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. twisterforever
    Sep 1, 2023
    10
    One of the most wonderful city builder out there :-D
    I love it from the beginning!!
  2. Empidonax
    Apr 2, 2022
    8
    Very well-done medieval village building simulator, good soundtrack. The game on its own is very good, but there are mods to make it more complex which add more replayability.
  3. gentlebenno
    Jan 27, 2022
    8
    A game of it's time, it's still a lot of fun. Some good replay value. But I'm always hoping for a bit more. I still keep coming back every now and again though. Worth the price you pay nowadays for sure. Lots of medieval colony sims out there and none have yet done as well as this one though.
  4. adamgbg
    Dec 13, 2020
    10
    One of the best city building games I have ever played. Hard to learn at first but when you do times fly.
  5. maciek82
    Dec 12, 2020
    8
    The game is fairly small, made by single developer, doesn't feel like that at the beginning, but you will find out once you put few hours into it. There's not much content and not much late game challenge, however the main gameplay mechanics is great, UI is good, the game is very polished and overall it's one of the best city builders ever made, even now few years after release. I suggestThe game is fairly small, made by single developer, doesn't feel like that at the beginning, but you will find out once you put few hours into it. There's not much content and not much late game challenge, however the main gameplay mechanics is great, UI is good, the game is very polished and overall it's one of the best city builders ever made, even now few years after release. I suggest to download some good mods to enhance late game play.… Expand
  6. gracjanski
    Nov 3, 2020
    10
    This is surely a great game nowadays and a masterpiece, because it is done only by one programmer. In contrary to many other city sims you need to be active all the time and manage buildings, collect resources and send your adult persons to certain jobs. This is something new and I do have fun with it. The beginning is more like a survival game and takes only few time. After that you canThis is surely a great game nowadays and a masterpiece, because it is done only by one programmer. In contrary to many other city sims you need to be active all the time and manage buildings, collect resources and send your adult persons to certain jobs. This is something new and I do have fun with it. The beginning is more like a survival game and takes only few time. After that you can focus on building a big town and spend many hours to do so. So yes, this game is not so short, as mentioned here by some users, maybe it was the case years ago, but not nowadays. And if you want to have more buildings and more end game, you can try some of the mods.
    The tutorial is great and you have 3 difficult levels, so it is not so hard to get into the game, but later on it will be more and more complex.
    Graphics looks very good, especially for such an indie game.
    Sound and music are very repetitive and a big weakness of the game. So play your own background music for example.    … Expand
  7. FuzzyPackRat
    Aug 17, 2020
    8
    Story: 6/10
    Gameplay: 10/10
    Music: 10/10 Animation/Graphics: 9/10 You create the story in Banished based on how you provide for your town when you've been cast out to survive on your own. It's a city builder game that doesn't try to be anything more and as a result- kicks butt at city building. This game is great for those who love strategy and multiple difficultly levels keep the    Story: 6/10
    Gameplay: 10/10
    Music: 10/10
    Animation/Graphics: 9/10

    You create the story in Banished based on how you provide for your town when you've been cast out to survive on your own. It's a city builder game that doesn't try to be anything more and as a result- kicks butt at city building. This game is great for those who love strategy and multiple difficultly levels keep the re-play value up.

    Takeaways
    Pros: build a medieval town, you decide the future of the story.
    Cons: would be great to rotate/place building diagonally, some bugs with villagers getting stuck.    … Expand
  8. paulcho
    Jun 25, 2020
    8
    A good tiny game.
    However, the gameplay becomes too simple if you establish your town with all facilities, and... maybe it is just my problem, the game becomes very slow after population over 700 to 800.
    Anyway, I like this game. I will install the mod after upgrading my pc.
  9. rayer72
    Jun 21, 2020
    8
    A hidden gem. Came across this by accident, not expensive, good graphics and can run on older systems. Do not have to worry about warfare etc, only have to worrying about keeping them alive. ( its not an easy as you think )
  10. Muyrka
    Apr 7, 2020
    8
    One of the greatest City/Village Building Sims out there, but looks like it is not finished. No campaign or story mode. Becomes pretty aimless after certain development curve.
  11. 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.
  12. doctor_awesome
    Jan 1, 2017
    10
    Banished is an city builder and god game where you control a group of banished people who must build their own town in the wilderness. The game achieves an incredible mood, taking you to this agrarian society where people struggle to make use of the scarce resources of the land in order to survive. Unlike most city builders, there is an emphasis on resource management - you must produceBanished is an city builder and god game where you control a group of banished people who must build their own town in the wilderness. The game achieves an incredible mood, taking you to this agrarian society where people struggle to make use of the scarce resources of the land in order to survive. Unlike most city builders, there is an emphasis on resource management - you must produce food, fuel and minerals in order to keep your citizens alive and to keep your city growing.

