Banished

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 728 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 522 out of 728
  2. Mixed: 162 out of 728
  3. Negative: 44 out of 728

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  1. TheDizzation
    Feb 18, 2014
    10
    Amazing game for me. This type of game is really rare, and hard to make it good. It has some deficiency, but the game is combined perfectly. The fact is that this game is made by one guy is making it more amazing! I mean SimCity is made by a big company, compared to this they made nothing. I mean it. Anyways this game is a must buy if you like RTS and city building games!
  2. Blackadar
    Mar 5, 2014
    9
    I think people lament what Banished is not rather than enjoy what it is. It's not Pharoah. It's not Zeus. It's not SimCity, CotN, CivCity Rome, Caesar, Emperor, Anno, Cities XL or any other number of builders. It's not meant to be. Banished is a rather simple premise executed beautifully but without embellishment. It is simply about growing and sustaining a viable village. Not a town, aI think people lament what Banished is not rather than enjoy what it is. It's not Pharoah. It's not Zeus. It's not SimCity, CotN, CivCity Rome, Caesar, Emperor, Anno, Cities XL or any other number of builders. It's not meant to be. Banished is a rather simple premise executed beautifully but without embellishment. It is simply about growing and sustaining a viable village. Not a town, a city, an empire or a dynasty. It's just about keeping a nondescript village going and in that it succeeds totally. I love the pace and game environment not because it is simple but because it is focused and it is challenging. My first village in Banished failed. It was the first time that I can remember ever losing a town in any city builder and I've been playing them since the original SimCity. I was delighted.

    Now I didn't see in any previews that suggested anything different or more than what I got in the game. What it doesn't do is have talent/building trees or progression - but then again a small rural village in the 1700s or 1800s wouldn't expect to progress much from a technology standpoint. It doesn't have monuments, castles, combat or beautification projects. Are these limiting factors? Yes and they could have been included but they're not necessary for the core game to succeed. I wouldn't mind DLC or mods that include larger construction projects or the ability to create flower beds and other beautification projects. I think we'll see those things and I think that may make the game feel more "complete" for some people.

    Personally, I like the game for what it is. I find it relaxing but challenging and I enjoy seeing my little hamlet survive and grow and perhaps even eventually thrive. It also reminds me of a different era of gaming, where resource limitations required games to stay focused on their subject matter without becoming bloated. To me, Banished has a soul unlike some modern city-builders (Cities XL I'm looking right at you) and that makes all the difference.    … Expand
  3. TenchuuKhan
    Mar 2, 2014
    7
    Here's what the game is all about:
    Get your peasants to survive the first winter by providing the most basic resources they need such as: food, shelter, fire wood
    Move on to acquiring iron and letter so you can produce tools and clothes for your peasants. Get more food, build more houses. Build mines, a quarry, a forestry guy so you have a steady income of the most basic resources    Here's what the game is all about:
    Get your peasants to survive the first winter by providing the most basic resources they need such as: food, shelter, fire wood
    Move on to acquiring iron and letter so you can produce tools and clothes for your peasants.
    Get more food, build more houses.
    Build mines, a quarry, a forestry guy so you have a steady income of the most basic resources
    Build more food, build more houses.
    Get medicine, build a hospital, a church, etc. so your peasants are happy. Try to get all available resource types for the hell of it.

    And that's about it.

    Where's the fun in that?
    It's very challenging at the beginning and that's what makes this game so much fun. But once you got your head around it it gets really, really boring.
    For a building game it only gave me around 15 hours of entertainment - which just isn't good enough. And there's no actual goal once you got everything working besides having more citizens which again, has no payoff whatsoever.

    All in all, it's fun, but the price tag just isn't fair. It defends itself as being a "one guy dev" game but it charges you like there was a whole indy team behind it.
    Currently it goes for 19 bucks on Steam - a proper pricing would be 5.    … Expand
  4. saz
    Mar 17, 2014
    4
    Pretty fun but done after 6 hours. There are no enemy's only disasters which aren't fun. The maps aren't that great. Rate of consumption seems to awkwardly eat in big chunks probably because I spent the whole game at 10x speed. Land should have some production rates for crops/hunting. It sucks waiting for trade boats. Trade could be improved by factions that are on the map and you have toPretty fun but done after 6 hours. There are no enemy's only disasters which aren't fun. The maps aren't that great. Rate of consumption seems to awkwardly eat in big chunks probably because I spent the whole game at 10x speed. Land should have some production rates for crops/hunting. It sucks waiting for trade boats. Trade could be improved by factions that are on the map and you have to explore to find. Would like to have knowledge based upgrades. I don't see any depth to the game.… Expand
  5. demondred79
    Jul 21, 2014
    6
    After 10 hours you'll be all done with this simulator. All the buildings you can make will be built....all the challenges you can face will be faced. Quickly you'll punch up the speed to x10 and it just becomes a trivial rinse/repeat "groundhog day" adventure.

    I ruined my first town trying to figure out how the game behaves (despite going thru full tutorial), which was to be expected.    After 10 hours you'll be all done with this simulator. All the buildings you can make will be built....all the challenges you can face will be faced. Quickly you'll punch up the speed to x10 and it just becomes a trivial rinse/repeat "groundhog day" adventure.

    I ruined my first town trying to figure out how the game behaves (despite going thru full tutorial), which was to be expected. The second town I built very carefully, and apparently I more or less mastered the game because all it devolved into was a series of moving numbers up and down on tiny GUI buttons. Assign peasants to tasks, unassign them......raise building quotas....lower them. There's no end to this game that I am aware of. No upgrading of buildings. No new "era" to be born into. The game is all about creating an equilibrium and trying to maintain it while people either die of old age or from (more often than not) dying in a quarry or mine.

    That's it. That's the game.....

    It had addictive qualities but ultimately it's a time waster of a game. Do NOT buy this for full price ($20) wait for it to go for $5 and then it's a fair purchase.    … Expand
  6. drmirf
    Feb 21, 2014
    10
    Great game, on of the best I have played. Unique, hard but joyful. I recommend it to all players that like Civilization like games and for those that are patient.
  7. BatFat09
    Feb 21, 2014
    8
    This is a pretty good game, albeit impossible to win! I like it, I really do, I went in with low hopes and was extremely surprised, I must say this is way more than I thought it would be!
  8. Ninjapixel
    Mar 12, 2014
    7
    Banished is the type of game that makes you lose sense of time.

    Strategic sandbox titles often fail when it comes to balancing the in-game stats. However, Banished doesn't fail. As a matter of fact it seems to work pretty well. Sure there could be a few more features and sure it is not the best looking game out there. But the music, the feeling and the fun this game brings makes it    Banished is the type of game that makes you lose sense of time.

    Strategic sandbox titles often fail when it comes to balancing the in-game stats. However, Banished doesn't fail. As a matter of fact it seems to work pretty well.

    Sure there could be a few more features and sure it is not the best looking game out there. But the music, the feeling and the fun this game brings makes it worthwhile. I like it!    … Expand
  9. Helmenkalastaja
    May 5, 2014
    7
    Another city build game with some new perspectives. I did get bored pretty quickly, as there is lot of just waiting for resources to be gathered still i play this game occasionally. Fun game still and worth to buy. Also i wanted to support one-man project.
  10. versionbest
    Mar 2, 2014
    6
    I thoroughly enjoyed this game, however my only gripe with it is the randomness mechanics (or so it may seem, perhaps it assigns by the last placed house?) of assigning villagers to replace a recently dead one. If you have a small town and everything is in close proximity to each others then assigning villagers at random (or from the last placed house?) is not a problem. However, if youI thoroughly enjoyed this game, however my only gripe with it is the randomness mechanics (or so it may seem, perhaps it assigns by the last placed house?) of assigning villagers to replace a recently dead one. If you have a small town and everything is in close proximity to each others then assigning villagers at random (or from the last placed house?) is not a problem. However, if you have a large population of over 300 villagers and you're playing on a large map just think of the distance the villagers have to walk to get back to their house for food. Some will go to the nearest Market or Storage Barn to eat but not all. I've noticed that for the most part they will most likely return to the house they were born in to eat. They can't eat from a house that is already occupied that is not theirs because that would make things so much easier. This here is where lies a major flaw in the design of this game. The way this game was design you can only play on a small map. If you play on a large map and planned on inhabiting every nooks and crannies of the map then it will most likely end up in failure.

    The design flaw is the assigning of villagers at a random location from a random house (or the house that was last built?) to replace a recently dead villager. Let's put things into perspective. For example, if I have a farmer from one location on the map and if he happens to die he will be replaced by the next available laborer (wherever this laborer may live). However, if this laborer lives on the other far end of the map, he must trek a super long distance to the farm land to replace the dead farmer. Then when he gets hungry he must trek back to his house in the far distance but often times he will never make it even if he is walking on Stone Road. You see how this can be a problem?

    And this was exactly what happened to me. I had a population over 300 villagers and everything was going fine until a chain reaction of hunger occurred. Since every laborers can be from any house any where on the map, when they get hungry they must trek back to the place where they were born to feed. If you're playing on a large map, the randomness of villagers being assigned as replacements to the dead ones will throw the whole game out of whack. My population hit a critical mass at 300+ villagers then everyone started dropping like flies down to around 125+ villagers because of death by starvation. This all happened literally within 5 minutes. You should have seen the looks on my face as I glared at the monitor thinking to myself WTF just happened? It's not the scarcity of food because I was banking on 50K+ (I built a lot of farms and focus heavily on food production) and I made sure I had a few houses at every work sites. I had everything built perfectly and there was no shortage of supplies of any kind. As a matter of fact I had a surplus of supplies.

    The mass starvation deaths was caused by them trekking super long distance that they couldn't make. Here is what I would like to see changed in a patch if there ever will be one. Have the Storage Barn and Market be a central point where any villagers can come to eat regardless of where they live on the map. This way even with the randomness mechanics of villagers replacing dead ones, they will always be guaranteed that they will be well feed if they have to work far from their homes. Thus you can build Storage Barns and Markets anywhere on the map as a place to come to feed, therefore not relying on trekking back to their homes.

    Yes I was pretty pissed that over 41% of my workforce died in a chain reaction within 5 minutes. I wanted to see if it was a bug or what if I had tried something different then that won't happen. I load an earlier saved and did a few things differently but once my population hit that critical mass of 300+ villagers, they started to die in a chain reaction due to starvation.

