Against the Storm Review (WhiteWolf)
The game has a similar philosophy as "Settlers" or "Banished". You start with workers from different species that excel in various tasks. The target is to complete the game's objective while keeping the food and resolve (morale) in check.
I completed the hardest difficulty (Adamantine Seal) - which takes quite some take to reach it. As such, I would like to think I experienced a good part of the available game & mechanics.
Positives:
- It's quite easy to learn the game. The UI / mechanics are intuitive.
- Difficulty scales gradually. The pace feels about right.
- The game is well made. I only encountered a few minor bugs in hundreds of hours.
- I like the general system and playstyle. I enjoy colony-type games so I am probably biased.
- There is reasonable diversity between runs (different species, different cornerstone, different starting buildings ...etc).
- I like the seal system (every mission has their individual objective but it contributes to the overall main quest line).
Neutral:
- I like the city and upgrade approach but I would have liked to have more options there. Like exchanging starting benefits options before a new settlement or seal specific challenges.
- Seal missions have predetermined completion quests. I would have preferred the quest to have some randomness. It would be more difficult but I think it would be more interactive.
Negatives:
- My biggest complaint would be the end-game design decision. In order to be effective, your target is to complete a settlement as soon as possible ( faster completion = more years = more missions = more rewards). This creates a scenario where most of the settlements are aimed to be a "speed run". From a player perspective, it is more interesting/interactive to have a massive settlement with 80+ workers with multiple supply lines and brutal nights. But if you reach that point, you are working against the game goal (to finish the settlement as fast as possible). This also results in some imbalances: cornestones that aim for fast wins are the best; those who aim for bigger settlements are among the weakest; some species are better than others, some starting locations are far better than others ...etc. I would have liked to see some rewards that are given provided one can successfully sustain a bigger base (e.g. 1 seal for every forbidden glade, 1-time seal for surviving a night with 100 workers, 1 seal for every x completed dangerous events ...etc). This way the player would have the option to either go for a quick and fast settlement or decide for a bigger one.
- There is a bit of micromanagement that - in my opinion - doesn't add much to the positive player experience. For example, exchanging between builders -haulers - and farmers all the time. I think there should be a default "work". If the current task (.e.g farming) is completed, then a default assignment (e.g. hauling) is assigned. I agree with changing assignments when there are pros and cons to consider. But there is no positive in letting the farmers do nothing each 1/3 of a season. Either one is efficient or not. And that should be automated.
Overall rating: 88 / 100.