    The game seems quite simple at first, there are maybe 20 total things you can build (houses, roads, fishing docks storage barns, etc.) And yet there's tremendous depth. There are over a dozen types of crops or trees you can grow, and you can also raise livestock, but you only start with a small fraction of the available options and must trade for the rest. In fact, trading is essential to this game. Perhaps the most viable strategy in the game is to specialize in the production of one or two things so you can trade for things that are harder for you to produce, it's interestingly similar to an actual economy.

    The game really is quite incredible at letting you get immersed in this world and then giving you the challenging and addictive task of building a tiny hamlet into a sprawling town. It is a fairly unforgiving game, especially with disasters turned on and at the normal or hard difficulty levels. It's quite easy to have your city plunge into an irreversible decline for any number of reasons - your blacksmiths are uneducated and can't produce enough tools to supply the workforce, and in turn your foresters, miners and log-cutting laborers can't work to provide your blacksmiths with tools, and short of a lucky boat arriving with hundreds of tools for trade, there's no way you can dig yourself out of that hole. It sounds frustrating but it's also a great challenge, and this example shows how interdependent so much of the game is - you have to arrange for everything from school access to planned forests for a sustainable supply of wood or your town just won't make it.

    On the frustrating end, quarries and mines will eventually run out of supply, and you can't reclaim the space they use. The intended solution seems to be for you to transition to trading for minerals, but in practice they just don't come in frequently enough, and you end up reloading the game 30 times to get the "right" trader to come in. That's basically cheating and it totally breaks the immersion, but it's the only way to get enough stone, coal and iron once your town is quite large (900+ citizens). I get that finite minerals is a very realistic thing to include, but it makes it very hard to have a sustainable city that you can just blissfully play for days. Instead, it feels more like you're building a teetering house of cards that you have to keep from collapsing until you hit whatever achievement you're going for.

    It's still a fantastic game that I come back to quite a bit. Perhaps it even makes my list of the best 10 games I've ever played. It really is like nothing else.    … Expand
  13. Allthat
    Jul 2, 2016
    9
    This is the best city-builder that I have ever played. Period. It's very simple and easily accessible but boy is it addicting. I have wasted many hours playing this game, hours I should have spent revising for finals, that's how good this game is. I want more games like this, simple yet deep enough to engage the player for long periods of time. And a bonus is that this game runs fairlyThis is the best city-builder that I have ever played. Period. It's very simple and easily accessible but boy is it addicting. I have wasted many hours playing this game, hours I should have spent revising for finals, that's how good this game is. I want more games like this, simple yet deep enough to engage the player for long periods of time. And a bonus is that this game runs fairly well on low-spec PC's, so nobody has an excuse not to play this game.… Expand
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. 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
  18. 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.
  19. petden
    May 18, 2015
    10
    I really like the game. Got it yesterday, played for like 12 hours. Time flies, I just realized how late it is when I looked at the time stamp of the saved game.

    I haven't looked up any guides or build orders, it was fun to guess and learn what buildings to build and how to balance what your people do. The difficulty of the game is well balanced, some people say it's hard. I haven't    I really like the game. Got it yesterday, played for like 12 hours. Time flies, I just realized how late it is when I looked at the time stamp of the saved game.

    I haven't looked up any guides or build orders, it was fun to guess and learn what buildings to build and how to balance what your people do. The difficulty of the game is well balanced, some people say it's hard. I haven't lost a city yet, but I came really close at the beginning, but I solved it (it was a slow and fun recovery). Right now I'm much further into the game, like two-thirds of the map is full, and I'm not really in danger, probably because I play the game really safe. Sometimes when the population grows really fast my food drops to like two-fifths of itself, but I can always recover (because I hoard so much food). I had 2 disasters so far, but they haven't done anything (mostly because I was prepared).

    There aren't many reasons to replay the game after the first play through, you'd do it if you lost your city or maybe to try out mods or maybe a more difficult start or to try to get a better working city with "perfect" layout. But it doesn't matter, you can spend so much time with one city. And I really like shorter games, not every game has to be infinitely replayable (I play Banished between those games (MMOs and PvP games), it's a nice break from them).

    Haven't played many other city-building games, just a few SimCity games. Also some RTSes. Banished isn't that complex, it's easy to learn. But it's probably harder than others. There aren't as much buildings, but you don't build that much and it's still hard later in the game. The interface easy to use, although sometimes I miss some non-essential, small features, but it doesn't matter.

    The setting reminds me of the Age of Empires games I played when I was young, it's really nice. The game has good performance, runs well on my older laptop, although it's more demanding when the city gets larger, but it doesn't really get below 25-30 FPS even then. It's a short fun game.    … Expand
  20. 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
  21. alleycat_lady
    Dec 30, 2014
    9
    I love city building games. So when I saw Banished go on sale on Steam, I knew I had to grab it up. So far, it has not ailed to disappoint. The first night I played it, the evening melted away and somehow magically it had gone from 7PM to 2AM. Banished will suck you in.

