Recent reviews by Tocharius

no one bothered to make sure the game stays compatible for those who bought it - whether that's the fault of the developers of the game, or the fault of the developers of one's operating system, in any case the consumer is stuck in the middle without agency... not a unique story but the current dominate narrative throughout the world of games and software. it's like humans don't even make games anymore, just a faceless corporate machine. what's the word for when corporations have full sway but the individual nothing?

immersive, both fast-paced and complex, with meaningful game counters that have flavorful images (or you can use NATO symbols), and, done very fun, are all the sound effects - the sounds of battle over captivating music from an age gone by. and the developer and community are alive and working - there are many flavorful mods and scenarios. modding yourself seems relatively straightforward. there are updates all the time and the developer cares about making a game with integrity. It satisfies much of the itch left partially unscratched by other such current war games. From what I know of the game mechanics so far, they are satisfying and sensible.

If you haven't played the previous Civ V, buy that first, unless Civ VI is on sale. Both Civs V & VI are excellent. The enduring question is, whether one is better than the other. Incidentally, Civ IV is still an excellent game, too, and very inexpensive. Civ III is a tad bland, and before III they are too old but with heart. Get IV, V, and VI to have the full Civ experience. Part of the "civ experience" is the joy of comparing the Civs through time. Civs IV, V, and VI all have certain game mechanics unique to them. They all have relevance for creating the next evolutionary stage of Civ, Civ VII. Will VII ever come out? If it does, wait until all the expansions are out, and until they are all on sale as one complete package; and in the meantime enjoy the variety of Civs.

Does not work. At all. Using a mac - and other mac users report the same according to google search results... where mac users agree that there is no way to fix the issue. So if you don't want to spend money to receive nothing, then best to not buy - if you have a mac (assuming it works on Windows).

Like Neverwinter Nights with Baldur's Gate isometric design...

Game mechanics: far above average, approaching perfection. But before playing, you probably want to be very familiar with Pathfinder (or D&D 3.5).

Art & design: wonderful as though someone fed the Pathfinder 1e Core Rulebook into a computer!

Performance: a test of patience because it's buggy and lags. I have some faith that in time these errors will be both fixed and exacerbated through patches and DLC, and that there will be true fixes in some community patch within the next ten years (yikes).

IMO this would be the very best CRPG made so far, except that the lagging performance and random bugs mean it's hard to just let go and play. The snags don't help with immersion. However, the general design, ideas, and mechanics of the game override its faults. The only catches are: 1) make sure first you are familiar with the game system, and 2) be prepared to spend days getting a feel for the bugs, and possibly finding ways to optimize the installation... such as by choosing many of the lower graphics options even if your computer is a beast.

...I don't see why this game or the Pathfinder system wouldn't perform better as not its own app but a mod for Baldur's Gate. Baldur's Gate used the Infinity Game Engine, whereas Pathfinder: Kingmaker uses Unity. Baldur's Gate runs smoothly, this game is sometimes not smooth-going. A relatively new isometric game that runs smoothly is Pillars of Eternity, with the Unity engine - so we know it's possible. The graphics/graphical atmosphere of Pillars is the best, the performance of Baldur's the best, and the game mechanics of Kingmaker the best.

ATTN: LEONARD NIMOY FANS!!!
Leonard Nimoy does the narration...

...And the diplomacy is better than Civ V. The tech tree is more or less how it had always been in Civ, up until V. The various civilizations each have their own personalities, not just in diplomacy, but in how you can expect them to behave and expand (or not expand).

The only problem is that there is no limit to how many units you can stack in one space. It's a problem because it makes battles mostly about who can produce more instead of about strategy. Production is much quicker than in Civ V. Landscape and unit experience go into determining outcomes of battles - but this could be appreciated more if production and space had limits. Whereas Civ V uses hex, Civ IV like its predecessors use a grid. You may like the extra emphasis on production, you may prefer the grid.

It's a solid, quality game, as you would expect when Leonard Nimoy put his voice into it. There are many fascinating mods and scenarios. If you want to mod, then the world is at your fingertips.

Because the game is one or one and a half generations old, and not too many generations old, it's in a kind of technological goldilocks zone where it runs more streamlined, tight and solid - easier to run and to mod, it lost nothing with time. The diplomacy and civics systems and AI are all arguably better than the later Civ's... One thing that makes the AI better is that civilizations' behaviors are determined by not one but two factors: 1) the particular civilization, AND 2) unlike Civ V the particular leader - which is one more level of complexity to add more variety to AI behavior.

And don't even get me started on the fun and flexible civics system. Just go play it, study the techs to get what civics you want, and then experiment, revolutions galore!

This game has elements which future games should incorporate (e.g., Paradox games of grand strategy could benefit from becoming more Civ-like). The only reasons Civ IV is not better than Civ V are not any complicated or technological reasons, it's just that Civ V uses a hex map and sets limits to production and to space for units. Civ IV's graphics are reminiscent of Civ VI. But Civ IV is cheaper and probably more stable. If you're tired of Civ V, play Civ IV while waiting for Civ VI's price to go down.

I like racing games and trancy aesthetics. Do you? Strange thing, and a reason to play, is that somehow it feels like a vfowards-view Tetris. Just buy the game and see if you know what I mean. There are also top-down views, and that's even more like Tetris. Racing + (on some level, in a way) Tetris + electro/retro beauty for the eyes and ears. It's a way to practice you eye-motor skills as well as test your memory.

The music is a beautiful, relaxing trancy immersion into this beautiful green world.

Excellent music. The songs are put together well and give you goosebumps. Get it if you really, really like music and history. Often I put the game on just to listen. They aren't songs you ordinarily hear, and people get curious. Indeed, they are curious songs - and even though they are old school and historical, they rock. If you are very literal and need lyrics, then Allied Radio is better than what's on the radio today.

Coming from playing games like Civilization and Paradox grand strategy titles, I find Rise to Ruins gorgeous and immersive. The graphics are exactly right in their artistic pixelatedness. The soundtrack is a fascinating trance. As for the mechanics, the learning curve is steep, and I am still on it, but it's all unfolding nicely. If you like maps and watching things grow and transform before your eyes, then this game will provide you with satisfaction. I look forward to delving into it more and more, and to witnessing its development - and the development of my village. The author promises us there will be no shenanigans with dlc and pay walls and whathaveyou. All in all it feels like a wholesome game worth your time.