Evolution of Ages: Settlements Reviews

Let's use a book metaphor for this game. On the cover, a simple drawing of a man with a club, perhaps a child's book. The first few pages read like elementary school textbooks, with simple words and numbers. But once you start reading, you soon realize there's a complex encyclopedia here. You heft the tome and realize it's much thicker than you thought when you picked it up, and a few minutes later, you're buried in a chapter about spinning wool and fighting giant wolves, forging bronze and exploring a new world. Then you look up, and realize you've only just scratched the surface.

This is a great game with serious flaws. I enjoyed it, but it might not be for everyone - and a lot of the design is just plain awful and seriously detracts from the gameplay. There's a neat strategic element and a sense of progress at all times, and getting a new settlement up and running can be tense, especially in the later stages of the game. Battles can be tricky and tactics matter - though it can take a while to figure out exactly what works. You get a sense of that "one more turn" aspect that many strategy games have. That said, the game has a lot of flaws. The graphics and UI look like something out of the mid 90s, and aside from the music (which I liked, though it gets old), the sound design is much, much worse. There's a hawk monster that I'll go out of my way to kill ASAP, even if it's bad strategic sense because it sounds so terrible. The voice acted clips in combat are horrible, and late game battles (which amount to a few hundred clicks in a minute or two, with each click and monster attack making noise) are just murder on your ears. The game also gets incredibly grindy. Mid game, you tend to switch over to firearms, but firearms are going to be worse than your current weapons until you can build up skills, so you need to grind the skills of your main team and at least the members from your more vulnerable settlements. You need to grind important skills like combat medic and leadership or they'll be worse than useless since they attract too much attention threat-wise to be worth their trouble with low skill, but are amazing at high skill levels. It's also frustrating to upgrade equipment each era. By the end of the game, you'll have 8 settlements that need to be defended, and around 84 people to outfit and train skills for. Making this more agonizing is that most upgrades later in the game require specific attributes, so you have to upgrade skills and equipment for 84 people. This is made easier if you go with 4 frontline and 4 reserves and then leave the two extra people as reserves in +production clothing with a ranged weapon and don't worry about them much, but that still leaves you with 68 people that need to be upgraded frequently. An auto-equip button would be very, very nice. I found myself making new items and never putting them on because it was exhausting. Skill books are a good idea, but in practice only a handful ever get used because it's a bit tedious to do so, and most don't matter enough to justify the effort of using them. Even when they do matter, finding the right person, assigning the book, and then waiting and assigning the next one gets tedious. The late game gets draining and loses much of the fun of the early game, as it starts to get a bit bloated. There's so many resources and buildings and people to juggle, and no useful interface to help out. You want to know your resource counts, but you have to rebuild which resources are important each era to get a useful top bar - there has to be a better way to present this information. Combat and map quests get tedious and pointless - after a point, nothing I get as loot is useful except coins, and these quickly become useless, too. Being dragged out of planning for another round of city defense gets annoying - it's either a complete cakewalk where I don't pay attention and wish I didn't have to bother, or a difficult battle where I just wish I didn't have to pay attention because it's stopped being enjoyable 20 hours ago. I wish factories would show up a bit earlier - even if just in the form of a windmill. Greenprinting is an interesting process that I feel adds to the game - especially since it's optional. My last complaint is that I can't really think of any way I could do things much different as far as strategy - it's more optimization of one strategy vs. planning between multiple strategies. Having finally beaten the game and played through to era 5-7 a few times a while ago, I can't really think of much I'd do to beat it faster or more optimally, and I wasn't fast or optimal in my run. I'm being hard on the game with all these complaints, but I honestly really enjoyed it, up until era 7+, when I just wanted it to be over. It's a unique game - there's nothing else like it, and I think there's a set of people that'll really enjoy it. It's a great game with serious flaws, though, so keep that in mind. If the game sounded interesting before my review, pick it up and play for an hour. If you didn't like it, get a refund - you aren't going to like it if you keep playing. If you do like it, watch your time and go up the near the two hour mark and make your decision then.

