Great Game - But Holds Itself Back
*The Good:*
I REALLY love the gameplay here & some of the more advanced features / unlocks are incredibly interesting & fun to play with.
This game really nails the rogue-like formula putting a delightful spin on tower-defence & base-building/farming games.
Graphics are great, animations are great, I love the different dino designs & trying different classes, I love the unlock method, I love the little sticker dioramas you get to make, I even think the music is good tho i mostly play on silent.
*The Bad:*
I genuinely want to keep playing this over & over, but I have to say I have never been more annoyed by a game telling me I won.
The biggest problem can be summed up with two words: PACING & BALANCE.
Levels are too short, the length of a whole run is too short, & the lack of an endless mode is genuinely baffling (did I miss something??)
Settlers are highly valuable: they function as lives & upgrade currency - Those upgrades unlock new dino types - But then to use those new dino types, you have to forgo the settler you could have made instead. - And THEN those new dino types, count for nothing when the level is over, so the player is heavily discouraged from using them at all.
As a result every level just becomes a scramble to make as many settlers as possible, which means the player can’t afford to do much with the upgrades they’re buying. - By the end of my run I had about 250 unused civics & like 6 settlers. That’s just unbalanced.
This is especially frustrating because there are several races of dino’s with different subclasses, so it seems like there’s a really fascinating & interesting system in there, but I don’t get to play with it or figure it out because I need to make a bunch of settlers, or I lose.
Also, walls seem almost pointless, because, by the time you can afford to make a bunch of them, a gorilla can just take it out with one shot, usually along with whoever is behind it.
*The Better:*
I really think this game could benefit MASSIVELY from an endless mode & it deserves a bit of tweaking on balancing / pacing / progression.
Maybe would also be cool if there were special conditions for certain unlocks & that sort of thing.
I’m feeling a 7/10 as is, but I think 9/10 is a easy get, & you deserve 5/5 for recognition sake - I want peoples eyes on this, because it’s a REALLY fun game at its core.
I REALLY love the gameplay here & some of the more advanced features / unlocks are incredibly interesting & fun to play with.
This game really nails the rogue-like formula putting a delightful spin on tower-defence & base-building/farming games.
Graphics are great, animations are great, I love the different dino designs & trying different classes, I love the unlock method, I love the little sticker dioramas you get to make, I even think the music is good tho i mostly play on silent.
*The Bad:*
I genuinely want to keep playing this over & over, but I have to say I have never been more annoyed by a game telling me I won.
The biggest problem can be summed up with two words: PACING & BALANCE.
Levels are too short, the length of a whole run is too short, & the lack of an endless mode is genuinely baffling (did I miss something??)
Settlers are highly valuable: they function as lives & upgrade currency - Those upgrades unlock new dino types - But then to use those new dino types, you have to forgo the settler you could have made instead. - And THEN those new dino types, count for nothing when the level is over, so the player is heavily discouraged from using them at all.
As a result every level just becomes a scramble to make as many settlers as possible, which means the player can’t afford to do much with the upgrades they’re buying. - By the end of my run I had about 250 unused civics & like 6 settlers. That’s just unbalanced.
This is especially frustrating because there are several races of dino’s with different subclasses, so it seems like there’s a really fascinating & interesting system in there, but I don’t get to play with it or figure it out because I need to make a bunch of settlers, or I lose.
Also, walls seem almost pointless, because, by the time you can afford to make a bunch of them, a gorilla can just take it out with one shot, usually along with whoever is behind it.
*The Better:*
I really think this game could benefit MASSIVELY from an endless mode & it deserves a bit of tweaking on balancing / pacing / progression.
Maybe would also be cool if there were special conditions for certain unlocks & that sort of thing.
I’m feeling a 7/10 as is, but I think 9/10 is a easy get, & you deserve 5/5 for recognition sake - I want peoples eyes on this, because it’s a REALLY fun game at its core.
