any of the story ones.

I started this game and loved how it felt at the beginning. It felt like choices mattered, but it was hard to see their results. Then I got about half way through the game and.....the magical illusion of choice was shattered. None of my 'big' choices mattered, when I would even get the -option- to make big choices. I like the game as a graphic novel, and as a king simulator, but as a branching narrative? It fails miserably. Only a few small choices near the end of the game will change the outcome - everything else was changing how you get to the same overall conclusion. Moreover, lots of narratives start getting more and more forced towards the end, and it starts feeling like the game is trying to push....something on you. Some kind of arbitrary moral framework of when it's OK to make sacrifices and when it isn't - too vague to mean anything, but too present to ignore.

I'm very bittersweet about the whole experience, and given the praise heaped on the game, I feel it's only right to counter-balance that. If you are looking for decisions that matter, look elsewhere. If anything else about the game looks fun, it probably will be.

Definitely recommend!

Honestly, this game should have been at least $1. Could have been as high as $3 imho. It's worth at least that much; you'll get a few hours of enjoyment out of it if you like city building, mars, or puzzle games, as that's what this game is. Very well done.

If it looks like you will like it, you will LOVE it.
If it looks like you might like it, you will really like it.
If it looks just ok, you'll still probably like it.

Easy to learn, exceptionally difficult to master, the game just keeps on giving.

Excellent game with lots of content, good mechanics, and no bugs that I've come across in the last 100 hours of play. Strikes a good balance between difficulty and progress.

TL;DR - If you love tech trees and don't mind repetition, this game is for you. If not, avoid it. It's as lifeless as it's namesake would suggest.

When I started playing this game, I didn't get what all the negative reviews were talking about; it seemed polished enough, and the dialogue was disjointed but quirky and fun. As I played, however, I fully understood what they meant. The game is as lifeless as it's namesake. You spend very little time in your graveyard, chopping up the bodies is entirely by-the-numbers equation, none of the NPCs have an interesting story to speak of, and the final nail in the coffin is that the grind only gets worse - you don't get more inventory space, you can't carry more logs, your stamina is abysmally low forever, your speed at tasks barely improves, etc.

The game is very pretty, and the music fits the tone. The one thing I did enjoy was the deep, complex tech tree that was fun to unlock, but I'm weird in that I love tech trees. Still, for me that was ultimately ruined by the lack of narrative or productivity improvements rewarded by said tech tree, making it feel hollow and empty.

I wanted to like this game; it has so much potential, but as the grind mounts, the narrative falls flat, and most plot questions are left unanswered in favor of a bizzare semi-copout ending, I just had to put it down less than half way through. It very much feels like all the work on the game went into the art and programming, with no real polish on the actual design and gameplay experience.

I've played many a flash and steam game in this genre, so this review is from someone who has expectations of how such a game will function; this I will aknowledge.

I can't reccomend the game because it ultimately was frustrating to fight with the Controls and Camera. I'm usually pretty flexible but the auto-camera and more so the inability to have multiple robots moving at once completely ruined the game for me. If that's the point, then this game isn't so much about strategy as it is about precision clicking. Some people may enjoy that, but I did not. The camera always following your currently selected robot was actually nausiating after a while even. moreover, the game doesn't even do you the favor of auto-selecting the next robot available, despite that being literally your only option. You have to click on it yourself.

Music is also too repetitive, but that's pretty minor compaint. If you like fast precision clicking, get this game. If you're looking for a lightweight resource/zone control game, skip this.

I don't often write reviews, positive or negative. But Factorio deserves one. Do you like management games? Do you like engineering? Do you like factories or automation? If yes to any of these, there is NO better game than this. Sure, it's a little rough around the edges some time (it is still Early Access after all), but there just isn't another game quite like it, and the issues are really just minor inconveniences. Further, it has strong mod support and devs who know what their game vision is and what their players want, and usually do an impecable job at meeting both expectations. We NEED more games like this. Not necissarily this genre, but this kind; games made for niche and serious gamers. Games designed to satisfy those looking for more than something to kill time and enjoy the ride in. Games with substance over the superficial.

Is this game for everyone? No. Most certainly not. But it IS objectively the best game of it's kind. It's exactly what it looks like, and they have a demo. Like the demo at all and you will love the game. It will eat your time and you won't care. The game is easily worth it's price now, and will be worth at least half again it's price once finished.