Frozenheim Review (Hronic)
Hey,
I love RTS games and I enjoy city buildiers.
I didn't have high expectation for the game but I definitely have expected something more.
I have a feeling that description promises a very different game than the one I have ended up getting.
I would not recommend this game, maybe on some hard discount if you don't have any alternatives - you can play this and listen to a podcast.
Below are Pros and Cons in my opinion:
Pros:
- Base building is enjoying (although pretty simplistic and time-consuming rather than skill-consuming)
- The art style fits the Norse fantasy - graphics and models are very nice, I think that was the most enjoying part while playing.
- I like norse mythology.
- Supported by GeForce Now.
- The game did not crash even once and was loading exceptionally fast.
Cons:
- I would say it is neither city builder and colony sim or solid RTS - both of those aspects are at very very very basic level.
- There is supposed to be something like "discontent mechanic" but my villagers where always happy while I did not give a $%^& about them.
- Villagers are essential for development and yet ... vikings can't kill them or enslave or sell or whatever something.
- Poor storytelling with a very linear approach to progression: 5 campaigns, 4 missions each + 1 additional/final mission -> there is no particular long story so you can identify with a particular clan.
- Missions are too slow and take between 30 minutes to an hour on average. Most of them requires player to do exactly the same things in the same order (is strategy even required?).
- You can't set mission difficulty.
- As steam page says: "Prepare for brutal real-time combat that will put your tactical skill into a test" - I think I played different game or I am so damn good at this because I haven't even started using my tactical skills and I beat the game easily.
Combat is very simple, basically click right mouse button on the enemy and that's all ... (and here I had another Total War in my head but in Viking scenery).
AND BTW THERE IS NO ATTACK MOVE! (nice RTS)
- AI is dumb as $%^&, I prayed for it to attack me so I was leaving my guard wide open. I didn't train any soldiers and was using my lone hero to take care of all the "atacks".
- Not only enemy's AI is dumb, but my units are even dumber - If I give them order to attack everything in sight, they will for example focus on the building while enemy is hitting their heads with sword and axes.
- The only fighting mechanism is that you can hide units in trees -> no bonuses for surprise attack, flank attack, use of terrain etc.
- There are seasons but they don't affect the game - as other claim that "you need to struggle to survive autumn and winter". BOOOOO, learn to play, I had usually over 2'000 food with consumption on level 150.
- No resource management, you just need food to sustain units -> just spam farms which provide you food and then trade it for everything you need on the market.
- Some UI and camera issues - I can't see unit because it is behind mountain or camera is right behind my unit (like in 3rd person) so I don't see anything around.
- Sometimes units and especially ships, stack on plain field/water.
- Only 10 achievements ...