    I would have given Banished a perfect 10 had it not been for this fatal flaw (literally) that prevent you from expanding to the far corners of the map. This game is almost there but not quite yet. Patching the dependent on homes as a food source will allow for a far more fulfilling experience.    … Expand
  11. Firepro316
    Mar 15, 2014
    6
    The first 15 hours or so of Banished are brilliantly addictive. The challenge of building a thriving town that will survive the winter and boom in the Summer is at times stressful but very rewarding when it comes together. Once you have a working town, that's consistently providing supplies (food, coal, wood, iron, stone), you can then start building some of additional buildings thatThe first 15 hours or so of Banished are brilliantly addictive. The challenge of building a thriving town that will survive the winter and boom in the Summer is at times stressful but very rewarding when it comes together. Once you have a working town, that's consistently providing supplies (food, coal, wood, iron, stone), you can then start building some of additional buildings that whilst aren't a necessity but add some value, such as churches and town halls.

    However once all this is done, you begin to realize there's not a lot left to do. There feels little point or purpose is expanding your city further as there's no further reward for doing so. There's no new buildings or benefits. Just more to manage. I had one incredible city working with 300 people with every building and supply done.

    So in summary, I loved my 15-20 hours game play, but I can't see myself playing it again anytime soon. Worth £5-£10    … Expand
  12. Hellygator
    May 5, 2014
    6
    The game starts out interesting but the learning curve is pretty flat. If you are experienced in city building games you figured out what works well pretty quickly. After that there is no endgame, no quests, no motivation to continue playing. I have spend a few hours building a decent city but never bother to create another.
  13. Demonidze
    Feb 19, 2014
    10
    Finally a great city builder type of game that doesnt filled with always online DRM and other non sense.

    although its not like Sim City where you build an utopia, a dream city .. here you build a village and not just a village it has to be very balanced village, with everything thought out. there is rogue like element here, where you have to restart over and over until you using trial    Finally a great city builder type of game that doesnt filled with always online DRM and other non sense.

    although its not like Sim City where you build an utopia, a dream city .. here you build a village and not just a village it has to be very balanced village, with everything thought out. there is rogue like element here, where you have to restart over and over until you using trial and error method find your way to build a proper village.

    this is sort of survival city builder game, the only game i've seen that is some what similar to this one is dwarf fortress.

    I would recommend this game to anyone who likes the city building genre.    … Expand
  14. Muuvinki
    Feb 19, 2014
    8
    Really addicting city building game which you might definitely wanna try out.
    However when you get a hang of it, you'll notice that there really isn't much to build anymore after all necessary buildings. I kinda hope for some kinda decorative items which would make village look even more beautiful than it already is. Also sometimes there seems to be so little time to do stuff and you are    Really addicting city building game which you might definitely wanna try out.
    However when you get a hang of it, you'll notice that there really isn't much to build anymore after all necessary buildings. I kinda hope for some kinda decorative items which would make village look even more beautiful than it already is. Also sometimes there seems to be so little time to do stuff and you are struggling even with food, although you have multiple villagers getting food. Other than that Banished is a brilliant game with lots of potential in it.    … Expand
  15. Jaskkro
    Feb 19, 2014
    9
    This game is challenging, charming, complex and captivating. I played it for 6 hours in one sitting, and though it has a few flaws (like the sometimes buggy AI running to their death in the cold), the game provides an incredible amount of freedom. Then when one considers it was made by a single person, it really gives you a sense of awe.
  16. Thoto79
    Feb 20, 2014
    9
    Did one guy make this? Amazing. The most unforgiving and hardcore City (Town) builder i have ever played, and i have been through most of them. Good fun and higly addictive!
  17. frugal_frogger
    Feb 26, 2014
    8
    This is like SIMS but for grownups! Very challenging - at first you will be disappointed because you must make mistakes in order to learn to do it right. It requires lots of thinking ahead and trial and error. Highly recommended.
  18. LD9000
    Apr 20, 2014
    7
    An Ok game, held my interest for a couple days. After you learn how to grow enough food, all you do is expand your settlement. Once in a while, a trader arrives, and once you get your chickens, sheep and cows, there isn't really that much excitement about the trader anymore.

    It does not seem like villagers have any particular skill focus, the same guy can be a woodcutter one day, a    An Ok game, held my interest for a couple days. After you learn how to grow enough food, all you do is expand your settlement. Once in a while, a trader arrives, and once you get your chickens, sheep and cows, there isn't really that much excitement about the trader anymore.

    It does not seem like villagers have any particular skill focus, the same guy can be a woodcutter one day, a farmer another day. This is important because of the route villagers take to their job site from the houses. Unfortunately this also means that if you have a large agricultural population, you have to reshuffle your population every year once the harvest is done. In the course of doing so, it's possible to end up with a population that has to go all the way across the map to their job site. Fixing this gets tedious and kinda boring after a while.

    Overall, an OK city builder, although Tropico 4 is so much better.    … Expand
  19. Muts
    Feb 22, 2014
    10
    Great game. Got my population to 300+ people and then disaster comes over and over to challenge you to keep the town growing while tons dead by a tornado, fire, disease is hard.
    For anyone having trouble, like user Jordach545, where people are not doing what they were supposed to do, use Priority Tool at F2 Menu. I see people complain about this **** every day on forums and they still    Great game. Got my population to 300+ people and then disaster comes over and over to challenge you to keep the town growing while tons dead by a tornado, fire, disease is hard.
    For anyone having trouble, like user Jordach545, where people are not doing what they were supposed to do, use Priority Tool at F2 Menu. I see people complain about this **** every day on forums and they still dont get that this game works like a queue system. You create a To Do list every time you assign something, and they will not finish taking resources to a house to be built if they must finish collecting resources first. The Priority Tool just get things done and I think 90% of players dont use that and have trouble with Banished.    … Expand
  20. RazgrizGT
    Feb 24, 2014
    10
    Banished is definitely one of the great games to come out a recent memory. It has a very low learning curve and great game mechanic the keeps the game interesting. Designing and managing the city requires planning, expanding the quickly and you will find yourself in trouble. Graphics and Sounds are simplistic and yet provide a great backdrop for the game. Re-playability is decent as itBanished is definitely one of the great games to come out a recent memory. It has a very low learning curve and great game mechanic the keeps the game interesting. Designing and managing the city requires planning, expanding the quickly and you will find yourself in trouble. Graphics and Sounds are simplistic and yet provide a great backdrop for the game. Re-playability is decent as it is a sandbox structure with randomly generated map. At the moment of this review, it has minimal structures and their functions. The game plays simple but it has a great potential to expand into more depth and scope. For one guy who developed the game, it is definitely a 10 that beats all the other big-name title out of the water. Highly recommend!… Expand
  21. CpuCzar
    Feb 22, 2014
    9
    Banished is the anti SimCity, no extra costs, only 300 mb download, you only need 512 mb of ram to play it. This is a great city builder game. Only $20, and worth every penny!
  22. masc
    Mar 17, 2014
    4
    The ideas behind Banished are nice and the game even plays nice until your city exceeds a certain size. At this point you have build everything there is to build at least once and the only motivation left to expand any further is to reach new personal high score for the number of citizens that live in your town. So my biggest complaint with this game is long term motivation. The secondThe ideas behind Banished are nice and the game even plays nice until your city exceeds a certain size. At this point you have build everything there is to build at least once and the only motivation left to expand any further is to reach new personal high score for the number of citizens that live in your town. So my biggest complaint with this game is long term motivation. The second issue I do have is that it is just far to easy even on the highest difficulty setting after you figured how it works. One last thing so, the after sales support and the communication of the developer is to say it nice "very slow".… Expand
  23. suneater
    Feb 16, 2015
    7
    Banished is a fantastically atmospheric, albeit barebones, city builder set in pseudo-colonial times. You start off with a handful of ragged outcasts thrust into the wilderness with a mission of building your own civilization from the landscape. Because of its small scope, Banished is also much more personable than more robust city builders; instead of managing multiple cities or even aBanished is a fantastically atmospheric, albeit barebones, city builder set in pseudo-colonial times. You start off with a handful of ragged outcasts thrust into the wilderness with a mission of building your own civilization from the landscape. Because of its small scope, Banished is also much more personable than more robust city builders; instead of managing multiple cities or even a nation, you start with four to six families and grow to a few hundred people (or more, depending on how long you wish to play a map). This isolation combined with little charming touches, like knowing each citizen's personal info, excellent ambient sound design, and a slower paced game speed, makes Banished the most atmospheric fictional city builder I have played.

    Although there is a rough "progression" to what you can build via resource requirements, any building can be built at any time depending on what your city needs. Real strategy comes in properly timing and planning your construction; While Banished is a pretty laid-back game, a sudden influx of nomads can bring diseases or cause starvation if your city isn't prepared and construction takes significant manpower and cross-profession coordination. This flexibility can be overwhelming for a new player trying to survive their first winter but thankfully Banished's tutorials are well constructed and actually worth playing through even for veterans. Your city's growth (and essentially the game's difficulty) is tied to how much or how little you want to build, leading to a more relaxed game than most city builders.

    Even though I loved most of this game, I spent a lot of time fighting with the villager's AI. While Banished strictly doesn't have win/lose conditions, it is heart-breaking to watch your citizens die from starvation while they are harvesting crops or gathering fish. Other AI issues emerge much earlier in the game, like farmers acting like laborers and not tending their fields during the summer. Laborers also seem to act erratically; when you assign multiple removal tasks, they seem to work in arbitary priority. Constructing multiple buildings is a huge pain with trying to coordinate the laborers with the builders; I eventually resorted to laying down a "building plan" and mass-pausing construction, unpausing one building at a time to be built. Maybe I don't understand all the intracies of the AI but 50 hours in and I'm still frustrated and often resorting to using the "Increase Priority" tool.

    Banished is also missing many things that add challenge and depth to other city builders. This is essentially the "kiddie pool" of city builders with no crime, polution, budget balancing/taxation, or non-essential buildings. With 31 construction options, everything you build is for managing food, housing or supplying citizens, or transportation needs. There are some minor trading elements but its mostly there to keep your city growing once you run out of certain resources. Once you have a stable city running all there is to do is make it bigger while avoiding starvation or disasters. The same could be said of many games but I always look forward to building a sports stadium in SimCity... here it feels like it's just food, food, and more food.