    Banished is a city builder, with buildings modeled in a European Medieval style. Like other city builders I've played,    I love city building games. So when I saw Banished go on sale on Steam, I knew I had to grab it up. So far, it has not ailed to disappoint. The first night I played it, the evening melted away and somehow magically it had gone from 7PM to 2AM. Banished will suck you in.

    Banished is a city builder, with buildings modeled in a European Medieval style. Like other city builders I've played, you have to worry about resources like food and building materials. Unlike other city builders I've played, Banished is much harsher. You have to worry about pestilence, bad crops and disease. Your people can starve or freeze to death, and may slow down production if they are unhealthy or unhappy. Building houses doesn't just mean more people either. You have to wait for your families to grow have kids and grow up. And sometimes rapid expansion is more a hindrance than a boon when there isn't enough food or firewood to go around.

    There are some minor flaws with the game. Sometimes building things and gathering materials can seem painfully slow. And other times you can blink too long and your people are starving to death. Then you have to scramble around to keep them fed. There have been some complaints online that some of the jobs/buildings are unbalanced. However (one of my favorite features of any game) Banished can now be modded. So if there is an aspect you don't like, use the modding tool (or find someone who's already done so). There isn't any sort of fighting between clans of peoples either (only the elements) if you're into that sort of thing. I think it would be an interesting addition, but not really necessary. All and all, a great game (my favorite city builder so far)!    … Expand
  22. ChromeRun
    Dec 28, 2014
    10
    This game is visually a masterpiece and a game like no other. If you enjoy sandbox type building games, mixed with the perfect amount of strategy, this game is for you. The developer works on this title and has delivered on all of his promises -- including mod support. This simply is the perfect game.
  23. 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
  24. GeorgeHillier
    Sep 17, 2014
    10
    I bought this game on release and decided to make an account just to review it in here.

    To start off this isn't a typical city builder like Sims city, this is more of a survival city builder, there are no real goals, only to make your town larger, have a higher population and make everyone happy, but that's the best part, no one is telling you what to do or how to do it! This game is    I bought this game on release and decided to make an account just to review it in here.

    To start off this isn't a typical city builder like Sims city, this is more of a survival city builder, there are no real goals, only to make your town larger, have a higher population and make everyone happy, but that's the best part, no one is telling you what to do or how to do it!

    This game is honestly the best city builder I've ever played and only costs a third of Sims city, which is awful.    … Expand
  25. Ampere
    Aug 5, 2014
    10
    Beautiful game with a lot of new Ideas. It's hard at the beginning but that is it why I love it. The game mechanism in without any bugs. It works! It's often hard to survive but with every further game you will be better. The soundtracks are very nice and it's made with love. I played about 40 hours. Often i gt the feeling that is not possible tomak e a population over 500 but it requiresBeautiful game with a lot of new Ideas. It's hard at the beginning but that is it why I love it. The game mechanism in without any bugs. It works! It's often hard to survive but with every further game you will be better. The soundtracks are very nice and it's made with love. I played about 40 hours. Often i gt the feeling that is not possible tomak e a population over 500 but it requires just a little training.… Expand
  26. FredPL
    Jul 13, 2014
    8
    Bardzo przyjemna i wciągająca gra strategiczna, w której naszym zadaniem jest budowa i zarządzanie najpierw niewielką wsią w garstką mieszkańców, a w późniejszym etapie dużą osadą z kilkuset mieszkańcami. Gra wciąga od samego początku na długie godziny, niestety, po kilkunastu godzinach gry zaczyna się robić monotonna i nudnawa, na szczęście w ramach urozmaicenia może nas spotkać jakaśBardzo przyjemna i wciągająca gra strategiczna, w której naszym zadaniem jest budowa i zarządzanie najpierw niewielką wsią w garstką mieszkańców, a w późniejszym etapie dużą osadą z kilkuset mieszkańcami. Gra wciąga od samego początku na długie godziny, niestety, po kilkunastu godzinach gry zaczyna się robić monotonna i nudnawa, na szczęście w ramach urozmaicenia może nas spotkać jakaś klęska żywiołowa jak choćby pożar lub trąba powietrzna.… Expand
  27. kirkwall
    Jul 13, 2014
    10
    A great game that is tragically fatally flawed.

    Once you move into the middle game (150 - 300 peopled town) you will begin to clearly see that software flaws. Resources in your Trading Centers will magically begin to disappear...specifically food and coal. After reaching the mid-game in three separate games and seeing my hard earned resources vanish into thin air the frustration became    A great game that is tragically fatally flawed.

    Once you move into the middle game (150 - 300 peopled town) you will begin to clearly see that software flaws. Resources in your Trading Centers will magically begin to disappear...specifically food and coal. After reaching the mid-game in three separate games and seeing my hard earned resources vanish into thin air the frustration became too much.

    I love city building games...but not ones that are fatally flawed.

