Gaming Banished Review

Banished is a city-building game that's big on structures but lacking in humanity.
http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/pc/2014/02/28/banished-review/1

 

I think that's a fair review. I find the lack of progression in the game a bit disappointing, I never felt like I was working towards anything, except a more complicated system with no real tech benefits. Essentially, I would have used a more normal tech tree for this game. Worth £15? No way. A fiver? yeah probably.

 

Balanced review. I'm a bit disappointed in the game as I've been following it's development for ages and really wanted it to be brilliant.

I haven't really given it much time though, mainly because it's UI which already is fond of small buttons becomes truly microscopic when you run it on a 'retina' HiDPI display at native res. If I'm going to play a game that is hard work to love then I want to do it kicked back on the sofa not at my super ergonomic standing desk.

He'll keep improving it though and has mod tools on the development list. Give it another six months or so and I think it might be worthy of a second visit review.

 

I thought I read that gameplay expansions were not coming? Only a port to Mac and Linux, plus a mod kit?

 

Exactly. Assuming the mod-kit is any good I think we'll see a few tweaks to gameplay. He has said:

But...

So even without the ability to patch the core AI routines (Behaviours and route-finding etc), I'd say it's 'hopeful' we'll see lots of options on how the game can be played in the future.

 

Sounds exactly like "Settlers III", only they were cute to look at.

 

Sounds like someone got their handouts cut recently.

 

That middle paragraph came across as a right load of waffle. Moan moan, its hard to see on my small screen device, moan moan, i ?want? to play a challenging city builder which is always going to require KB+M on a sofa!?
Maybe if you'd spent as much time looking in the options, as you have supposedly following it or moaning about wanting to play it in stupid ways, you'd have spotted theres a slider for the UI, so you can play on your "'retina' HiDPI display at native res" just fine, just as i do... without the need to imply its an issue with the game.

The game is better than 60%, but this is Bit-Tech so i guess that makes it more like an 80%. Its pretty much what a lot of city builders have been crying out for, a game where it is a challenge, its not a case of just having the money to expand, you have to consider so many factors and the consequence of your decisions, because it can ultimately end up killing half the population and becoming very hard to turn things around again. Its not perfect, it could have more building options, but i dont think it makes it limited because of what it has.
Im looking forward to the mods people make, should be fun.

 

Calm down. You sure got out of bed on the wrong side this morning. I don't see anything wrong with playing this sort of a game using a decent laptop trackpad, and would much rather play and experiment while comfortably sitting down with a glass of wine rather than standing at the same desk I've been at for the best part of twelve hours. It was a comment, not a 'moan'.

But thanks for the tip on the UI size slider though. Good to know.

 

Unless you consider 50% average, middle of the road, OK, etc. Then 60% would make it better than average/good. IGN gave it 8.3, so yea by normal review standards above average/good.

 

this is on ym steam wishlist. may just have to stay there for a few more months until..

a) steam sale
b) mods!

 

personally, I'm really enjoying the game.
It's nice and calm to play, I am enjoying trying to keep a rapid expansion of my city going without starving everyone.
In a way, it's a little like stronghold, without the strongholds.
I would like it if there was a little bit more depth but everyone seems to be forgetting, this is a one man job.
I'm currently on my 3rd settlement and it's the most successful yet, broke 230 citizens before i had a disastrous harvest (thanks to 2 fields getting infested and then an early cold snap that killed most my crops) which led to a lot of starvation and the need for another graveyard...