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Amazing! Truly amazing
I beat the game on my second day of playing it. And let me tell you, (and no, this isn’t faked) this is probably the best game I’ve ever played. I love the art style too! There are a couple things I would like, though. Some stuff is that I would like something to do after I beat the game. Perhaps a daily challenge? Also, a bestiary. That’s all. And finally, a setting that lets you turn off the tutorial. I just thought of that actually.
Otherwise, definitely worth the 3 bucks. Game of the year!
Otherwise, definitely worth the 3 bucks. Game of the year!
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Poorly Balanced
Overall, it was a decent experience, but not worth the price due to lack of balance, unclear progression, and lack of help information.
Positives: The game looks great; colorful with a unique art style.
Controls are okay, and it’s easy to clean up a mistake.
Gameplay loop is really fun (until it isn’t).
Negatives: The game timing ruins the entire experience. There is some mechanic which makes the game go from building to fighting. Triggering that mechanic is based on ‘sound’, but the game doesn’t define what increases sound. Additionally, there are character types to add to help your village, like a chef, but adding in these units excessively increases the trigger. Adding even 1 reduces your time to breed new settlers. If you add more than 2 special units, the trigger goes off and the fight starts. Since these units are your fighters, you can never actually have enough plus they abandon their primary job to fight. Each battle just becomes a hope that your settlers can kill the enemy before it kills them.
Additionally, progression is non-existent. There are upgrades you can get, but these are randomly unlocked each run. Your goal is to get settlers to support upgrades and defeat the enemy on each island to then repair your boat. You go to a new island and start over. After a few islands, the credits role. If you lose all your settlers, you just go to a new island with no consequences & hope you win the ‘base race’.
There seems to be a lot of variety in the game, but due to the lack of balance and unclear progression, there becomes 1 single build pathway you must take to have a chance. Lots of promise fumbled by unrefined execution.
Positives: The game looks great; colorful with a unique art style.
Controls are okay, and it’s easy to clean up a mistake.
Gameplay loop is really fun (until it isn’t).
Negatives: The game timing ruins the entire experience. There is some mechanic which makes the game go from building to fighting. Triggering that mechanic is based on ‘sound’, but the game doesn’t define what increases sound. Additionally, there are character types to add to help your village, like a chef, but adding in these units excessively increases the trigger. Adding even 1 reduces your time to breed new settlers. If you add more than 2 special units, the trigger goes off and the fight starts. Since these units are your fighters, you can never actually have enough plus they abandon their primary job to fight. Each battle just becomes a hope that your settlers can kill the enemy before it kills them.
Additionally, progression is non-existent. There are upgrades you can get, but these are randomly unlocked each run. Your goal is to get settlers to support upgrades and defeat the enemy on each island to then repair your boat. You go to a new island and start over. After a few islands, the credits role. If you lose all your settlers, you just go to a new island with no consequences & hope you win the ‘base race’.
There seems to be a lot of variety in the game, but due to the lack of balance and unclear progression, there becomes 1 single build pathway you must take to have a chance. Lots of promise fumbled by unrefined execution.
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Fun Dinosaur 4X
It’s a fun little 4X game where you play as the dinosaurs trying to outlive the asteroid while building a new home; a nice unique twist on the genre, and it’s a good build for mobile. What’s not to like? :)
Incredible, and a must buy
This game has some of the most amazing visuals I’ve seen in a mobile game in forever, and it’s all oozing so much character too. Honestly I bought it off of the visuals alone, almost instantly.
The game itself too is incredible. Simple in concept but it ramps up a bit later on yet always lets you know what’s happening so you won’t be lost. And the ui for everything is very mobile friendly and easy to use. Settings for making the game faster too if you feel like anything’s taking too long.
Honestly for the price this games a no brainer and a very good show of what mobile gaming can be and look like with enough passion behind it.
The game itself too is incredible. Simple in concept but it ramps up a bit later on yet always lets you know what’s happening so you won’t be lost. And the ui for everything is very mobile friendly and easy to use. Settings for making the game faster too if you feel like anything’s taking too long.
Honestly for the price this games a no brainer and a very good show of what mobile gaming can be and look like with enough passion behind it.
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