    Sadly, Banished offers outstanding potential but clearly is not worth investing ones time into a game that undermines many hours of game play with the unrelenting disappearing of hard earned and well planned resources.    … Expand
  28. criticdave
    Jul 11, 2014
    10
    A delightful little city builder game with no combat. The moment you have your city running like a well oil. I mean , managed city is really satisfying!
  29. tarnar
    Jun 30, 2014
    9
    This is a very strong game with only a few flaws.

    The graphics are clean and attractive but not overly taxing. Detail is good from up high and still looks good once you zoom in. The controls are also clean and functional. Right-click dismisses most dialogs / cancels most actions. Placing buildings, drawing roads, ordering the gathering of resource, all simple and straightforward.    This is a very strong game with only a few flaws.

    The graphics are clean and attractive but not overly taxing. Detail is good from up high and still looks good once you zoom in.

    The controls are also clean and functional. Right-click dismisses most dialogs / cancels most actions. Placing buildings, drawing roads, ordering the gathering of resource, all simple and straightforward.

    The interface windows are similarly clean and functional. This leads to the first small complaint about the game: The game starts with none of these windows open, yet three of them seem totally critical to playing the game: the worker assignment window, the game stats window (showing population, season/year, some limited stockpile info) and a log window.

    This is a game that is best enjoyed without a guide. The learning curve is not shallow and I found figuring things out for myself to be satisfying. Not all players will agree with this and may find the game unguided.

    The game starts off particularly hard and then gets easier as you get established. The first few years bring labour shortages, food shortages, supply shortages and it's a careful balancing act. After this is a growth phase that is relatively easy. However the true difficulty comes from the end game and the high population phase.

    Unfortunately, part of what makes the high population phase difficult feels like a game design conflict between micro-management and automation. You do not assign individual citizens to tasks, you distribute your population by task. In general the game gets it right and assigns workers who live close to their task to the given task but not always. Sometimes it is necessary to unassign the population and reassign them, in a particular task order, to make sure the right citizens go to the right tasks.

    On the other hand this issue is exacerbated by poor city design - fail to put enough houses close to important tasks and crops will fail, markets will be empty, etc. In this way it can be easy to blame the game for your own poor city design.

    And once the game starts to go downhill there is often no recovering from it. In this respect the game is disturbingly real. Even simply failing to grow the population is a recipe for failure as workers grow old and die without replacements. How can one recover from that? You can't. Likewise, a broken food distribution system is doomed to famine.

    On that note I disagree with the reviews that say there is no end-game. The end-game is managing a highly populated city, dealing with workforce replacement, dealing with food distribution, with disease outbreaks, with disasters. To reach the relatively easy mid-game phase and decide that you've won is short-sighted. Surviving a disaster with a fully developed city is the end-game and it's much, much harder than simply building a city.    … Expand
  30. Ecresis
    Jun 24, 2014
    9
    As a SimCity fan, I had to try Banished, which looked amazing from the trailers. And I was not disappointed. It is even more addictive than SimCity (4 or 5 whatever), and the graphics are stunning.

    You have to take it slowly, and build a nice little village, with a church in the middle, a market, and all those medieval stuff which make the game so special. And this has been done by a    As a SimCity fan, I had to try Banished, which looked amazing from the trailers. And I was not disappointed. It is even more addictive than SimCity (4 or 5 whatever), and the graphics are stunning.

    You have to take it slowly, and build a nice little village, with a church in the middle, a market, and all those medieval stuff which make the game so special. And this has been done by a single man !

    I'm not giving it a 10 because I feel it could be much more than that. Once you've build every building it starts to get repetitive very quickly

    The trade system is make things a bit more difficult but interesting, you can't just pop-up cows out of nowhere), the seasons force your people to be organized, store food, store firewood. It is so simple yet so particular

    Conclusion : This is where I like to put my money, directly to a man who created a better game than EA this year    … Expand
  31. Huortaralom
    Jun 9, 2014
    9
    Truly It is an amazing game with simple content. I mean simple because its very basic game where you settle life with bunch of people. There are keys to grow where wood to warm, foods to eat in winter ( like ants) and homes for new families to grow population. But after some time you learn the basics and game starting to be boring.It's really a great starting game but waiting for bunch ofTruly It is an amazing game with simple content. I mean simple because its very basic game where you settle life with bunch of people. There are keys to grow where wood to warm, foods to eat in winter ( like ants) and homes for new families to grow population. But after some time you learn the basics and game starting to be boring.It's really a great starting game but waiting for bunch of upgrades. I hope next game will be longer and more complicated.… Expand
  32. tilde
    May 30, 2014
    9
    This game is really great. It's so in-depth that you can design a fully customized city and world! I really recommend it, purely out of the great fun it provides.
  33. Mark16642
    May 28, 2014
    9
    Had this game for a few days now and i have poured hours into it. I must say at first i was a little taken back with the effects that dont seem to be up there with what a modern pc could take, but non the less i am having fun and the gameplay is great. It seems really addictive to watch your town very slowly grow. I aways seem to get to a point where i think "ok stop, lets start again andHad this game for a few days now and i have poured hours into it. I must say at first i was a little taken back with the effects that dont seem to be up there with what a modern pc could take, but non the less i am having fun and the gameplay is great. It seems really addictive to watch your town very slowly grow. I aways seem to get to a point where i think "ok stop, lets start again and THIS time it will be great". I know when i get into a game that makes me feel like that its always a winner for me. It can become a little tedious after a while but if its going your way it can be very addictive.… Expand
  34. zamach
    May 27, 2014
    9
    Very good city builder / economic simulation. It fills in the gap somewhere between games like Sim City, the Settlers series, Stronghold Series and Tropico. From the first one it takes the aspect of creating a self sustainable city that has all things its inhabitants would ever need, from the second one it takes the idea of having tens of different resources that have to be distributedVery good city builder / economic simulation. It fills in the gap somewhere between games like Sim City, the Settlers series, Stronghold Series and Tropico. From the first one it takes the aspect of creating a self sustainable city that has all things its inhabitants would ever need, from the second one it takes the idea of having tens of different resources that have to be distributed between various buildings to keep "the economical machine" running, from Stronghold we have the general aspect of having to feed Your people, but expanded by clothing and firewood, and last but not least - we build a small town based on a grid of roads, but not restricted to these roads with a trader coming every once in a while pretty much like in Tropico series. All these elements mix up to create a very nice game that is somewhere in between all of the above.

