Dawn of Man Reviews

I like you can micromanage individual population units. The game mechanics might make them do something suicidal but you can click and turn them back. Like no don't go freeze to death to collect mud.

I've read many of the comments regarding this game and many of the objections are valid. Firstly it is a great engine but the problem it has is the problem most games have in that they are too easy to rort. The problem is you can see where you are heading and rewards also can be seen and chased. This game would be brilliant if the tech tree was unknown and your development was determined by a play style AI not a race for the next tech step. We too often forget that for many civilizations and cultures many events never happened. For example...no knowledge of bows or metal in the pacific islands until european contact...look at Australian aboriginal culture...40 to 50,000 years in the making and no use of metal what-so-ever. I've captured from raiders steel weapons while my best was copper...What is going on here??? really?! these raiders walked to my settlement...were in walking /talking distance. Isn't this precisely how cultures expanded..never in the history of this planet have cultures been invaded from space. Yes the Spanish savaged South America...if the raiders in this game are a foreign culture, thats fine just say so...put it out there. Raiders by definition are not invaders' If this game was remoded as I have outlined the playability would be endless...as it is it becomes somewhat of a boring trudge and pointless end game. I'm picking that is precisely why it has been abandoned.

There are a few flaws that players pointed out way back in 2019 that still aren’t fixed but maybe you won't mind. Developers gave up. I’ve had many good moments, but this game has broken mechanics, faulty AI (dumb villagers), and lazy UI development. So only play if you REALLY want this experience (proper primal city-builder with good visuals) For example, there is no way to empty a villager’s inventory (to replace old or almost broken items) but there is a button to empty an entire building’s inventory… makes NO SENSE (but if you're not playing Hardcore it would be fine because raiders are easier) and then, why would they program the hunters to walk in a single file line (often spread out)? When the person in the front of the line throws a spear, the animal runs away, then all the other hunters can’t throw because they are too far away now. Why even send 6 hunters if only one will attack? Would it REALLY have been that difficult to program them to walk side by side in a line? So that they all reach the animal at the same time and can all throw at the same time? (Which is what ancient hunters did) This means that if you think a hunt is dangerous, you will have to micromanage it by positioning the hunters carefully (and usually manually sending extra hunters to prevent deaths) Again, only buy if you know you will enjoy! (and preferably on sale) and yes I know I have hundreds of hours in the game, that’s why I’m so angry they made such fundamental mistakes and never fixed them! In 2021-2022 I still had hope they would… now in 2025 I’ve been playing this game again and I’m shocked that they took the money and just ran with it, because they would reply to comments saying they'd work on the issues. Shocked enough to write my first long Steam comment. Careless devs should find a new profession. I see them as scammers who release unfinished products and then reply to complaints as if they actually care. Deceitful!

Good game but draws out towards the end game as it has a clunky management scheme. Think it had way more potential. All in all, on sale it provided me some fun.

Amazing, immersive game, just lovely. It has come a looong way since I first played it when it came to Steam, it's hardly recognisable. Compared to other such games I like how you can set limits to the stock of materials and cattle in relation to population size. For example, I found that a good number for pigs, sheep, cows and so on is 25% of the population throughout the game. Once set, the people manage that on their own by slaughtering the oldest animals and also keeping an eye on female/male. So you never suddenly run out of meat and wool and such just cuz you didn't pay attention to your population growth for a while. I.e. no annoying micromanaging. Tip: With clothing I found that 125% for winter and summer clothes is great, in order to always have spares. I wish there were more games like that. <3

I bought it because it reminded me a bit of Spore, and tbh it's very much the same concept but with humans, and I love it! It's pretty historically accurate too, and the graphics are great. The only minor dislike is that even in easy mode I have trouble keeping my food supply high enough. I suppose I just need to practise a bit more, but I did choose easy because I wanted to be able to relax while playing, which I'm honestly finding quite difficult 😅. Great game anyhow! Would highly recommend!

The resource management is a little haphazard and the environment is a bit cramped but in spite of this its quite easy to play and enjoy.

Some of the micro-managing can be a bit tedious in more difficult scenarios, but overall it strikes a fantastic balance. I wish I felt less guilt slaughtering animals -- and the sounds don't exactly help -- but that's life in the stone age.

Really love this game, its simple, yet challenging all in the same sentence. I have played many more hours than shows on console but I wanted to express my thanks to the devs. If you enjoy building and resource management type games, you will enjoy this game as I have the last few years. Highly recommend.

Great resources management game, with a somewhat touch of actual history lesson