Terra Nil Review (speedy_rudolf)
I have only played the first mission (and part of the second), but already I have become addicted to this game. It is very serene (the music is oh so relaxing, mixed with the birds chirping; I just wish there were more birds and/or other animals), a bit challenging here and there (if you have a bit of foresight on where to place the buildings, you'll do just fine; you don't need to stress too much about it....everything can be corrected in time), and ultra satisfying to see a desolate wasteland made beautiful and animate by your actions.
I have to say, just after the 1 mission that I played, I already feel more relaxed and happy. It is extremely rare that a game (or even real-life actions/events) make me feel this way.
Also, for those that look for replay-ability in a game, Terra Nil has that too. The maps a procedurally generated and there are objectives that only become known toward the end of a mission. For example (without spoiling too much) the final stage of the mission is to look for animals that have come back into the environment. And each animal has its own requirements where it like to live. But, you don't know what these requirements are beforehand, so you can't really plan for it. You just to try your best to accommodate as many different biomes as possible.
Now, I haven't tried replaying the first mission (yet), so I don't know if it is already implemented. But if it's not, it would be great if these requirements were actually slightly randomized. So, for example, an animal that might live in a river, on one playthrough it would require that a forest be nearby, on the next playtrough it would require fynbos near the river. Stuff like that; minor randomizations. That way we can try to get all animals to come back, but maybe miss one or two, making the player come back for more. Just an idea.
Anyway. All in all, I love this game, and I totally recommend it. Thank you, Free Lives.