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. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. twisterforever
    Sep 1, 2023
    10
    One of the most wonderful city builder out there :-D
    I love it from the beginning!!
  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. 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
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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 )
  11. 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.
  12. 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
  13. 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.
  14. 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
  15. 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.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

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