    It feels great to survive the first winter, feels great to sustain a large community, and feels great to turn a tiny village in the middle of nowhere int a big town that attracts multiple traders. Just try it!    … Expand
  35. Visserys
    May 16, 2014
    10
    An absolutely amazing city builder. I would recommend this game to everyone who enjoys city building games. This game beats Sim City in my opinion and it does it with simpler game mechanics and less content.
  36. BrokenMan
    May 13, 2014
    9
    Шикарный симулятор средневекового выживания. Эта игра никогда не будет скучной. Здесь есть много способов развиваться и кормить население. Распоряжайтесь своими рабочими силами, чтобы рук хватало на всё. Можно вырастить пшеницу самому, или купить её посредством бартера. Развивайте свой город, в котором может поселиться больше трёхсот человек. Занимательные и трудные достижения также тутШикарный симулятор средневекового выживания. Эта игра никогда не будет скучной. Здесь есть много способов развиваться и кормить население. Распоряжайтесь своими рабочими силами, чтобы рук хватало на всё. Можно вырастить пшеницу самому, или купить её посредством бартера. Развивайте свой город, в котором может поселиться больше трёхсот человек. Занимательные и трудные достижения также тут присутствуют. Но обновлений уже давно не было видно...… Expand
  37. 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
  38. 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
  39. 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.
  40. Ilham
    Apr 26, 2014
    9
    Very Simple, Amazing Graphic, and the Game System is also good, I have Played many city builder game before like Simcity 5 , Cities XL, Tropico 4, and many more but this one is special If I compare it with those games .
  41. 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.
  42. 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.
  43. 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!
  44. 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.
  45. 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
  46. Yazah
    Mar 21, 2014
    9
    This is not your $60 AAA title. However, it is a fantastic $20 (or less) indy game that provides hours of enjoyment. Even though all options are open to you at the beginning, the game is challenging and enjoyable as you build your town, care for your people, and avoid (or not) disaster. The bleak desperation in the game makes it equal parts realistic and enjoyable.

    This is a great city    This is not your $60 AAA title. However, it is a fantastic $20 (or less) indy game that provides hours of enjoyment. Even though all options are open to you at the beginning, the game is challenging and enjoyable as you build your town, care for your people, and avoid (or not) disaster. The bleak desperation in the game makes it equal parts realistic and enjoyable.

    This is a great city builder type of game that is fun, interesting and challenging. It isn't quite as replayable as I'd like (though I have 40+ hours in it), but I'd definitely recommend.    … Expand
  47. SenshudoTV
    Mar 20, 2014
    9
    Banished should be a must buy for anyone who likes the city simulator/builder genre of games. With a clean, adaptable interface, beautiful graphics, and relatively error-free design, it is highly recommended by this reviewer.
  48. 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
  49. JohnWitten
    Mar 9, 2014
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. [Condensed]

    There are no wars or deadly encounters with other civilizations here. There is only the ongoing battle against nature and her cruel, cold embrace. Surviving famines, winters, and plague outbreaks are the steps you will have to take in waging your personal war of survival. The most crushing and interesting aspect of the war is that you could be winning it all the way until the moment you're suddenly left crippled and defenseless, as your last settler succumbs to old age, disease, or some other unparalleled consequence in the world. The graphics aren't too poorly rendered, the story is relatively slim in content, and the sound effects are mundane at best, but the experience is certainly worthwhile and intuitive for those who enjoy the sort of planning required in staking your claim and defending it in a simulated landscape.

    Concept: Build your settlement from the ground up, survive the harsh winters and outbreaks of disease that will inevitably attack it, and attempt to make your way in a simple, deadly world.