    If you haven't played a city builder before, Banished is a great place to start. Veterans looking for a more laid-back experience will get a few dozen hours out of this while alt+tabbed with something else. Nothing here is groundbreaking but what there is is a great change of pace from playing certain other sims at Cheetah speed.    … Expand
  24. TheVino3
    Feb 28, 2014
    6
    Could be good. Not there yet. A large amount of things are left completely unexplained. Things like the way food is produced and consumed make little to no sense, and require a lot of reading just to understand how not to completely starve a population of 10 people that are sitting in the middle of thousands of units of food.

    It feels like you are constantly babysitting villagers that    Could be good. Not there yet. A large amount of things are left completely unexplained. Things like the way food is produced and consumed make little to no sense, and require a lot of reading just to understand how not to completely starve a population of 10 people that are sitting in the middle of thousands of units of food.

    It feels like you are constantly babysitting villagers that should be able to work out some things for themselves - such as: Food goes in mouth.    … Expand
  25. XBenedict
    May 13, 2014
    6
    I like the look of this game and it works reliably and presents a challenge. However, once you have built a successful city of reasonable size you feel like you have solved the game and that there is little point in starting a new map. The lack of specific challenges and development options (a big city contains the same things as a small city - just more of them), makes this game a bitI like the look of this game and it works reliably and presents a challenge. However, once you have built a successful city of reasonable size you feel like you have solved the game and that there is little point in starting a new map. The lack of specific challenges and development options (a big city contains the same things as a small city - just more of them), makes this game a bit pointless fairly quickly and so, in my opinion, expensive given the limited number of hours you will play it.… Expand
  26. HeirOfIsildur
    May 25, 2014
    6
    Banished, whilst simple at a first glance, is both a relaxing and enjoyable game. The slow paced village life will perhaps lull you into a false sense of security before disaster strikes. It could be considered a difficult game as, though on the surface it is simple, the micromanagement - which is a key part of the game - is sometimes hard to manage. Despite the fact that I enjoy BanishedBanished, whilst simple at a first glance, is both a relaxing and enjoyable game. The slow paced village life will perhaps lull you into a false sense of security before disaster strikes. It could be considered a difficult game as, though on the surface it is simple, the micromanagement - which is a key part of the game - is sometimes hard to manage. Despite the fact that I enjoy Banished very much, I give it only a six out of ten because it can sometimes get boring. Once you have a knack for the game there is little left to do than watch your village just carry on life as usual. I'm not sure how it would be incorporated, but the lack of multiplayer is disappointing as this is, in my opinion, an important feature of games today. Additionally, the absence of an endgame can make playing Banished feel rather pointless and times, though not having a set objective might be considered a good thing for some. For those who like action games, Banished is not for you, however, city-builder fans should enjoy Banished immensely.… Expand
  27. arruu
    Nov 3, 2014
    6
    It is very addictive.. just as any other city builder, imo. Though it lacks depth, and soon you'll realize you've built every single construction the game offers, and there is nothing left but expanding in the same fashion... The graphics are nice, the technical requirements are very very forgiving, and I hope a sequel comes out soon... But this original game ends up being repetitive very fast.
  28. Kragmire
    Dec 31, 2014
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game has potential, but the way it currently stands you will find yourself bored with it within 4 to 6 hours of gameplay. Modding it will perhaps double the enjoyment time.
    As others have pointed out, one main problem is that the beginning of the game is relatively challenging, but once you survive the first few cold winters, you will find that you spend the rest of your time micro-managing tiny details that have no direct impact on the outcome of the game. Sure it is fun to see your village grow, but it feels very hollow once you realize there is no reason to grow it. There are no other cultures or factions. In fact there is no contact with the outside world at all with the exception of a random trader that wanders through your map with random frequency. The game feels lonely and hollow.
    There are still bugs within the simulation. On occasion you will find that you hit a choke point in your development when you HAVE to build a certain building. You may have all the supplies, idle workers, foundation laid… and the builders will refuse to build it. You will watch their activities as they decide to go gather resources from the far side of the map, etc, while your village starts to wither and die because they refuse to build. This can sometimes cause cascading problems where you can actually lose the game… for no reason you can understand.
    There are some bugs with some of the population mechanics. One year you can fill a field with 5 cows and watch as they slowly wither and die off. A few years later you can fill the same field with 5 new cows and they suddenly reproduce up to a healthy herd of 30. Why? Who knows?
    There are only two non-renewable resources in the game – stone and iron. Because of this you will find yourself thinking the game should be called “Stone and Iron Manager” because once you get past the first survival stages almost all your time will be spent managing these two resources. Of course most of your buildings require stone, and most of your tools and production houses require iron, so the second you run out of either, you can find yourself in a negative spiral that may be difficult to recover from. This might be all fine if it weren’t for the fact that iron and stone are almost prohibitively expensive to mine, and to purchase from traders is based on random chance, so you feel the “luck” requirement to the game is overly high.
    The trading mechanic is underwhelming to say the least. Initially traders are exciting because they offer the key to future upgrades – new crops and livestock. However once you unlock these new features, you suddenly realize that the traders become less and less important. Nothing you will do will influence which traders show up at your dock. You might refuse to buy from one trader… and yet he will keep returning. You might buy out one trader’s entire stock, and he will return no sooner or later. As your village advances, you have more and more advanced goods to sell and your demand will shift to selling high value goods for raw materials. The traders never change and you soon find yourself dismissing 90% of them without purchasing anything.
    I would have been done with this game quickly if I had not modded it, which doubled the content and added a lot of additional depth – including some dwelling and building upgrades, decorative city options, and other features. However it did not address the emptiness, or the feeling of “why am I growing all of this stuff when I can’t sell it and it serves no other purpose in the game”? Forget an end game. This game even lacks a middle. Maybe in the future, after it has been heavily modded? Otherwise I would wait for version 2.0.    … Expand
  29. FlaviusAetius
    Nov 22, 2017
    7
    A fun game that, for a few hours, can satiate any fan of the building sim genre but loses its appeal soon thereafter. The act of building up a town to allow them to survive is exciting but once your town becomes self-sufficient there's not much to do but wait every ten minutes for another trader to arrive.
  30. timsplace0
    Feb 18, 2014
    10
    This is one of the best game I have played in a long time, spent about 12 hours lost in Banished today.

    Only complaint is your wrists and hands may hurt from overplaying, seriously.
  31. liquixcat
    Feb 19, 2014
    10
    I played this game for 4 hours on my first sitting. This game just sucks you in and keeps you there. It's hard, unforgiving, relentless and cruel but it's enjoyable, rewarding, entertaining and engaging too! After 6 winters I think I finally have the hang of food distribution and keeping people healthy and alive. Sure a person dies here or there, but it's almost always from old age.I played this game for 4 hours on my first sitting. This game just sucks you in and keeps you there. It's hard, unforgiving, relentless and cruel but it's enjoyable, rewarding, entertaining and engaging too! After 6 winters I think I finally have the hang of food distribution and keeping people healthy and alive. Sure a person dies here or there, but it's almost always from old age. Finding a good balance takes time, but it's completely doable. Now I just need some fruit for my Tavern. :D

    When you buy this game don't expect to do well your first time through and USE the tutorial. It's not too long and it's really helpful. Don't get too attached to your first villagers as they will most likely die from starvation or cold.

    Great game; amazing even. I plan to spend another 4 hours on it after work tonight too.    … Expand
  32. Sairven
    Feb 20, 2014
    10
    One of my biggest complaints about city builders over the last few years is shoehorned combat, and lets be perfectly honest with ourselves: even the "best" city-builder combat is pure garbage compared to the worst real-time strategy game's combat.

    Banished thankfully doesn't waste any of its time on that. Instead, your antagonists are: hunger, weather, disease, and disasters. The    One of my biggest complaints about city builders over the last few years is shoehorned combat, and lets be perfectly honest with ourselves: even the "best" city-builder combat is pure garbage compared to the worst real-time strategy game's combat.

