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. 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.
  2. 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
  3. versionbest
    Mar 2, 2014
    6
    I thoroughly enjoyed this game, however my only gripe with it is the randomness mechanics (or so it may seem, perhaps it assigns by the last placed house?) of assigning villagers to replace a recently dead one. If you have a small town and everything is in close proximity to each others then assigning villagers at random (or from the last placed house?) is not a problem. However, if youI thoroughly enjoyed this game, however my only gripe with it is the randomness mechanics (or so it may seem, perhaps it assigns by the last placed house?) of assigning villagers to replace a recently dead one. If you have a small town and everything is in close proximity to each others then assigning villagers at random (or from the last placed house?) is not a problem. However, if you have a large population of over 300 villagers and you're playing on a large map just think of the distance the villagers have to walk to get back to their house for food. Some will go to the nearest Market or Storage Barn to eat but not all. I've noticed that for the most part they will most likely return to the house they were born in to eat. They can't eat from a house that is already occupied that is not theirs because that would make things so much easier. This here is where lies a major flaw in the design of this game. The way this game was design you can only play on a small map. If you play on a large map and planned on inhabiting every nooks and crannies of the map then it will most likely end up in failure.

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

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

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

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

    I would have given Banished a perfect 10 had it not been for this fatal flaw (literally) that prevent you from expanding to the far corners of the map. This game is almost there but not quite yet. Patching the dependent on homes as a food source will allow for a far more fulfilling experience.    … Expand
  4. 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.
  5. TenchuuKhan
    Mar 2, 2014
    7
    Here's what the game is all about:
    Get your peasants to survive the first winter by providing the most basic resources they need such as: food, shelter, fire wood
    Move on to acquiring iron and letter so you can produce tools and clothes for your peasants. Get more food, build more houses. Build mines, a quarry, a forestry guy so you have a steady income of the most basic resources    Here's what the game is all about:
    Get your peasants to survive the first winter by providing the most basic resources they need such as: food, shelter, fire wood
    Move on to acquiring iron and letter so you can produce tools and clothes for your peasants.
    Get more food, build more houses.
    Build mines, a quarry, a forestry guy so you have a steady income of the most basic resources
    Build more food, build more houses.
    Get medicine, build a hospital, a church, etc. so your peasants are happy. Try to get all available resource types for the hell of it.

    And that's about it.

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

    All in all, it's fun, but the price tag just isn't fair. It defends itself as being a "one guy dev" game but it charges you like there was a whole indy team behind it.
    Currently it goes for 19 bucks on Steam - a proper pricing would be 5.    … Expand
  6. 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
  7. DoctorFoxhound
    Mar 1, 2014
    3
    I am shocked by all the 10 score reviews. I love city builders and this one looks good and feels good but there are way too many issues.

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

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

    I look forward to updates because the game has loads of potential but is so frustrating to play at this point.    … Expand
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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
  11. TheVino3
    Feb 28, 2014
    6
    Could be good. Not there yet. A large amount of things are left completely unexplained. Things like the way food is produced and consumed make little to no sense, and require a lot of reading just to understand how not to completely starve a population of 10 people that are sitting in the middle of thousands of units of food.

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

    It feels like you are constantly babysitting villagers that should be able to work out some things for themselves - such as: Food goes in mouth.    … Expand
  12. Bitwiener
    Feb 27, 2014
    4
    The game is not rewarding at all. You can spend plenty of hours building your village just to have it destroyed by starvation or disasters. I would not recommend this game.
  13. 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.
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. frugal_frogger
    Feb 26, 2014
    8
    This is like SIMS but for grownups! Very challenging - at first you will be disappointed because you must make mistakes in order to learn to do it right. It requires lots of thinking ahead and trial and error. Highly recommended.
  18. 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
  19. Kingbingo
    Feb 26, 2014
    7
    The game has an inverse difficulty curve in that making it through your first few winters is probably the games greatest challenge. Get beyond the need for simple food and shelter and your settlement can start to grow and you find yourself in a relaxing well-made village builder. Once you start playing it has that, just one more year, quality that keeps you sat at the PC engrossed as theThe game has an inverse difficulty curve in that making it through your first few winters is probably the games greatest challenge. Get beyond the need for simple food and shelter and your settlement can start to grow and you find yourself in a relaxing well-made village builder. Once you start playing it has that, just one more year, quality that keeps you sat at the PC engrossed as the hours fly by.