Cost me sleep last night and about to do over again today. Thats good? Wasn't much to go on before purchasing in Steam or Youtube so was going to wait. Decided to buy after seeing how helpful developer was in forum. So far not disappointed. I'm not sure I'd call it completely ready for release as it seems it has more refining to go, but devs seem to be very active so it will probably get there. The bad? Graphics aren't great, game doesn't tell you much. Various sound effects are supposed to give indication with research or storage is full but its mostly just noise. One bug is the update section on the bottom left seems to be constantly cutting off the latest notice (as if I can't scroll down enough to see it till another appears). So why recommend? Almost none of that above really matters. Gameplay is good, setting is interesting. There seems to be a lot of depth I barely scratched one first night (on easy). Starting over today on normal and no regrets so far.

I bought this game in EA and don't regret it. Before buying I was sceptical as it looked too simple but once I started playing I found that there was a lot more to it and now I am nearing the end of my 1st playthrough after over 100+ hours and I'm still learning. I didn't find much in the way of bugs but anything reported was quickly fixed. Hats off to the dev. You start with a couple of settlemenets where you have just 6 building slots in each. 2 of these will be required for housing in order to generate people. You can then customise these characters if you wish. As the game progresses you can further develop them and make them specialists in various crafts or fighting skills. You send scouts out in order to discover further settlements. Managing your people, resources and pace of development is important. Your settlements will be attacked frequently and you must be able to defend them. You choose when to advance to the next age, when you do so new technologies/buildings are available but the enemies are stronger so advance too quickly and you could pay the price. There are tasks which you should complete for each age and the Tasks page has general tips about what you should be trying to achieve. The notebook tracks the main story and indicates your progress and what you may work towards. There are several ways to achieve victory......but I haven't reached there yet:) I feel that I have had more than my monies worth with this purchase.

I wanted to like this game. I love games in this style and can look past the graphics, but it's just too slow and repetitive.The only pressure the game provides is via combat. There's no pressing need to produce food or tackle any internal needs, only fight off critters. And the combat just isn't that fun. Most fights can be auto-resolved, but some will require use of taunts, buffs, and tag-teaming that isn't all that interesting and just soaks up tons of time.Land is very scarce and some goods are needed in extreme proportion to others, and sometimes in large bursts such that there's either a lot of remodeling going on or a lot of waiting. Because of the lack of land, production chains are a micromanagement nightmare. Much of the reward for optimizing production, such as high quality goods, can achieved via combat rewards which further reduces the emphasis on production.

So far it looks like ill be playing a lot so far over 3 hours in. Im a old guy slow on learning a new game but i havent gotten real far into but I think ive done good on picking up with no reading up on the game. My old outdated pc does real well on this .Its not fast action or fast pace but easy to speed up or slow down my kinda game so far I think most will like this game. Ill repost more as i play more.