    Banished thankfully doesn't waste any of its time on that. Instead, your antagonists are: hunger, weather, disease, and disasters. The developer's decision to focus on this pays off greatly. It's pretty fun balancing your population in order to progress without ending up with a whole bunch of old people who can't reproduce anymore.    … Expand
  33. Gunteraz
    Feb 18, 2014
    10
    This game is amazing. I haven't left my computer since i got this game 8 hours ago. It sucks you in like the tornadoes in this game do with your villagers. For a 1-man development "team" this game is an achievement worthy of a monument.
  34. SpyderScythe
    Feb 19, 2014
    10
    I absolutely love this game. It is a beautiful city building sim that will suck you in. The amount of things to do in this game is quite amazing, especially since it was made by one man. I cannot stop playing this game since I bought it, and the longer I play, the better it gets. I highly recommend this game if you are a fan of city building games. You will not be disappointed.
  35. Palanor
    Feb 19, 2014
    10
    One of the best city builders that as come out in the last few years. For once you have to think before you do anything . Some may not like the interface . I keep a few windows open and i do fine. First time i played , it was 4 am by the time i looked up ,says a lot about how much this game sucks you in. You end up feeling about your villagers and there plight.
  36. kursku
    Feb 18, 2014
    10
    This is the SimCity and Cities XL for Medieval Lovers! The game has it all, specially because it goes beyond most of our expectation. It's simple, has an amazing interface and something that I've never seen, the shortcut for specific areas. The game it's still evolving, so I'm waiting for new and different things.
  37. Eppurvandekamp
    Feb 19, 2014
    9
    Un título casi perfecto. A quienes nos gusten este tipo de juegos la compra es obligada. No es el juego perfecto pero os aseguro q os tendrá horas y horas entretenidos.
  38. superspeck
    Feb 20, 2014
    10
    I'll be the first to admit that this game is not for everyone. If you like FPS games, you probably won't like this. If you like the idea of what would happen with Age Of Empires (or any medieval city builder) crossed it's DNA with Dwarf Fortress (where Losing Is Fun and Everybody Dies) then you will enjoy this game. Building a successful city is a delicate balance with a lot of invisibleI'll be the first to admit that this game is not for everyone. If you like FPS games, you probably won't like this. If you like the idea of what would happen with Age Of Empires (or any medieval city builder) crossed it's DNA with Dwarf Fortress (where Losing Is Fun and Everybody Dies) then you will enjoy this game. Building a successful city is a delicate balance with a lot of invisible levers that you have to watch and adjust carefully. Or everyone dies. And there's never enough of anything, and too many children. It's great fun as long as you go in expecting to lose and have everyone die. Repeatedly.… Expand
  39. MaxPay
    Feb 18, 2014
    10
    This game should serve as an example, almost like a benchmark. It was developed entirely by 1 guy and yet, it's one of the best ''city builders'' to come out in a very long time. There's also a survival aspect and it features disasters. You can play it indefinitely; there's no silly endgame scenarios like: ''Build 3 farms''. Maps are huge and are randomly generated. Gameplay is refreshingThis game should serve as an example, almost like a benchmark. It was developed entirely by 1 guy and yet, it's one of the best ''city builders'' to come out in a very long time. There's also a survival aspect and it features disasters. You can play it indefinitely; there's no silly endgame scenarios like: ''Build 3 farms''. Maps are huge and are randomly generated. Gameplay is refreshing and addicting. 10/10!… Expand
  40. RedGolpe
    Feb 20, 2014
    10
    This is one of the best city builder I've played in a long time, and though it may not be polished as an AAA game, I found it very fun. It somehow lacks in basic information, but once you understand the basic mechanics it's quite straightforward. The price is reasonable for what the game offers, and if you think it's been developed by a single person, it's almost a miracle of a game.
  41. dippman
    Feb 18, 2014
    9
    Great city building game. Its easy to learn but has depth to keep players interested. There's constant challenges and the pacing of the game is perfect. It's not as intimidating as other games of the genre, yet the complexity is still there. I only wish there were some more structure. I can see myself wasting hundreds of hours of my life on this game. Blows other AAA titles out of theGreat city building game. Its easy to learn but has depth to keep players interested. There's constant challenges and the pacing of the game is perfect. It's not as intimidating as other games of the genre, yet the complexity is still there. I only wish there were some more structure. I can see myself wasting hundreds of hours of my life on this game. Blows other AAA titles out of the water. Cannot recommend enough!… Expand
  42. comradenash
    Feb 19, 2014
    8
    Beautifully put together, particularly for a one man team. Intelligently designed for an immersive and authentic feeling survival/strategy game. If I could offer one basic criticism it would be that the UI is not very intuitive, and I do sort of wish there was some kind of end game. It would be rewarding to be able to link your cities up, make moral decisions about the commoners poachingBeautifully put together, particularly for a one man team. Intelligently designed for an immersive and authentic feeling survival/strategy game. If I could offer one basic criticism it would be that the UI is not very intuitive, and I do sort of wish there was some kind of end game. It would be rewarding to be able to link your cities up, make moral decisions about the commoners poaching on your land, etc.

    Overall Banished is worth every cent of $20 though!    … Expand
  43. michaelnator
    Feb 20, 2014
    10
    I will start off by saying that I bought this game as an impulse buy. I really hadn't heard too much about it before release, the only chatter I heard was from the DayZ developer (Dean Hall).
    Well it's now been 24 hours since I purchased the game and I`m sitting at 17 hours played. This game really makes you think about every decision, i'm constantly having to find the right balance    I will start off by saying that I bought this game as an impulse buy. I really hadn't heard too much about it before release, the only chatter I heard was from the DayZ developer (Dean Hall).
    Well it's now been 24 hours since I purchased the game and I`m sitting at 17 hours played. This game really makes you think about every decision, i'm constantly having to find the right balance between food, wood and other resources. If you don't have a perfect strategy, YOUR VILLAGE WILL DIE, simple as that.

    Despite all of the good, I have encountered a few glitches which have forced me to reload my save a time or two. (villagers refusing to plant crops in one of my fields for no reason) I`m sure these few glitches will be fixed in time though.

    Overall a great game and probably the best impulse buy I've ever made!    … Expand
  44. Buhehe
    Feb 25, 2014
    6
    It' a fairly okay game.... I admit I'm not a hardcore city building games fan, but I was attracted by the positive reviews this game had, and the fact that only 1 guy built it on its own, I like supporting indie devs.

    While the game itself is interesting and somewhat different from what I've seen before, the game lacks depth and content. There's no campaign, a very limited set of    It' a fairly okay game.... I admit I'm not a hardcore city building games fan, but I was attracted by the positive reviews this game had, and the fact that only 1 guy built it on its own, I like supporting indie devs.

    While the game itself is interesting and somewhat different from what I've seen before, the game lacks depth and content.

    There's no campaign, a very limited set of buildings... you'll be doing the same stuff over and over, I feel like I have nothing to look forward to... the only hard thing to get is some special items from merchants, like seeds and animals, but that's it.

    Infact, my desire of playing this game decreased rapidly in just a few days, now I barely touch it anymore, and kinda regret spending 19€ for it. If I could have gone back in time, I would have waited for a 5€ sale.    … Expand
  45. Narf
    Feb 24, 2014
    5
    An incredibly well-done game considering it was made by only a single person - but as a game in general, lacking in the long run.

    The base of the game is actually very solid. It looks nice, has the spice of a few random events which might or might not happen and the mechanics are pretty neat in general. However, once the player has gotten a feeling for a good balance for a    An incredibly well-done game considering it was made by only a single person - but as a game in general, lacking in the long run.

    The base of the game is actually very solid. It looks nice, has the spice of a few random events which might or might not happen and the mechanics are pretty neat in general.

    However, once the player has gotten a feeling for a good balance for a settlement, the game is just way too easy and simple. Whether your settlement has 30 or 500 settlers, keep roughly the same percentage of them occupied with food production, don't forget to build houses every now and then and your village will grow and prosper. There is no enemy to fight and no competitor for space and resources. It does not help that there is no sense of progression at all after a short while. Every single building one can build is available from the start and there are no settler, city or building tiers. You will probably have built everything the game has to it within the first 50 years of your settlement. The natural disasters like diseases or a tornado are so random that you might go dozens of years without anything happening or have your people wiped out within five minutes into the game.

    The economy is not complex at all. There is nearly no production chain. It does not get any more complicated than Iron + Logs + Coal -> Steel Tool. Yes, that is actually the most complicated ware in the game. The only other processing goods you have is Logs -> Firewood, Wool + Leather -> Warm Coat and finally seven different foods (pick one of them) -> alcohol. And that is all. All the other resources are fine for use without any processing. Wheat or corn for example seem to be eaten raw only. There is no mill or bakery for bread.

    The game has a very solid base to build on in the future and since modability is supposedly coming as a feature in a future update, the modding community might very well make this as much as a long-term fun as it is when only having played a upstarting settlement. But in its current form, without regarding the size of the 1-person-development-team and just seeing the game as a game, it is sadly only that: a solid base that needs to be built upon to actually make it worth the 20$ it asks for.    … Expand
  46. dragon12
    Feb 21, 2014
    10
    very lovely to play this game peacefully and quiet and enjoy your small family grow into a whole city, its so good and enjoyable that it gets addicted :D
  47. DocBlock
    Feb 21, 2014
    10
    This game is truly amazing. A masterpiece of both city building and strategy as a whole. Sure you could say that once basic buildings are created the game is done. However, the point of this game is to expand not to survive then live in a boring village for 300 years doing nothing. No, a unique aspect to this game is that every time you build a new structure or buy new seeds you couldThis game is truly amazing. A masterpiece of both city building and strategy as a whole. Sure you could say that once basic buildings are created the game is done. However, the point of this game is to expand not to survive then live in a boring village for 300 years doing nothing. No, a unique aspect to this game is that every time you build a new structure or buy new seeds you could destroy half of your village or double it in size. This game is one of the few that has miraculously avoided the snowball effect with its crippling disasters and rigid carrying capacity feature where if you didn't create one field or took out that one tree from the hunting zone, your entire town could be cut to 5 homes with raging fires and until you face this, you have truly not experienced this game… Expand
  48. OctaviaMoon
    Feb 22, 2014
    10
    I'd been waiting with anticipation for the release of this one-man wonder game for a few months and it really is worth that wait. Big game developers seem to have forgotten this genre (apart from the ill fated SimCity franchise) and it's such a shame. There is so much joy in balancing food production with food consumption and seeing your people happy. This one isn't easy - although theI'd been waiting with anticipation for the release of this one-man wonder game for a few months and it really is worth that wait. Big game developers seem to have forgotten this genre (apart from the ill fated SimCity franchise) and it's such a shame. There is so much joy in balancing food production with food consumption and seeing your people happy. This one isn't easy - although the first few tries it's worth starting on easy mode - but it's challenging enough that, if your economy collapses, you will be eager to try again and put in place what you learnt :)
    I really like that you can place buildings then stick them on PAUSE - thus giving you a simple way to plan out your town for optimum production. Well done to SHINING ROCK - mods are already being spoken of on the forums, and I think that's a sign the game will still be entertaining me in years to come. Oh...and it looks beautiful too ...    … Expand
  49. azadi
    Feb 21, 2014
    9
    Great game from a single developer. Was just as he described it. I do wish the game had more building but that will come with the release of modding tools. The negative reviews are from people who did not understand what the game was.
  50. neroxiths
    Feb 21, 2014
    9
    The game is amazing! I started it and next thing I knew I had spent 5 hours in front of it without realizing. Of course there are a couple of issues that need a bit of balancing, like the amount of food consumed per citizen. Nonetheless, it is by far one the best city building games I have played.If I did not know that it was made by one person team I would really have thought that a hugeThe game is amazing! I started it and next thing I knew I had spent 5 hours in front of it without realizing. Of course there are a couple of issues that need a bit of balancing, like the amount of food consumed per citizen. Nonetheless, it is by far one the best city building games I have played.If I did not know that it was made by one person team I would really have thought that a huge multinational company is behind it.… Expand
  51. Blackdragonbird
    Feb 24, 2014
    6
    Game has great potential, but is still full of flaws and some strange bugs. The AI needs serious work yet and the 90° totally square construction layout is a little annoying. The major flaw for me yet is what I call "Tool Outbreak of Doom", basically, when you have more than 100 citizens and don't maintain the eyes in your iron and/or log stocks and your blacksmith stop making tools, theGame has great potential, but is still full of flaws and some strange bugs. The AI needs serious work yet and the 90° totally square construction layout is a little annoying. The major flaw for me yet is what I call "Tool Outbreak of Doom", basically, when you have more than 100 citizens and don't maintain the eyes in your iron and/or log stocks and your blacksmith stop making tools, the stock vanish and your blacksmith needs to work with a broken tool too, it makes he produces tools at a very low speed and can't keep up to the tool consumption, it causes a chain reaction lowering all your city production, food and fuel get consumed faster than can be produced and your town break. The annoying thing is, the stupid blacksmith keeps making tools but cant grab one for himself, It's serious.