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

    While I’m hugely impressed this all came from one person I feel the game needs more depth. In its current form it has too little replayablity. As a foundation to add greater depth you could not ask for better than this, and I hope in time the dev and modders flesh out the game. I am glad I purchased, but I will now be taking a long pause until the game gets built upon.    … Expand
  20. 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...
  21. 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
  22. Cyclocosme
    Feb 25, 2014
    3
    Based on the fact it has been done by only one person, this could be a good game, and this indeed have its qualities and its strengths. But i can't base a critic on this basis, as this would mean i'd rate one of the less finalised gestion games i have ever saw... Let's be serious, i explored the possibilities of this game in only a few hours, which let me build all the existing buildings,Based on the fact it has been done by only one person, this could be a good game, and this indeed have its qualities and its strengths. But i can't base a critic on this basis, as this would mean i'd rate one of the less finalised gestion games i have ever saw... Let's be serious, i explored the possibilities of this game in only a few hours, which let me build all the existing buildings, and led me to understand that the mechanism of population reproduction is not even thought : people just make babies by the will of Random Gods, placing them eventually in the same house or not, and this cannot work if you have too many houses that you thought you built in the purpose of, that is, making room for the next generation. Old people stay in the houses and the younger can't reproduce... Or, you make too many houses, and people just forget to leave together to do it... That's so annoying that it's forcing you to build just in time, just the right amount of houses, and then you have literally to pray so that people of the opposite gender inhabits one same house, because if this doesn't happen, there's a chance that you can't even destroy the too many houses you built : your population decrease, then it's impossible to destroy the overnumeral houses AND managing to have sufficient people working in the necessary jobs.

    I tell you : this is not a good unforgiving game. It's a bad unfinished game with some mechanics that weren't even thought or made. There have to be an algorithm for the people making couples and having their own house for growing their children, but there's not, it's purely random, and all the "difficulty" of the game goes from there. All the remaining is far too simple to constitute a decent gestion game. I gave up on my first day, after having easily understood all the mechanics, because they're basics, and they seem to work in the first few hours, but in the end, they don't, or they do by pure luck, or by pure exercise of mathematics. It's not gestion, it's probabilities and randomness. Quite sad, because the game, as i said earlier, has its qualities, but it's nor enough for me, by far. Unless there are very important patches to the major problem i tried to explain (i'm not an english speaker), I'll simply never play it again. Admitting i would, what would i do with this game ? When you have built you're huge town, you have nothing else to do. No real threat, no real depth beyond that, no real depth in the gestion itself which is essentially driven by randomness... Enough said. Avoid it for now, and hope that a Banished 2 comes one day to overcome all of this.    … Expand
  23. foxinsox
    Feb 25, 2014
    5
    I plan to play this game more and I am reluctant to be critical but cannot recommend at this time. My biggest problem is the grid system you build on. I should be able to pasture or farm slightly hilly ground but you cannot. You must build on completely flat ground with no way to have citizens level off ground,this in turn makes placement of structures tedious. Bridges have to cross windyI plan to play this game more and I am reluctant to be critical but cannot recommend at this time. My biggest problem is the grid system you build on. I should be able to pasture or farm slightly hilly ground but you cannot. You must build on completely flat ground with no way to have citizens level off ground,this in turn makes placement of structures tedious. Bridges have to cross windy rivers at 90 degree angles. Same for fishing docks and trade posts. Natural objects that are on the hills can be gathered and citizens move over them but you can't build on them. I want curvy roads but it cannot be done.

