Against the Storm

One of my favorite games! Instead of applauding the game, I would like to answer some recent criticism that I found in negative reviews. 1. The game always have a win condition. Some people say that it might be impossible to fulfill the orders, but YOU DON'T NEED the orders to win the game. In one scenario you don't receive any orders (1) at all, and you have to win by gaining points through opening dangerous glades (2) or resolve (3). You win a typical party by a combination of orders (1), glades (2), and resolve (3). People who complain about impossible orders don't understand the game mechanics. 2. Difficulty. The game has increasing levels of difficulty. It has a learning curve, so you SHOULD BEGIN ON EASY MODE, instead of higher difficulties. Because it's a rouge-lite with meta-progession, you WILL be getting more updates and improvements, as well as you will be understanding the systems better. Some people think that they are to hard-core to be playing on easy mode (without any upgrades), and they blame the game for being difficult. That's insane. The game is easy and very forgiving on easy mode and you have to go to the 3rd or 4th level of difficulty to really feel the hostility of the forest. 3. The gameplay loop. The game is about creating new settlements, which should take you around 60-120 to set-up. You're struggling with insufficient resources, lacking production-chains, you need to discover and adapt. It's fun. When you win, YOU CAN CONTINUE playing with your settlement, but it's not fun, because everything is optimized and autonomous. But you can stay and watch how the villagers take care of everything. 4. I DON'T KNOW WHICH BUILDING TO CHOOSE ;-; That is the point of this game. You have to understand the production chains. Each building has different efficiency, e.g. planks can be produces with 1 star efficiency or 3 stars. It means that you need, let's say, 8 wood to produce 1 plank or 4 wood to produce a plank. So you have to know the supply chains and resources that are on the map and make decisions accordingly. Do I want to choose a building that increases the efficiency of plank production given that we have not enough wood (in some forests), do I want to produce planks (I can buy them from a merchant and produce sth else), or do I maybe need a plantation, so that my villagers don't starve? Do I want to optimize the efficiency of one supply-chain or am I happy with mediocre optimization and I want to be able to produce more food, because I really need it. (I can have fewer villagers, so food might not be that urgent). 5. Every party is similar. No it's not. It's like saying that every game of chess or every piano piece is the same. IF you're new it might well be, but the tiny differences make for HUGE VARIANCE in the gameplay. At a first glance it might look similar, but if you've reached the skill ceiling, it's like night and day. 6. The game is too complicated. No it's not. IT'S INGENIOUS how good it is. It's not an excel sheet, but it's so unbelievably well optimized. You have to control minimum and maximum supply in your magasins, you have to control which resources can be use (AND CANNOT!!!) be used as substitutes (that is extremely important) in your production chains, you have to control which race is in charge of which production facilities. But there is a handy shortcut for everything, it doesn't play like an excel sheet. That is the single most impressive thing: the intuitive, user friendly UI that allows you to control the complex systems in the game, that you should be discovering and mastering during your first 20 hours. So if you buy this game, start with 3rd level of difficulty (because you're not a noob...), you're gonna be overwhelmed. If you give it some time, it will be one of the most fulfilling experiences.

I got this when I bought my Steam Deck and then quit because it was too hard. Slay the Spire 2 of all things helped me with this game: the problem was that I was treating this like a normal city builder instead of a roguelike. You shouldn't build everything; instead focus on what you need based on the orders, the available resources, and the population types you have (much like focusing on one deck strategy in StS instead of just picking every card). I really like how each scenario is different thanks to the randomization of available resources and which buildings you can choose from. Definitely wait to pick orders and blueprints until you know what you need and what you can do!

Hello Interested consumer, I've been looking at playing this game for a couple years and bought it on sale. So far I've enjoyed it a lot. Pros: -Relatively easy to learn, but new mechanics are introduced that make gameplay more engaging as you master it. -Fast pace means that you can be satisfied with sessions of 30 to 40 minutes. -Sound effects, music, and artwork give strong ambience of melancholy and relaxedness. -Interesting lore influenced by Wheel of Time, Lovecraft, and other fantasy works. Negatives: - Personally, I enjoy video games with a strong narrative focus. This game has no cutscenes or linear storyline with characters. Instead, the lore is mostly window-dressing for the gameplay. This means that I was less emotionally invested in the gameplay. Positive/Negative: -The rogue-lite structure of the game means that every settlement has different resources, strategies, and challenges, which makes gameplay very adaptive and engaging. However, the impermanence of settlements leads to a lack of meaning and investment in individual settlements. My score: 8/10 Would definitely recommend on-sale, especially for people who play video games primarily for the mechanical aspect of video games. Less so for people who are more focused on story or aesthetics.