    Otherwise the game is fun and addictive, but is not worth his value in this state yet.    … Expand
  52. Ziogualty
    Feb 21, 2014
    10
    Gratz to Luke who has created a new genre: the survival builder. In all other builders your aim is to create a wonderful megacity, full of everything imaginable.
    In this one extreme micromanagement and constant planning are aiming only to let your citizen survive.
    Not for everyone, but simply AMAZING.

    We can call this game the "Dayz" of the city builder!
  53. janontour
    Feb 19, 2014
    10
    absolutely love this game - if you like city building games but are fed up with way too casual simulations like sim city, where you hardly have to think anymore but just doodle and build a city without a real challenge, banished is just that: it is a puzzle disguised as a city building game. I don't know how many times I had to restart my town because 2 hours ago i made a crucial mistakeabsolutely love this game - if you like city building games but are fed up with way too casual simulations like sim city, where you hardly have to think anymore but just doodle and build a city without a real challenge, banished is just that: it is a puzzle disguised as a city building game. I don't know how many times I had to restart my town because 2 hours ago i made a crucial mistake in the setup of my city. But I loved starting over every time. It's a challenge and can be frustrating, but if you are up to it, it is a fantastic game. Considering it is done by one guy it is an amazing achievement!… Expand
  54. Jagermaestro
    Feb 22, 2014
    6
    Lets set a benchmark for scoring here:
    Just because the genre is under developed doesn't warrant an inflated rating.
    Just because one person made the game doesn't warrant an inflated rating. Just because your 15-18 and have a false nostalgia for "difficult" games doesn't warrant an increased rating. This game has poor prioritization which artificially scales its difficulty. Largely,    Lets set a benchmark for scoring here:
    Just because the genre is under developed doesn't warrant an inflated rating.
    Just because one person made the game doesn't warrant an inflated rating.
    Just because your 15-18 and have a false nostalgia for "difficult" games doesn't warrant an increased rating.

    This game has poor prioritization which artificially scales its difficulty. Largely, it is not difficult, its just unforgiving when you develop without balance, which is the same for every game in the genre, you just don't have to find an earlier save game in those to dig out of the hole. Watch your entire population throw their jobs you carefully assigned to the wind to follow a resource collection order. Watch them freeze to death on a resource gathering death march. Watch them walk back and forth to a granary to pick of food, not find any when they get there. They instantly know there is more, but don't instantly know its out. Convenient.

    The legitimate factors that make things difficult are easily circumvented:
    Early chills kill your crops before you bring them in (be sure to early harvest a few)
    Fauna migrate around the map making hunting hit or miss (sometimes a ridiculous hit)
    Crops and herds need to (sometimes) be rotated.

    The rest is truly just poor pathing/AI...

    The art is OK, winter is pretty.
    Time passes confusingly for a game so set on being immerse.
    There are names for people, but this is no Children of the Nile.
    There is a poor diet mechanic that is supposed to be innovative but is pretty throw away in its implementation.
    There is some lack luster trade.

    The thing it does well is climate. So that's what your getting. A bare bones city simulator with a thermometer.

    10 out of 10 best game of the year.

    The indie love is officially out of control.    … Expand
  55. Phixius
    Feb 24, 2014
    9
    Challenging, diverse and thoroughly enjoyable. Clear evidence that too many cooks spoil the broth. Well worth the small investment in my opinion just for the mechanics of the game. I would happily play this on a 16 bit system with 2D pixilated graphics such is the depth and charatcer of the game. Well done indeed.
  56. Boras
    Feb 21, 2014
    10
    Amazing game, simple and complex at same time, it is a rare example of good game mechanics, simple but effective graphics and an awesome potential for future expansions

    absolutely suggested
  57. Elissonx
    Feb 25, 2014
    7
    The best review is from PC Gamer (Feb 21, 2014)
    70/100: "A nice change of pace for city-builders, but it loses momentum once the immediate urgency of survival goes away."

    I agree in everything.
  58. Docsis
    Feb 23, 2014
    10
    This game looks simple, but it is a lot tougher than it looks. Everything seems to affect other things. I lose some people to starvation because I can't keep them fed. So I finally get that issue fixed and build up a surplus of food, then their tools start to wear out. I finally get a blacksmith shop and a blacksmith, but all the while, they cant build as fast or farm or hunt because ofThis game looks simple, but it is a lot tougher than it looks. Everything seems to affect other things. I lose some people to starvation because I can't keep them fed. So I finally get that issue fixed and build up a surplus of food, then their tools start to wear out. I finally get a blacksmith shop and a blacksmith, but all the while, they cant build as fast or farm or hunt because of worn out tools, so my food runs out, I run out of coats to keep them warm because they can't hunt deer for the leather (or venison), so they freeze to death. Now I don't have enough population to spare one to be a blacksmith, because I need them to gather food.... well, you get the point. This is NOT a complaint... this is a challenging game, and well worth the $20. This runs circles around SIM CITY and those types of games. Looks simple, easy controls... but don't let that fool ya!… Expand
  59. CryChris
    Feb 23, 2014
    10
    Shining Rock Software. Create a great city builder....
    NO always online DRM.....The Gameplay is refresh...simple and complex..........................
  60. Tridus
    Mar 23, 2014
    7
    This is a good game. The simulation part works well, each person has a home and job, and how you design your city matters. You can make mistakes that lead to losses pretty easily. It's good looking, runs well, and is pretty polished. The only lacking thing right now is the lack of things like scenarios. Once you figure things out and get your settlement going well, you kind of have nothingThis is a good game. The simulation part works well, each person has a home and job, and how you design your city matters. You can make mistakes that lead to losses pretty easily. It's good looking, runs well, and is pretty polished. The only lacking thing right now is the lack of things like scenarios. Once you figure things out and get your settlement going well, you kind of have nothing else to do except make it bigger. Hopefully the developer will be able to expand on his success in the future, because the core game is much better than some other recent city builders.… Expand
  61. nopistons420
    Feb 24, 2014
    8
    the game is about survival - there are no enemies to fight, however you will run into problems such as disease and fires. it seems to be a bastardization of the anno series and the new simcity.

    Banished is a solid little city builder. as a game its fun and worth at least 10-20 hours worth of gameplay, it doesn't really introduce any brand new concepts per say... but it does bring    the game is about survival - there are no enemies to fight, however you will run into problems such as disease and fires. it seems to be a bastardization of the anno series and the new simcity.

    Banished is a solid little city builder. as a game its fun and worth at least 10-20 hours worth of gameplay, it doesn't really introduce any brand new concepts per say... but it does bring everything together in a sensible and coherent way.

    all in all this is a pleasant game to play, worth your time - but don't go expecting too much depth, because it is a rather simple game at its core.    … Expand
  62. Golakka
    Apr 30, 2014
    10
    Banished is an excellent "settlers like" game, better than the settlers franchise itself, all designed around needs. Imagine a rural settlement isolated from the rest of the world. Few people, a lot of childs, and the winter is coming. Imagine the struggle against the winter, the fear for starving, the need for a better and warmer home or clothes, the need for create and manage orchards,Banished is an excellent "settlers like" game, better than the settlers franchise itself, all designed around needs. Imagine a rural settlement isolated from the rest of the world. Few people, a lot of childs, and the winter is coming. Imagine the struggle against the winter, the fear for starving, the need for a better and warmer home or clothes, the need for create and manage orchards, the need for other seeds. You wil learn to fear the winter and to joy for the summer harvest, as our ancestors. Banished is a little masterpiece, if you liked "the settlers" franchise this is the peak of that kind of game.… Expand
  63. Smrajdl
    Feb 24, 2014
    9
    definitely worth buying,easy to play,hard to master and without evil corporations,supporting indie developers !

    Remember when you paid $60 for Simcity and EA kicked you in the junk? This is the exact opposite of that. Banished is a city builder in its purest form.
  64. Solifugae
    Mar 17, 2014
    7
    I do like the game and recommend buying, but it is wonky.

    I am playing right now, and every house I visit has ample food. Fish, potato, Venison, corn, plum, eggs, chickens...each house has over 200 food resources plus firewood, garments etc. I checked every single house, they all have lots of food. But the villagers are dying of starvation. I have lost 13 villagers from starvation    I do like the game and recommend buying, but it is wonky.

    I am playing right now, and every house I visit has ample food. Fish, potato, Venison, corn, plum, eggs, chickens...each house has over 200 food resources plus firewood, garments etc. I checked every single house, they all have lots of food.

    But the villagers are dying of starvation. I have lost 13 villagers from starvation despite each house being full of food. I think it is because it ties starvation to the level of food in the central store rather than the house level.

    Load of potential and fun despite the logic sink-holes.    … Expand
  65. Kingbingo
    Feb 26, 2014
    7
    The game has an inverse difficulty curve in that making it through your first few winters is probably the games greatest challenge. Get beyond the need for simple food and shelter and your settlement can start to grow and you find yourself in a relaxing well-made village builder. Once you start playing it has that, just one more year, quality that keeps you sat at the PC engrossed as theThe game has an inverse difficulty curve in that making it through your first few winters is probably the games greatest challenge. Get beyond the need for simple food and shelter and your settlement can start to grow and you find yourself in a relaxing well-made village builder. Once you start playing it has that, just one more year, quality that keeps you sat at the PC engrossed as the hours fly by.

    However, a week on I find myself with little incentive to replay. As the game currently lacks any higher goals or real sense of progression once you have a viable settlement.