    Graphics: Simple and basic overall, but not terrible in their concept and design. Could use improvements of course, but run smoothly enough with their lower levels of required power.

    Sound: All the basic sound effects you would hear in an olden town can be found here, with nothing really out of the ordinary to distinguish them from other games' sounds, aside from knowing what actions are being performed.

    Playability: Quite an accessible title as command giving goes, and the controls are pretty easy to grasp once you get the hand of them. The game is addicting and the goal is simple, making for a worthwhile experience as well.

    Entertainment: An entertaining simulation and planning/building game that is definitely worth checking out if you enjoy interesting computer games and factoring in your overall survivability in a dangerous, unforgiving world.

    Replay Value: Moderately High.

    Overall Score: 8.5    … Expand
  50. giskarduk
    Mar 8, 2014
    8
    Banished offers Caesar 3 style gameplay, since Caesar 3 is one of the best city games ever made, Banished is built on solid proven gaming principles. Whilst it is not in the same league as Caesar due to the chosen theme for the game, its randomly generated maps and pioneer settlement feeling give it totally different characteristic which is fun in its own right. During harvests it is aBanished offers Caesar 3 style gameplay, since Caesar 3 is one of the best city games ever made, Banished is built on solid proven gaming principles. Whilst it is not in the same league as Caesar due to the chosen theme for the game, its randomly generated maps and pioneer settlement feeling give it totally different characteristic which is fun in its own right. During harvests it is a race to get the food in the fields gathered before winter sets in and the food spoils. Sometimes an early winter can cause you to lose a lot of your craps so you end up doing what pioneers had to do and get most of the village to help get the crops harvested. The entire game really does give a frontier settlement feeling in how it works. Despite what was said else where, you can control what the NPCs work on first by using the increase priority feature.… Expand
  51. Schmidy
    Mar 7, 2014
    10
    Starvation kicks in, the cold starts to bite. Surely it's time for Spring you think. This game gets you emotionally involved. Starting a small village and creating it into a large town you go through many rough patches hoping you people can make it through the winter. It's a game many people have been waiting for.
  52. thewizardmac
    Mar 5, 2014
    10
    I signed up just to write that this game is amazing! The developer did an excellent job all by himself ! You feel like you really are part of the village. Awesome 10/10
  53. 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
  54. Ninja-Puffs
    Mar 4, 2014
    10
    One of my most favourite games I ever played. I am very impressed with all of the nice graphics and detail of the game. This game reminds me a lot from Sims city and a bit from minecraft. I truly recommend everyone to play this. It is definitely well worth your money.
  55. 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
  56. VNVNation
    Mar 3, 2014
    10
    Truly excellent entry in the city-builder genre with an interesting take using the premise of survival to create a unique game. Perhaps some additional environments would make for a more varied game world but overall an amazing achievement for a one man dev, certainly put's many big name companies to shame.
  57. Vihazur
    Mar 3, 2014
    9
    For being done by just one guy, this game is incredible, but there is more to it's success than just that. Compared to other city builders, the difficulty of the game really sets it apart. A lot of the fun comes from the strategy required in just trying to survive. It's a lot of resource management, careful pacing, and layout planning for efficiency - otherwise, you can get a niceFor being done by just one guy, this game is incredible, but there is more to it's success than just that. Compared to other city builders, the difficulty of the game really sets it apart. A lot of the fun comes from the strategy required in just trying to survive. It's a lot of resource management, careful pacing, and layout planning for efficiency - otherwise, you can get a nice bustling population going, only to see the whole thing abruptly collapse.

    This has become yet another genre that hasn't been getting much competition, though. Compare it to what, Sim City? Well, all other considerations aside, it still blows that game out of the water, but that's not saying much.

    It does lack scope, though. It would be nice if it had another dimension or two, such as technological advancement, or competing neighbors. Or even customizable aesthetics. The game does get tiresome, once I got the hang of it, even on the hardest settings.

    Still, I enjoyed the hell out of enough hours to more than justify the $20 cost. So, I do highly recommend it to fans of this sort of game. For what it does, it does it exceptionally well.    … Expand
  58. heychrisfox
    Mar 2, 2014
    10
    Absolutely the best city-builder that has been released in decades. With minimalist mechanics, a beautiful aesthetic, some of the most challenging gameplay in the genre, and the horrific ethical implications that you're forced to encounter emergently as NPCs slowly starve or freeze due to your poor mismanagement is something so unique that it needs to be played to be understood.
  59. Undogmatic
    Mar 2, 2014
    9
    This is a town-building survival game. You have to make sure your civilians get food, clothes and shelter. At times everything looks stable and easy, wonderful isn't it? Not so fast. Once you start facing problems like running out of food, tools or clothes (mostly after a baby boom), that's when the whole town can start crumbling like a deck of cards, faster than you might expect. PrudenceThis is a town-building survival game. You have to make sure your civilians get food, clothes and shelter. At times everything looks stable and easy, wonderful isn't it? Not so fast. Once you start facing problems like running out of food, tools or clothes (mostly after a baby boom), that's when the whole town can start crumbling like a deck of cards, faster than you might expect. Prudence is your friend here, dear reader, and this game will be pretty mean and unforgiving if you're negligent.