I love this game and its ugly UI so much. The thing is, once you can get past the graphics, the UI is actually well laid out and easy to navigate, and there's no trouble at all in making things happen in the game. So the question becomes: is it worth it? And oh, oh yes. This game is a wonderful hybrid of settlement management and rpg-style combat. Worker placement is the name of the game, as is equipping your workers and tending to their stats so they can work and fight more effectively. Other reviewers have covered this in more depth, so I'll focus instead on my favorite aspect of this game: the combat! It is surprisingly in-depth, far more than "equip better weapons, spam attack, win" - that might work for small encounters, but the real meat of combat occurs during the boss encounters. There are bosses for every era in the game (era being your technological level) and they have different mooks with them and require different strategies. Combat works like this: you bring (at max) eight workers to a fighter. Four are actively attacking, four are in the back row either healing themselves or firing their ranged weapons. The four in the front are your main weapons: they can attack monsters, and depending on their skill they can use special attack skills such as "attack 1 monster, then a second monster for 50% attack strength". But while you need to maintain a consistent offense, the real meat of the game is managing your defense. Enemies, you see, assign a threat level to your four fighters. Whoever has the highest threat will get ganged up on, and this can lead to three healthy fighters and one nearly dead real quick. So you need to manage threat and rotate who gets hurt - and also shift fighters into the back line to heal, so you can keep everyone alive. Managing threat mostly occurs through the buff skills: your fighters can taunt enemies, which is a free action - but what really draws threat are the buffs. I have three, at the moment: the regen buff, the attack/defense buff, and the minor heal. The minor heal is really, really minor - it takes a lot to level it up, so its real function is to draw threat, because monsters hate healers. So this leads to an interesting set of choices in combat - on top of picking which monsters to kill (that one can heal others! that one will die quickly so you can get the ranged foes in the back to the front so they'll stop tearing into your back line!) you have to constantly keep an eye on which of your warriors is getting ripped into, and either draw threat away or let them get close to death before swapping them out for someone who's healthy. Or, if you're in a really tough fight, deciding if you want to let that character die or swap in a different badly wounded character to take the death blow. The monsters can pile on the offense so that your defense and healing gets overwhelmed - which is usually a sign that either your strategy isn't working, or that you need better equipment. (Example: in the Razor fight, taking out Razor is a MUST, because he will easily destroy you while you're clearing out his wolves. Contrast with the spider fight where you have to get rid of the healers before you can take out the big spider.) There's a lot to love here - the settlement stuff is complex and engaging, and it lets me get better stuff for my fighters, leading to more interesting fights, which leads to better loot that supports the folks at home, and it's a lovely cohesion of two different gameplay types. And it helps that the bosses will happily sit and wait for as long as you need to come to them - the only "mandatory" fights so far are the settlement defenses, which, while tough, are nowhere near as dangerous as a boss fight. You can take the game at your own pace and make sure everyone gets the latest armor before braving danger. One more excellent thing about the game: the dev is active, helpful, and friendly! I love an active indie dev. In conclusion: Settlements is really engaging and I love playing it. It's worth braving the 90s-era UI and the frankly hilarious sound design. Go get it!