    While I’m hugely impressed this all came from one person I feel the game needs more depth. In its current form it has too little replayablity. As a foundation to add greater depth you could not ask for better than this, and I hope in time the dev and modders flesh out the game. I am glad I purchased, but I will now be taking a long pause until the game gets built upon.    … Expand
  66. cawpikolo
    Feb 25, 2014
    9
    The game overall is good there isn't anything wrong with it other than the occasional worker that gets caught walking in circles until he starves to death. I am giving this a higher score since it was made by one guy and that is very impressive. Anyways gameplay wise this game is pretty easy on medium difficulty the only reasons why i lost the first two times is because i forgot to buildThe game overall is good there isn't anything wrong with it other than the occasional worker that gets caught walking in circles until he starves to death. I am giving this a higher score since it was made by one guy and that is very impressive. Anyways gameplay wise this game is pretty easy on medium difficulty the only reasons why i lost the first two times is because i forgot to build more houses so there's more room for population growth rather than watching my entire city die by old age. If you ever need resources you can just grab from nature and I suggest do it in huge chunks this is because trees take time to come back so you might as well grab a surplus for when it grows back. The only nitpick I have about this game is that after you gain all the buildings and a pop of over 200 there is honestly nothing else to do. Since the city can function autonomously it's basically staring at an ant farm if you ever reach this point. Other than that my tips for playing this game is Harvest all crops in late summer if you do not have many farmers or else winter will take the crops I lost 10-12 people from starvation for not doing that. Make sure to cut down large areas and not small amounts to ensure there is a surplus in your stores to survive the winter. and most of all as your first domestic animal get sheep they breed quick and give a lot of wool with a max size pasture you will have so many warm coats and wool that you can trade for anything else needed.… Expand
  67. jadereviewer
    Feb 25, 2014
    9
    The best city builder. games like simcity are "easy" because you are building the perfect city. In Banished, you just want to build a town with a population as high as possible- and doesn't horribly starve or freeze each winter, dosen't pop boom or stop growth. You want to keep moving forwards- but strategically, carefully and with planning.

    My only criticism is that though the level    The best city builder. games like simcity are "easy" because you are building the perfect city. In Banished, you just want to build a town with a population as high as possible- and doesn't horribly starve or freeze each winter, dosen't pop boom or stop growth. You want to keep moving forwards- but strategically, carefully and with planning.

    My only criticism is that though the level is 'randomly" generated, it doesn't really affect how you build- just slightly the location. I propose more varied terrain, better elevation and things like desert or maybe tundra. waterfalls, etc. This stops it being a 10 because after 6 or 7 attempts game can get repetitive, particularly if you looked up build order on the wiki.

    What Banished sets out to it does well- and for that I will happily throw money at.    … Expand
  68. SigilFey
    Mar 15, 2015
    9
    Banished is simply one of the best city-builders I have ever played.

    Very nice balance of design freedom and challenge. The game masters a less-is-more system, from its mechanics to its graphical presentation. Much like the old Settlers series, you want to take it slow and watch closely while you are learning how to play. Much of the game is in discovering the nuances of the resource    Banished is simply one of the best city-builders I have ever played.

    Very nice balance of design freedom and challenge. The game masters a less-is-more system, from its mechanics to its graphical presentation. Much like the old Settlers series, you want to take it slow and watch closely while you are learning how to play. Much of the game is in discovering the nuances of the resource system and then min-maxing your way to a booming economy.

    I really appreciate how the game's most valuable resource is actually "people". Keeping your villagers healthy, happy, and productive is far more important than stockpiling goods. As each citizen has his/her own name, occupation, and family, I found myself attached to a few here and there, following them around on their activities...perhaps with a bit of sadness over time, as the toddler I remember playing dangerously close to the river was now a tailor in her 60's, and likely to pass away soon.

    Pacing of the game is deceptively slow to start, as one tiny mistake early-on will likely spell disaster for your entire settlement. Once you learn the basics, it doesn't take long to get a flourishing settlement up and running. But, just like Dwarf Fortress...the more successful you are, the more likely things will go to pot in a heartbeat! It's truly a game about seeing just how far you can push your growth until it all collapses under its own weight.

    Graphics are quite charming, and don't take a powerhouse PC to run well. There is a great deal of macro detail, and big settlements really look awesome. Terrain can be a bit redundant after a few games, however, and it would be nice if you were able to build some unique, set-piece structures to show how far you had really come. There simply is not the bleep-ton of variety as offered by SimCity or Tropico, nor the intricate detail of the Settlers series, but what is here blends together well and creates a beautiful picture.

    I have a feeling Banished has already been granted a permanent spot on my hard drive. (*Ahem.* Excuse me! My "SSD". Must keep up with the times...) It might be nostalgia, but I spent many chilly days this past winter at my desk, mug of coffee in one hand, mouse in the other, guiding a handful of refugees towards a civilization of their own. I intend to return to that place many times again in the future.    … Expand
  69. bigsilverhotdog
    May 1, 2016
    8
    Now that Banished has mod support and its first major free expansion mod made by the community (Colonial Charter) it is finally worth recommending to fans of builder strategy games like Anno or Simcity, and EASILY worth recommending at that. It went from "meh" to "wow" purely through the modding community. Before CC and the minimods that improve CC (Sawmill, 1 day is 1 day, CC FountainNow that Banished has mod support and its first major free expansion mod made by the community (Colonial Charter) it is finally worth recommending to fans of builder strategy games like Anno or Simcity, and EASILY worth recommending at that. It went from "meh" to "wow" purely through the modding community. Before CC and the minimods that improve CC (Sawmill, 1 day is 1 day, CC Fountain mod, etc) Banished was a great idea and a great platform but without much game in it. Plus it had tons of bugs and AI problems.

    Now it's finally much more refined and the mod community has expanded and fixed the game up and made it worth playing, very similar to what they did with FTL. The future for Banished is now very bright, and I fully expect more and better mods in the coming year(s). It's easily worth a purchase now, especially when on sale, and I can only see it improving in the future. Buy it on GOG, not Steam, and support the DRM-free revolution.

    I did both, but only because I bought it on Steam before it was available on GOG.    … Expand
  70. Xiphoideus
    Mar 4, 2014
    9
    Great game I have to say. Most of the bad reviews here seem to come from the fact that the gameplay concepts were not understood by the players.
    The game is deeply rewarding if you can feel rewarded by setting yor own goals something that many of us do not seem capable of anymore.
    If you expect a game like most games have become lately that tells you everything you need to do and then    Great game I have to say. Most of the bad reviews here seem to come from the fact that the gameplay concepts were not understood by the players.
    The game is deeply rewarding if you can feel rewarded by setting yor own goals something that many of us do not seem capable of anymore.
    If you expect a game like most games have become lately that tells you everything you need to do and then pads you on the back for doing so then you should stay away from this. Feedback is often not immediate and help is sparse, I love it this way as the rewards seem even sweeter.    … Expand
  71. Kela-Appi
    Apr 5, 2014
    8
    For a one man studio this is a well done game. Probably the best city builder in a while. Some people might not like the fact that there are no real goals in the game, but personally I prefer it this way. No constant pestering about what you should do, but figuring out yourself what you to do next in order to make your people happy and the town prosper.
  72. iseeall
    Dec 8, 2015
    7
    It's a city/village building game somewhat close to Sim Sity, Black & White or Settlers. The start is pretty hard - you will have to try a few times until you "get it". Then it gets pretty easy as you expand. However, in the end the game starts throwing random negative events like fires and diseases, destroying the awesomeness you've built.

    The good: - pretty difficult - many    It's a city/village building game somewhat close to Sim Sity, Black & White or Settlers. The start is pretty hard - you will have to try a few times until you "get it". Then it gets pretty easy as you expand. However, in the end the game starts throwing random negative events like fires and diseases, destroying the awesomeness you've built.

    The good:
    - pretty difficult
    - many interesting mechanics which all depend on each other and work pretty well together

    The so-so:
    - graphics are 3D and look ok, but most buildings have very similar roofs which makes it a bit hard to distinguish them from each other
    - the game is all about hardship and endurance, but such things aren't fun in real life, so in the game they bore you after a while. The game would definitely benefit if there was at least some humor, or maybe an advisor/companion. Some human touch. Or maybe a little story, or the main character who led this banished group. As it is, it feels somewhat anonymous and mechanical.

    The bad:
    - if you make a mistake or some random crap happens, or you didn't know some rule - you are screwed. It will take 10 or more in-game years until you recover. In my case the only "educated teacher" died from old age, there was no laborer available to take his place, and all students stopped their training. And after that the game would randomly re-sort villagers, covertly appointing a non-educated one on important roles like blacksmith or teacher although I made sure an educated one was on that role! The non-educated blacksmith couldn't renew the tools for everyone fast enough, and uneducated farmers without tools couldn't produce wheat etc etc. By the time I finally sorted that out I didn't care anymore for the villagers dying and just kept speeding up the game as the whole system slowly corrected itself across years.
    - as the village grows, the slow movement speed of the villagers becomes the main factor which hinders further development. A villager can spend 3 in-game months or even more on just running from one side of the map to the other, and by that time his task may become obsolete. An action like chopping a tree takes a second, but the villager will spend a minute running to that tree, and then another minute running back.
    - pathfinding seems to ignore roads. The villagers run in diagonal paths, ignoring roads - so why even build roads?
    - the music gets very repetitive, need more tracks
    - there is no goal (maybe just achievements), so after playing for a while you will just turn the game off because you will get fed up. You will fill the whole map with buildings and there will be nothing left to do, and there won't be any sense of accomplishment because the game is still running, and still tortures you with random destruction.
    - there is no way you can send a specific villager to a specific task. There is a clumsy "increase priority" dragbox which works in an arcane manner and never tells you which villagers will now go do this, if at all. Prioritizing commands doesn't work well which leaves you feeling powerless in front of a gigantic simulation which mostly runs by itself.    … Expand
  73. Triasadi
    May 19, 2015
    8
    Banished is a great city builder. The game is fun and challenging because it's balanced. The tutorial is great and pretty easy to understand. The graphics looks realistic. Banished is simple but a fun and challenging game. Everything is quite balanced. And events that happen in the game is very realistic like accidents, and disasters.
  74. MattMcGrath
    Apr 3, 2014
    10
    After many years of reading metacritic reviews I decided to sign up to recommend this game wholeheartedly.

    The gameplay is beautifully balanced and really rewards intelligent planning. There are no hidden mechanisms behind the town's operation, instead you can see every single resource moving around, and every single citizen doing their part. It reminds me a little of Tropico in that    After many years of reading metacritic reviews I decided to sign up to recommend this game wholeheartedly.

    The gameplay is beautifully balanced and really rewards intelligent planning. There are no hidden mechanisms behind the town's operation, instead you can see every single resource moving around, and every single citizen doing their part. It reminds me a little of Tropico in that respect.