    You might be thinking: "All I have to do is avoid the baby booms, easy peasy". So what do you do? You logically stop building more houses because that means less room for families to expand (and have babies), and then it's all good, right? Wrong. If you wait too long you'll have to face the problem of regress, with a population that's too old to make babies. With very few births your population will die off faster than it reproduces and that's obviously a problem. While babies and students mature you gotta have enough workers left to produce food and clothes for everybody. That being said: It's hard to maintain a stable population. It's challenging, and that's great if you love challenges. If you don't -- if you want a walk in the park until a screen pops up saying "VICTORY!" -- this game is not for you. Also: There is no victory (that I know of), there's no apotheotic triumph. Only despair and misery awaits you. The question is: how long will you last? How far can you expand your town before everybody is wiped out by your incompetence or lack of resources (usually both)? The game is still delicious even though the future of your town won't look pretty in the long run.

    Trade:
    There is no money, it's all about trading resources of a kind (raw materials and produced goods) in exchange for resources of another kind... For instance: trading a bunch of firewood for some chickens.

    Producing food:
    You can buy seeds and plant your crops and orchards too, it's actually nice when it comes to agriculture, there's a lot of variety to choose from (once you're powerful enough to afford all the seeds).
    If you don't want to produce food through artificial means (agriculture and pastures) you can always treat your town as a hunter-gatherer society, but that's likely to be troublesome once the population growth hits a variable threshold (it depends on how much food you can collect at any given time). Remember that, historically speaking, human societies have thrived thanks to agriculture and other technological advancements (read "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond for more info, if you enjoy anthropology), so you might wanna invest in agriculture if you wanna survive later on.    … Expand
  60. Zenzukai
    Mar 2, 2014
    8
    Very fun set up game, its much more like a simulator than any other civilization sim game I've played. Great mechanics,but not enough game play goals though. There are achievements for doing this or that, but in the end it is very one dimensional, grow your population, expand, expand and expand. Until you can't, then game is over.
  61. RaiKoi
    Mar 1, 2014
    10
    I'v been playing this game nonstop for two weeks now, which is pretty amazing considering the minimal amount of content. It feels so 'sandboxy' and I love to find out how things work on my own and not by a gazillion pop-ups explaining everything. This game expects you to get your hands dirty and try harder every new try. Because of that addictiveness this solo dev outmatches multi-millionI'v been playing this game nonstop for two weeks now, which is pretty amazing considering the minimal amount of content. It feels so 'sandboxy' and I love to find out how things work on my own and not by a gazillion pop-ups explaining everything. This game expects you to get your hands dirty and try harder every new try. Because of that addictiveness this solo dev outmatches multi-million dollar teams. Chapeau!… Expand
  62. sdaws22
    Feb 28, 2014
    10
    Really great, easy to use strategy game, quite challenging esp on Hard. Quite addictive because there is no "end point" but I guess that's point the fight for survival never ends. The late game becomes quite difficult trying to balance growth and supplies of resources.
  63. juanval
    Feb 28, 2014
    9
    I'm not a fan of RTS and city games, but playing banished is very fun. I like most the visuals, and the way the town is growing. I like too the variety of buildings, the management of resources and the weather. Is easy to learn to play. I haven't experienced bugs or serious issues. Great game and is incredible is done by only one developer.
  64. armoredchimp
    Feb 28, 2014
    9
    Shame that one critic give the game a 20 and lowers the overall score by a lot. Thix is an excellent little game, and I could not disagree more with that one critic's review. They say the lack of specific objectives kills the game but for me it is the complete opposite. This is an amazing sandbox game that has two parts. First you have to get a stable town going and just survive withoutShame that one critic give the game a 20 and lowers the overall score by a lot. Thix is an excellent little game, and I could not disagree more with that one critic's review. They say the lack of specific objectives kills the game but for me it is the complete opposite. This is an amazing sandbox game that has two parts. First you have to get a stable town going and just survive without starving or freezing to death, which is not easy at first, I had to make many new towns because everyone kept dying. Once you are more stabilized you can focus on actually turning your little village into an actual town with markets, churches, etc. I do however wish there were more advanced buildings you could eventually make, which is why I can't give this game a perfect score. If they release more content this will be possibly the best city builder ever made.… Expand
  65. keefbaker
    Feb 27, 2014
    10
    Stunningly good. Even more amazing when you realize it's made by one person. A person who seems to have realized exactly what fans of city builders want and given it to them with no extra bloat, unnecessary frills and pointless modes. Gold.
  66. RJE
    Feb 27, 2014
    10
    This game is exactly what I was hoping it would be. It's relaxing to play, but at the same time, the struggle to succeed is a real challenge. Granted, you may experience most of what this game has to offer in a fairly short period of time, but the real beauty is slowing the game down to 1x speed and just watching. Then, when you have expanded your village to populate the entirety of theThis game is exactly what I was hoping it would be. It's relaxing to play, but at the same time, the struggle to succeed is a real challenge. Granted, you may experience most of what this game has to offer in a fairly short period of time, but the real beauty is slowing the game down to 1x speed and just watching. Then, when you have expanded your village to populate the entirety of the truly massive maps, you can always start again with a brand new map to explore. I am so amazed that it is the product of one man's efforts. It may not be perfect, but it is a real treasure in my game library. I'm giving it a perfect score, not because it's a perfect game, but because it's perfect for me.… Expand
  67. MagicalMelvin
    Feb 27, 2014
    9
    I’ve been waiting for a great city-building game since Caesar III, of course there are the Anno games (though they specialise on trade management and conquest rather than city-building), SimCity (the older games being amongst the greatest city-simulators of all time, just don’t make the mistake of buying the most recent one) and the Civ games (conquest-based), and Settlers (which no-oneI’ve been waiting for a great city-building game since Caesar III, of course there are the Anno games (though they specialise on trade management and conquest rather than city-building), SimCity (the older games being amongst the greatest city-simulators of all time, just don’t make the mistake of buying the most recent one) and the Civ games (conquest-based), and Settlers (which no-one played due to DRM and a high level of difficulty), and Banished is everything I’ve wanted in a city-builder. There’s no guff, and more than enough complexity to keep me coming back for more. Where modern builders are moving away from intricacies into generalities; where modern gaming is being altered by ‘casualisation’ (i.e. ‘Farmville’), promoting style over content and graphics over gameplay, Banished goes the other way: Promoting careful, methodical approaches with thought-inducing game play. A fantastic game, developed by one person (yes, just one person). Go and buy it. I know we’re only in February, but GoTY, I’m telling you.