Management sims aren’t really expected to have the best user interfaces in the world, and that’s always surprised me. After all, you’re spending more time with the UI in games like these than almost any other, scrutinizing resource charts or assigning groups to tasks. Somehow really clunky and awkward interfaces still get a pass, as long as the core simulation is good, and Settlements is one of those titles that really puts that notion to the test. It’s a clever, creative game with incredible depth, all hidden within a UI pulled straight from Windows 3.1. And if the first part of that sentence matters a lot more than the second, you’ve got dozens of hours of adventures and challenges ahead of you. You’ll be unsurprised to learn the world has ended again, and while the means aren’t specified up front the ends certainly are. This brave new world is covered in a thick layer of tough brambles, rendering the land uninhabitable save for small clearings amongst the vines and thorns. It’s in these pockets that you must foster your titular settlements, building homes and workshops, tasking your people with construction and research, and eventually forging back out into the world to find more clearings, survivors, and answers. As you recover the technological progress of the past you’ll also learn the truth of what brought the old world to its knees, and contend with that same threat yet again. You might have visions of Banished or Rust floating through your head from that but Settlements is a purely menu-driven simulation, right down to some unexpected restrictions. For starters, each of your settlements can only contain six buildings. This is constant throughout the game, and provides the main impetus to expand to additional settlements. At least two of those precious slots always needs to go to houses as well, leaving just four for your resource gathering and crafting and such. All resources are shared across your settlements, at least, and while residents don’t transfer between them for work they can all be used to scout or battle or adventure when the opportunities present themselves. Settlement management is fairly straight-forward, with resources to turn into items or research and upgrades to buildings and defenses as you tech up. To find new settlements and advance the plot, though, you’ll need to send your people scouting. Based on their prodigious list of stats and skills they’ll have chances to make progress towards a new settlement, find treasure or optional battles, unlock new quests and mini-dungeons to explore, or get ambushed. Combat is turn-based, pitting four of your settlers against up to eight foes at a time, beasts like rats and wolves and madmen. Properly equipping your folks is the main concern, as you can often overpower enemies with preparation. Groups on both sides can include reserves that do ranged damage and can be swapped in for wounded units though, so there’s some strategy to consider in tougher battles. Building up your settlements will advance you through ages of development, from the stone and bronze ages all the way up to and past modern tech. That means that your survivors, originally clad in furs and wielding clubs, will one day be running science centers and manning missile batteries against your foes. That assumes you can last long enough against the massing enemies that attack your settlements more and more frequently. Your failure state is a “doomsday” counter that increments with certain events and losses, and must be battled back through other actions. Still, this isn’t a pressing concern for most of the game as long as you keep your settlements developed and your people properly outfitted. Settlements is a game of impressive scope and content, one that can easily last you dozens of hours for a single playthrough. The only problem is that it’s hidden behind one of the most hideous interfaces I have ever seen for a game. This goes far beyond programmer art or even placeholders, with inconsistent resolutions, confusing layouts, and even Windows system prompts for important notifications. There are aspects of the main interface that won’t even be used for your first dozen hours, while key information is hidden in random windows elsewhere. Your resource trackers must be manually configured, and every resident has to be manually equipped and assigned to tasks. And some windows like the task list load so slowly you can watch the contents be drawn in real-time. It’s a testament to how engaging the gameplay is that the UI wasn’t an immediate deal-breaker for me. Game feel and quality-of-life are huge aspects of gaming for me, and everything about how Settlements is presented is an absolute affront. But it’s a very different kind of survival sim, both in structure and in plot. The revelations I’ve come across in the first ten hours or so are tantalizing, and the challenges I’ve overcome have been compelling. You’ve really got to consider how big a difference the UI in a game can make for you, but if it’s something you’re willing to be flexible on, give Settlements a try. With so much to learn, explore, and conquer, this is a title that can utterly consume your time if you let it. Did you enjoy this review? I certainly hope so, and I certainly hope you'll check out more of them at https://goldplatedgames.com/ or on my [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/11322459/]curation page[/url]!