    The complaint that you get a 'world without end' and 'no scenarios or achievements' is in my view very short sighted. It is a very interesting challenge just to get all the basics up and running and even then the great thing about the game is how fine tuned it is. If you imbalance the town by growing too quickly or neglecting a certain type of resource then you can find yourself in difficulty. There are also occasional disasters to keep you on your toes and force you to react and rebalance.

    And after all that, without having exceptional graphics, the game somehow has a very pleasing look to it that really rewards aesthetic planning.

    Thoroughly recommended.    … Expand
  75. ThePCGamer101
    Jun 24, 2015
    8
    Banished, developed by just one man under his one-man indie game company Shining Rock Software, the game has pulled me into hours of playtime and I have already played 5 hours of this game (28/12/2014) within two days from when I bought it (26/12/2014)!

    However don't be fooled by this game's city building genre like other games such as the SimCity franchise and the Anno series, this    Banished, developed by just one man under his one-man indie game company Shining Rock Software, the game has pulled me into hours of playtime and I have already played 5 hours of this game (28/12/2014) within two days from when I bought it (26/12/2014)!

    However don't be fooled by this game's city building genre like other games such as the SimCity franchise and the Anno series, this game is more of a survival, village/town building strategy game where you're main focus is trying to maintain a small village of people while trying to survive starvation, diseases, natural disasters and fires, and don't think this game is a walk in the park unlike other games mentioned, this game is challenging even on Easy difficulty! This game is not for people who like city building games where you manage a whole city and not every single individual like in Banished.

    The graphics are simple but this is of course a strategy game and graphics are not really the main focus in this type of genre, I would however congratulate on the water and rain/snow effects, they are really well done and it becomes even more immerse. The soundtrack, although very repetitive, you will be more immersed by the sound effects of you're town/village coming to life more than just the music.

    The AI, the villagers AI is a bit stupid at some points, for example, an outbreak of some disease broke out and the people that were infected were right next to a hospital but instead they walked over a bridge I built and then went back to the hospital to get cured, and thanks to that, a few more villagers got sick as well! The AI is not the best AI I've seen in a strategy game.

    Although the game is fun and challenging, I still feel that the game is still a bit empty, there is not a lot of stuff to do, no more natural disasters such as earthquakes etc... just tornadoes! And even though there is immigration from the Nomads, there is no invasions from other neighboring towns/villages, no wars unlike games such as the Civilization series! Plus sadly there is no Multiplayer/Co-Op in the game, so if you wanted to play this with you're friends such as the new SimCity game, this is not the game for you!

    The game is a mixed bag for some, although I love this game and has really pulled me in into playing more and more, it may not be enough for some people, especially with some of the "missing features" the game does not include or the level of challenge/difficulty which may put some people off. It is still a great game to play, especially if you like Strategy and the city building genre like me and you would like to play something different!

    The game does support Steam Workshop and some Workshop items do make the game a bit better. I am a bit upset however that the developer hasn't done as many updates as I intended, I can understand that he is just one man who developed this fantastic game, but a bit more updates would make it a bit better!    … Expand
  76. Bolrakk
    Sep 22, 2014
    8
    I have put in 40+ hours into this game and that was only in one week. It's addictiveness comes with the idea that all you want to do is keep expanding.

    Mechanics wise its path system is almost flawless and job priorities still needs some work but in time I can see this all being patched up. However what keeps this game from a perfect score is it's endgame potential. Once you have    I have put in 40+ hours into this game and that was only in one week. It's addictiveness comes with the idea that all you want to do is keep expanding.

    Mechanics wise its path system is almost flawless and job priorities still needs some work but in time I can see this all being patched up.

    However what keeps this game from a perfect score is it's endgame potential. Once you have covered the whole map and can't build anymore you are daunted with the fact that you have nothing left to accomplish. All you can do is start again?

    To improve the game I would like to see more game modes and different styled maps to make the game a little bit more re-playable. The potential is there for this to be a top tier sandbox game and I really hope it gets there.    … Expand
  77. ericchrishoover
    Apr 12, 2015
    4
    I really loved the game for the first day or two. I was constantly playing it. But somewhere along the line, you'll come across game-breaking glitches that completely destroy whatever you've spent 10-15 hours building up. Disasters, harsh weather, uneven building space is all fine. But people that idle when you tell them to build, builders that gather materials when they should beI really loved the game for the first day or two. I was constantly playing it. But somewhere along the line, you'll come across game-breaking glitches that completely destroy whatever you've spent 10-15 hours building up. Disasters, harsh weather, uneven building space is all fine. But people that idle when you tell them to build, builders that gather materials when they should be building, and people teleporting to the edge of the map and dying on their way back make this game not worth playing.… Expand
  78. Greenman131
    Oct 25, 2015
    10
    This game is a serious balancing act that is perfectly executed and well thought out. An easy to understand and thorough UI that is beautiful to the touch. People may give this game bad reviews because it's hard, that's the point. The game was DESIGNED to be challenging, that's like giving a horror movie a 2/10 because it was too scary. This game has thought of everything from TownThis game is a serious balancing act that is perfectly executed and well thought out. An easy to understand and thorough UI that is beautiful to the touch. People may give this game bad reviews because it's hard, that's the point. The game was DESIGNED to be challenging, that's like giving a horror movie a 2/10 because it was too scary. This game has thought of everything from Town Management to Resource Caps. If you love to sit down for a good hour or 2 and play a beautiful game, then buy this, give Shining Rock Software however much this game is, you owe it to yourself to play this and learn precise resource management as well as city planning. Seriously, but this game!… Expand
  79. XDavidX
    Nov 23, 2015
    10
    The game is just amazing. I love play this game. For me this game is amazing ! Nothing more to comment because this game is amazing ! I rate this 10/10
  80. DoctorFoxhound
    Mar 1, 2014
    3
    I am shocked by all the 10 score reviews. I love city builders and this one looks good and feels good but there are way too many issues.

    Bottom line, this game feels like a beta. Constantly, I assign builders to work on a building but they just scamper off to chop wood. I'm having to try to find work arounds to get workers to do what i want them to do. I look forward to updates    I am shocked by all the 10 score reviews. I love city builders and this one looks good and feels good but there are way too many issues.

    Bottom line, this game feels like a beta. Constantly, I assign builders to work on a building but they just scamper off to chop wood. I'm having to try to find work arounds to get workers to do what i want them to do.

    I look forward to updates because the game has loads of potential but is so frustrating to play at this point.    … Expand
  81. gromenawer
    Feb 19, 2014
    6
    Game mechanics are great but the game it self is quite easy to master. After a few hours of learning the rules and provided that you know just a little of mathematics you can find the optimal equilibrium in the game. It has some variance in the type of plants you grow and animals you tender but ultimately you can explore the whole game very quickly in any difficulty. Its feels more like anGame mechanics are great but the game it self is quite easy to master. After a few hours of learning the rules and provided that you know just a little of mathematics you can find the optimal equilibrium in the game. It has some variance in the type of plants you grow and animals you tender but ultimately you can explore the whole game very quickly in any difficulty. Its feels more like an early release for the given price.

    Worth say that this game will be great once the modding community get their hands on it and develop new content and new structures. I'm glad to see that the community is avid of city building games; after the Sim City 5 fiasco was clear that there is desire and market for them.

    There are some minor bad choices on how the UI works but you can pretend they are not there. Technically the game has a great performance.    … Expand
  82. Beanbag
    Feb 20, 2014
    7
    Banished is a solidly designed indie game, one that will offer hours of fun for those that enjoy city builders. Like most games, it offers nothing truly groundbreaking, but is still a very enjoyable member of it's genre. Unlike most games, it was developed by a team of One. This one-man indie title is similar to larger company titles like Stronghold 3, with the exception that Banished is aBanished is a solidly designed indie game, one that will offer hours of fun for those that enjoy city builders. Like most games, it offers nothing truly groundbreaking, but is still a very enjoyable member of it's genre. Unlike most games, it was developed by a team of One. This one-man indie title is similar to larger company titles like Stronghold 3, with the exception that Banished is a far more polished piece of software (and it actually works the majority of the time!). Banished does seem to currently conflict with F-Secure's "Deepguard" product, part of their Antivirus package. It can be switched off to allow Banished to function perfectly, though this will likely be addressed by a patch sometime after the posting of this review.

    Overall, Banished earns a very solid 7 in my book. Banished is nothing new or exciting, but is an enjoyable re-imagining of a well-loved genre. It performs well and will offer at least a few days of entertainment, and it's relatively low price-point being comparable with a DVD or Blu-Ray makes it easy to suggest that you give it a try.    … Expand
  83. mikenelson28
    Feb 21, 2014
    10
    A challenging and unique world building game. I have spent countless hours already and look forward to discovering the nuances of this game. I shake my head every time I heard it was created by one man.
  84. Loler13gr
    Feb 25, 2014
    7
    Although the game is very good with interesting mechanics , nice visuals and many challenges it gets repetitive soon and the lack of a goal does not give you the motive to continue playing...
  85. VoxPaladin
    Apr 9, 2014
    0
    Very bland and generic 'city builder'. Some UI elements are confusing, no signs of challenge other than trying to redirect the horrible NPC A.I. which just walk around and starve to death.
  86. ConorHat
    Feb 24, 2014
    6
    Best city building game ever made. One guy programmed and delivered us this gem. It's a masterpiece. The reviewers don't understand how amazing it is that one person could make such a purely awesome game. I'm never going to waste my time reading reviews again, just watch a gameplay video and if this is your sort of game you won't be disappointed.
  87. Qgal5kap
    Feb 22, 2014
    8
    This is a game with huge potential. As it stands at the moment, it was fun for the period of time I used to master it. Replay-ability hurts from the fact that it's easy to play, if you have figured out what to focus on,
    and when to build certain things. It needs something more, in order for me to come back and play it again.
  88. ShaziaTheProud
    Feb 23, 2014
    8
    Tons of fun. I was initially a bit hesitent to get the game after seeing some reviewers going off about how difficult/impossible the game is, but I'm so glad I bought it. It's not as difficult/impossible as some reviewers would have you believe, especially if you do a little basic strategy research beforehand. With that, my FIRST town reached a population of ~450 before finally collapsingTons of fun. I was initially a bit hesitent to get the game after seeing some reviewers going off about how difficult/impossible the game is, but I'm so glad I bought it. It's not as difficult/impossible as some reviewers would have you believe, especially if you do a little basic strategy research beforehand. With that, my FIRST town reached a population of ~450 before finally collapsing due to mistakes on my part (a massive food distribution problem during a famine). I've started over from scratch and I expect my next town to be even bigger and better now that I understand the game mechanics better this time around. Yes, the game can be difficult and has a bit of a learning curve, but that doesn't make it as difficult/impossible as a lot of disgruntled reviewers would have you believe. (Tip: Stick to hunting/gathering/fishing early on! Only start planting crops for farming when you have a stable food supply and a surplus of food and labor! This is almost all you need to know to get off to a good start!)

