Steve Wieland

This game is beautiful with an engrossing vibe. It has the foundations of something truly special. But it's just not there yet and it is doubtful that it will ever be. The developer could have spent the last year taking in money from the public to hire some help to finish the game, but alas no. Too many pieces are unfinished. Too many of the mechanics are out of balance and, too often, you have to trick the game into letting you succeed. For example, you'll have to constantly move workers back and forth between production facilities because one will be full and another is empty. You have to try ten times to shape your house plots just right to get an efficient layout. I frankly don't know how you can amass a military fast enough to fight off bandits. I can only succeed if there's no combat, which is a shame, because combat is a significant part of this game. There are only a couple paths to generating sufficient food, and they get old rather quickly. The developer needs to get serious about finishing this game--not just building out the many unfinished features, but refining the existing mechanics to make success fun. If that ever happens, then it's a winner.