To sum it up: I love this game, and I recommend it to some people. And that's the problem with the review system here. This game will be good for a specific subset of gamers. You have to be okay with a UI that is barely on the side of functional. You have to be okay with graphics that were made obsolete after windows 3.11. You have to *actively enjoy* numbers, incremental gameplay and having your mistakes punished. If this isn't you, look somewhere else, for all our sakes. The gameplay is deep. Imagine Frostpunk, with terrible graphics but better gameplay and more options. It's what you might get if Bay 12 made dwarf fortress with an actual UI (in the very early stages at least) And most importantly, to me at least, the developer pays attention to the users, the people who enjoy their game, and implements their changes with a good turnaround speed. So this is a 'qualified recomment' from me.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Tormunda's health issues no longer allow him to be a Dev. The game is complete for what was originally intended but the added content Tormunda was working on may never be finished. The game should still work well for most and has a great community but is no longer supported. The following review is based on the original game, not the added content. I love this game. It's far better than it first appears and it grows on you. This is a game that you will really love, or isn't for you at all. There may not be a middle ground and graphics may be the line in the sand. I delayed reviewing it for quite some time, trying to separate what makes Settlements great from why it won't be right for others. In a nutshell it's a unique hybrid game so the potential is there for many to enjoy it. RPG gamers, strategists, and city builders may all find a home here. If you are too focused in any one direction you may want to look closely at the details to see if it's for you. IT MAY BE A GREAT GAME FOR YOU IF... ------------------------------------------------------------ Many that have enjoyed pen and paper games will like Settlements, particularly if you are interested in strategy and RPG. City builders will also find this game enchanting, particularly if the difficulty settings are adjusted toward easier so that combat is less of a factor. If you are looking for a game that puts all these aspects together then you came to the right place. Those that love it have a hard time setting it down. It's addictive. If you are someone that fits these criteria this is a game you should check out. It may not be clear before playing a little bit but this game has that "just a little bit longer" factor in spades. IT MAY NOT BE THE GAME FOR YOU IF... ----------------------------------------------------------- Graphics and motion are a clear line in the sand for most that don't enjoy this game. The graphics are not pixel blurry or bad. They are quite clear and pleasant. They don't "move" though. This isn't an action game and it doesn't have arcade motion. Much like an advanced board game there are many icons. The icons are more advanced than a board game could provide. There are moving progress bars, changing numbers, and even some changes to the looks of some icons (depicting changes in gear and health status). You see spreadsheet levels of information but in a more graphic form. This can be off putting for both those that strongly like traditional spreadsheets or for those that don't like them at all. For those remaining, the result is more immersive. It just won't work for everyone. IT"S A TURN BASED GAME WITHOUT TURNS ---------------------------------------------------------------- At it's core it's a simulation. Time moves freely forward with everything all happening at once. Only combat is outside of the normal time line. Time moves in increments of twenty minutes and can be paused at any time. Scouts and salvaging teams complete missions measured in hours while progress bars measure crafting each twenty minute tick. The ticks give a feeling of "turns" within the simulation. Combat IS turn based with an initiative system. COMBAT ------------ Combat uses a system much like many pen and paper RPG's without the micro management of using miniatures. The tactics available are simple but deeper than many notice for quite some time. Threat, leadership, combat healing, front/back row positioning, and stances all come into play as well as gear, initiative, and combat abilities. It moves quickly despite being turn based. MICRO MANAGEMENT OR NOT... ----------------------------------------------- The OCD inclined will be compelled to micro manage the crap out of this game. On the surface the game appears to lean heavily this way. This is a deception. The game is amazingly robust without micro managing. The pace of the game actually moves according to factors within your control. The Dev has placed many tips within the game so as you get to know the game you can be macro wasteful or micro OCD to your hearts content. CHAOS VERSUS ORDER ----------------------------------- You can also lean more toward combat and RPG or focus more on city management and get two very different flavors from the game. This can be accomplished both through difficulty settings when you set up the game as well as by your personal play style in game. REPLAYABILITY ---------------------- Most games with an RPG plot don't have high replayability. Once you know, "the butler did it" the RPG is usually gone. I'm one of those people that only "once throughs" RPG's, even when there are many different characters that could be played. This game might be different though. It's more along the line of games where you know there is something bad out there against you, you just don't know the specifics (similar to AI War in this regard). Even once you know, there is still a malevolent force against you. RPG mystery solved but can you win? The game might be worth it even if it was just for "once through." It's not short. It also has more than one ending. Those in it purely for the RPG are already used to "once through'ing" most games. This one won't cheat you...HOWEVER... ...Settlements has a much higher degree of replayability than a typical RPG due it's hybrid nature, specifically city building. It's got character development and a sandbox feel that goes beyond the story. I've found each play through to be very different simply based on the differences in the families you start with. The differences lead to doing things in different ways that create more differences the farther you proceed. What worked well one game won't work so well the next time. I found myself looking forward to the next start. This game is fun to replay! Those that like to restart games a lot just to play the different starts will be happy. Those looking to do things one way still have the opportunity to do so by controling the pace of the game too. They might not move forward as quickly but both options work well. THE DEV ------------- UPDATE: Tormunda is a great Dev. I had many good things to say about him in this section but he is no longer available. BOTTOM LINE -------------------- For those that like city building, strategy, and RPG elements this game is refreshingly different. Anyone looking for a combat game, or strictly RPG, or any one genre by itself is likely to be disappointed but the combination works. You get your money's worth and more. It's casual in the way city builders are. You can play for a few minutes and easily pick up where you left off. I don't play puzzle games but each play through has an element much like a puzzle, trying to find the best way through. It's hard to set down. The game was stable, playable, and fun for months throughout early access. I saw how Tormunda operates over that whole time so I can say with confidence that he will be an active Dev post launch too. I sound like a paid advertisement by this point but I did also warn those whom it might not suit. =) I didn't know what to expect when I picked up the game but I am a fan now. I also know Tormunda has plans for the game post launch... Update: I've heard enough confusion about some aspects of how to get started that you might need strong problem solving skills to get rolling. Think outside the box...and ask the community. Those that may still be around are very helpful. The game works but not everything is intuitive.