    If you like city-builders and you have the small amount of patience required to learn how to play the game properly, you will love it and wonder what happened to your weekend. My only criticism so far is that I would like to see some more features eventually - for example, a way to slightly alter terrain. We don't need to have the ability to move mountains, but it's annoying when you can't put down a 15x15 crop field because ONE tile inside the area is too "uneven." Also, ridges that are too uneven to build roads over and too shallow to build tunnels through, yet that people are able to walk over, are annoying. It would also be fun to eventually see some new crops, livestock, jobs, resources, etc. The game is already a blast, but also has a LOT of potential.    … Expand
  89. Baxstabber
    May 5, 2014
    8
    One man effort turned success. Game runs smooth as butter and has really fun mechanics and game-play. The game itself is a city builder that focuses completely on resource management to help keep your handful of civilians you start with alive through the winters to become a metropolis of your choosing. The game is a joy from start to finish.
    There is only one area this game lacks in and    One man effort turned success. Game runs smooth as butter and has really fun mechanics and game-play. The game itself is a city builder that focuses completely on resource management to help keep your handful of civilians you start with alive through the winters to become a metropolis of your choosing. The game is a joy from start to finish.
    There is only one area this game lacks in and that is replay value, with a one man development, I highly doubt any DLC or many updates to the game to come thick and fast, and although I loved what he has released, the game once you have finished it has very little to do, maintaining your city once it reaches it's borders is basically just watching your population get the resources they need to keep on going. Once you get a grip on the game, there's little more you can get out of it as the challenge is figuring out what you need to do to keep them alive, once you've figured it out it is game over.

    The game for all the time before that however is tremendous, and deserves a high score and high praise.    … Expand
  90. adabonde
    Feb 26, 2014
    10
    You can see that the creator really cared about the quality of this game. It has a simple goal, but provides a satisfying level of depth and complexity.
    Acquiring new resources and building a large bustling economy provides a great sense of accomplishment and a real challenge. It's amazing how fast things can spiral out of control when you start to lose pace in keeping up with your    You can see that the creator really cared about the quality of this game. It has a simple goal, but provides a satisfying level of depth and complexity.
    Acquiring new resources and building a large bustling economy provides a great sense of accomplishment and a real challenge. It's amazing how fast things can spiral out of control when you start to lose pace in keeping up with your resource production.
    Brilliant effort on the developers part! I can't wait to see what else he develops in the future!    … Expand
  91. nonameforme
    Sep 21, 2017
    9
    The base game is actually around 7.5-8.
    However, it got very active mod community and a supporting developer.

    When combined with mod such as black liquid (which expand the game to be 3 times bigger than base game with new buidling, mechanic and such), I will give this game a 9.
  92. eino
    Feb 24, 2014
    6
    On first approach, Banished is a really polished game. Its game-play is smooth, graphics are great and there are a lot of nice details.
    However, what it offers in attractiveness, it lacks in depth. What you see in the first hour is mostly everything it has to offer. Buildings and actions are pretty limited, and after a few hours of play, what you are doing is always pretty much more of    On first approach, Banished is a really polished game. Its game-play is smooth, graphics are great and there are a lot of nice details.
    However, what it offers in attractiveness, it lacks in depth. What you see in the first hour is mostly everything it has to offer. Buildings and actions are pretty limited, and after a few hours of play, what you are doing is always pretty much more of the same, on a different scale.
    The game is hard, basically you can lose a lot at any point, which is interesting and keep things spicy. However the mechanics here again means you will just fall back at an earlier point in progression, and run again the same actions once more time.
    With more content the game could be great. What it needs is a lot more buildings, actions, and generally possibilities which are unlocked with your progression.    … Expand
  93. Helaked
    Feb 25, 2014
    6
    Nice game at the beginning.
    Probably you need a few starts to get past the first years.
    But no challenges after a few hours anymore.
    Ofc you can try to get bigger and bigger but thats not that much fun.
  94. foxinsox
    Feb 25, 2014
    5
    I plan to play this game more and I am reluctant to be critical but cannot recommend at this time. My biggest problem is the grid system you build on. I should be able to pasture or farm slightly hilly ground but you cannot. You must build on completely flat ground with no way to have citizens level off ground,this in turn makes placement of structures tedious. Bridges have to cross windyI plan to play this game more and I am reluctant to be critical but cannot recommend at this time. My biggest problem is the grid system you build on. I should be able to pasture or farm slightly hilly ground but you cannot. You must build on completely flat ground with no way to have citizens level off ground,this in turn makes placement of structures tedious. Bridges have to cross windy rivers at 90 degree angles. Same for fishing docks and trade posts. Natural objects that are on the hills can be gathered and citizens move over them but you can't build on them. I want curvy roads but it cannot be done.

    While I like the small UI, after time the white text on gray background, becomes depressing like a data entry program. The normal AI is slow, having the simulation rate at 5x or 10x should be the exception not the norm while waiting for resources to gather and structures to be built. The graphics look nice and are similar to Age of Mythology via 2001.

    You have to manage citizens with a professions interface. It lets you set the number of citizens you have build, farm, herd, blacksmith, fish, etc. It is a little frustrating when it seems more simple to click on a villager and task them to do the immediate work you want done. Maybe some combo of the two could be implemented. I guess I have played too many RTS games and become too accustom to that type of game mechanic.

    I was under the impression that it was completely a sandbox building game. All buildings and structures are possible if you have the resources but you only have a few types of seeds and 1 livestock available on easy. While some may enjoy the reward of building up and trading for more crops,seeds and livestock I was hoping for more casual flexibility.

    I like the humble story of how the game was developed. It is a work of art and like all art it is just perfect for some. I can still appreciate it but in the current state it is just not for me.    … Expand
  95. GYOME
    Mar 11, 2014
    10
    "This game is quite something. It is difficult that you can start crying at any point because your villagers just die every second during the early days of Winter while the kids do nothing but walk around with their hand up their ass. The game starts all nice and easy with your villagers who will start collecting food and other resources from the land. You will build houses and feel"This game is quite something. It is difficult that you can start crying at any point because your villagers just die every second during the early days of Winter while the kids do nothing but walk around with their hand up their ass. The game starts all nice and easy with your villagers who will start collecting food and other resources from the land. You will build houses and feel accomplished by that but then.....WINTER comes. Winter is your worst enemy, it somehows makes your villagers crave potatoes on such a massive scale that you could feed the entire population of Africa for an entire year. Oh but not also that, somehow they can burn down through wood to make a fire faster and therefore run out faster than I can cut them!

    Oh, did I mention the highly likely but always happening natural disasters in this game? Did I not? Most likely because you are crying yourself to sleep since your entire village just got massacred by a tornado like a human squashing ants.

    Put aside the large amount of time spent crying and sweating and this game actually has some promising features such as a very smooth game with a very simple and functioning HUD that was designed to do exactly what it was meant for. The game settings are very nice as well providing lots of options when wanting to change the game's graphics or control settings or if you just want to customise your world.

    Another positive point about this game that I wasn't expecting was the size of the game. It is less than 300 MB where I expected at least 2GB of a download for a game like this especially with the price tag and all the screenshots I saw.

    The only really negative point here to make may be the price of $20 but that may be negotiable since it is still an early release and a lot of features may be coming to this game and I hope the developers will spend time on this game and make it even better because I would love to see more of my villages starving to death.

    If you want to spend $20 on a building/survival/strategy game made by Satan himself then this is the game for you!"    … Expand
  96. fakundott
    Apr 30, 2014
    7
    As a sandbox game, this game is really fun! City building and managing are made quite realistic. We should hope for new games that take an example of this one... Only lacks a campaign mode.
  97. sweetellie
    Apr 9, 2014
    10
    Positives:
    - amazing game! this game ticks all my boxes!
    - Extremely well thought and design, lots of hidden tactics, you really need to think and plan throughout
    - Makes me feel that I live in this peaceful perfect world, yet lots of puzzles to solve.
    Negatives:
    - Once you start it you are very likely to be 'glued' to your computer so be warned!
  98. TheSwagMaster
    Apr 9, 2014
    8
    This game is really beautiful to look at, the game play is simple yet fun, and the controls are easy. It's a very unforgiving game, and it took me a couple of tried to get a town that didn't fail after 30 minutes of me playing. It's still a very fun game, and gives me something to do when I'm bored.
  99. itsjustmeonlyme
    Apr 12, 2014
    10
    I was pleasantly surprised how addicting it was. IT was enjoyable for a while, until the disasters, which made it more challenging. It's hard to believe that one guy made the whole thing. excellent job. next he needs to expand somehow.
  100. SolomonKane
    Apr 26, 2014
    9
    Love this game. Very relaxing. Is it perfect? No. Is it worth a hundred hours? Yes. It is kind of like having a human ant farm. It's sad when they all die because you don't have enough food. But really neat when you can get to 600 population. Worth it, buy it.
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Awards & Rankings

34
#34 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
58
#58 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 32
  3. Negative: 1 out of 32
  1. SpazioGames
    Jun 8, 2015
    75
    A city builder with small maps and a limited number of buildings that manages to be a great game thanks to the extraordinary balance of all its elements required to make big settlements: basically has everything a game of this kind must have, and also something more.
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  2. Pelit (Finland)
    May 11, 2014
    80
    A classical city-building game where you help a group of settlers to build a new home for themselves. That's Banished in a nutshell. In a surprising twist, the game doesn't feature any combat at all, but I personally didn't even miss it because after all it's a peaceful game where the main focus is planning your town's future and not fighting against evil aliens. Even though Banished was made by just one man, it feels really polished. In particular, the interface is really well done. Of course, no game is perfect and Banished has some issues. The biggest of them all is that there are no objectives or end goals so you can never really win or lose. [March 2014]
  3. Riot Pixels
    May 7, 2014
    60
    Banished, as it stands now, looks like a game from Steam Early Access rather than a finished product.
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