    Full review at n3rdabl3.co.uk/2014/02/banished-review/    … Expand
  68. urchincorps
    Feb 26, 2014
    8
    Tons of time can be dumped into this game. I personally don't think I'll 100% it in terms of achievements but it is one of the best indie games I've ever played. Fun city builder. The people complaining about the AI clearly aren't aware of the "Increase Priority" tool. I didn't even need play the tutorial and I know this so they have no excuse. It's not the grandest scope in terms of aTons of time can be dumped into this game. I personally don't think I'll 100% it in terms of achievements but it is one of the best indie games I've ever played. Fun city builder. The people complaining about the AI clearly aren't aware of the "Increase Priority" tool. I didn't even need play the tutorial and I know this so they have no excuse. It's not the grandest scope in terms of a city builder/strategy game, but I bet it has more depth than that recent Stronghold release (which I skipped after watching some YouTube videos and reading the reviews here). Very happy with the $20 I spent.… Expand
  69. 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.
  70. 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
  71. messeael
    Feb 26, 2014
    10
    Great game. The most addictive game i have ever played. Forget the official critics...just play it and decide yourself...geniales Spiel...das Spiel mit dem hoechsten Suchtfaktor in meiner bisherigen Spielerlaufbahn..vergesst die offiziellen Kritiken...selber spielen und selbst entscheiden...
  72. 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
  73. 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
  74. 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
  75. 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.
  76. Lambo442
    Feb 24, 2014
    10
    I'm only half way through the first tutorial and I felt compelled to stop and give this game a 10 just based on what I've seen. It's gorgeous to look at, the controls are in depth and intuitive (zoom, tilt) and the fact you can manipulate time is a godsend. I can't wait to explore the survival aspect. Sounds like a really unique idea. Can't believe the file was only 100mb too. Doesn't seemI'm only half way through the first tutorial and I felt compelled to stop and give this game a 10 just based on what I've seen. It's gorgeous to look at, the controls are in depth and intuitive (zoom, tilt) and the fact you can manipulate time is a godsend. I can't wait to explore the survival aspect. Sounds like a really unique idea. Can't believe the file was only 100mb too. Doesn't seem possible. Especially as it looks so sweet and you get weather effects and stuff. Anyway I'm gonna get on with playing it.… Expand
  77. Mortensus
    Feb 24, 2014
    8
    Very good game, well polished, one of the best "city builder" i ever played, Without too much fancy tricks, but rather very strong ideas well executed. Challenging at every stage! Fear the winter and... the wild boars. Well worth the price.
  78. 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.
  79. 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
  80. 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
  81. 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
  82. CryChris
    Feb 23, 2014
    10
    Shining Rock Software. Create a great city builder....
    NO always online DRM.....The Gameplay is refresh...simple and complex..........................
  83. 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.
  84. 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
  85. 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!
  86. 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
  87. 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.
  88. 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
  89. 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.
  90. 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!
  91. 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.
  92. 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
  93. 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
  94. 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!
  95. 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
  96. 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
  97. 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
  98. 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!
  99. 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
  100. 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.
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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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
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