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

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

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

    I like the humble story of how the game was developed. It is a work of art and like all art it is just perfect for some. I can still appreciate it but in the current state it is just not for me.    … Expand
  24. ww99w
    Feb 25, 2014
    7
    Banished is a very interesting city building game. You have to manage an efficient supply chain to survive the unforgiving world. It is very good for the first dozen or so hours, however the game needs to expand to keep interest. The AI is pretty good, however you will sometimes see some less then average behaviors such as some workers doing random chores instead of their work
  25. Elissonx
    Feb 25, 2014
    7
    The best review is from PC Gamer (Feb 21, 2014)
    70/100: "A nice change of pace for city-builders, but it loses momentum once the immediate urgency of survival goes away."

    I agree in everything.
  26. Buhehe
    Feb 25, 2014
    6
    It' a fairly okay game.... I admit I'm not a hardcore city building games fan, but I was attracted by the positive reviews this game had, and the fact that only 1 guy built it on its own, I like supporting indie devs.

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

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

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

    Infact, my desire of playing this game decreased rapidly in just a few days, now I barely touch it anymore, and kinda regret spending 19€ for it. If I could have gone back in time, I would have waited for a 5€ sale.    … Expand
  27. Helaked
    Feb 25, 2014
    6
    Nice game at the beginning.
    Probably you need a few starts to get past the first years.
    But no challenges after a few hours anymore.
    Ofc you can try to get bigger and bigger but thats not that much fun.
  28. 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
  29. Loler13gr
    Feb 25, 2014
    7
    Although the game is very good with interesting mechanics , nice visuals and many challenges it gets repetitive soon and the lack of a goal does not give you the motive to continue playing...
  30. 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
  31. 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.
  32. 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
  33. 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.
  34. 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.
  35. eino
    Feb 24, 2014
    6
    On first approach, Banished is a really polished game. Its game-play is smooth, graphics are great and there are a lot of nice details.
    However, what it offers in attractiveness, it lacks in depth. What you see in the first hour is mostly everything it has to offer. Buildings and actions are pretty limited, and after a few hours of play, what you are doing is always pretty much more of    On first approach, Banished is a really polished game. Its game-play is smooth, graphics are great and there are a lot of nice details.
    However, what it offers in attractiveness, it lacks in depth. What you see in the first hour is mostly everything it has to offer. Buildings and actions are pretty limited, and after a few hours of play, what you are doing is always pretty much more of the same, on a different scale.
    The game is hard, basically you can lose a lot at any point, which is interesting and keep things spicy. However the mechanics here again means you will just fall back at an earlier point in progression, and run again the same actions once more time.
    With more content the game could be great. What it needs is a lot more buildings, actions, and generally possibilities which are unlocked with your progression.    … Expand
  36. 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
  37. Narf
    Feb 24, 2014
    5
    An incredibly well-done game considering it was made by only a single person - but as a game in general, lacking in the long run.

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

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

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

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

    The game has a very solid base to build on in the future and since modability is supposedly coming as a feature in a future update, the modding community might very well make this as much as a long-term fun as it is when only having played a upstarting settlement. But in its current form, without regarding the size of the 1-person-development-team and just seeing the game as a game, it is sadly only that: a solid base that needs to be built upon to actually make it worth the 20$ it asks for.    … Expand
  38. ConorHat
    Feb 24, 2014
    6
    Best city building game ever made. One guy programmed and delivered us this gem. It's a masterpiece. The reviewers don't understand how amazing it is that one person could make such a purely awesome game. I'm never going to waste my time reading reviews again, just watch a gameplay video and if this is your sort of game you won't be disappointed.
  39. Blackdragonbird
    Feb 24, 2014
    6
    Game has great potential, but is still full of flaws and some strange bugs. The AI needs serious work yet and the 90° totally square construction layout is a little annoying. The major flaw for me yet is what I call "Tool Outbreak of Doom", basically, when you have more than 100 citizens and don't maintain the eyes in your iron and/or log stocks and your blacksmith stop making tools, theGame has great potential, but is still full of flaws and some strange bugs. The AI needs serious work yet and the 90° totally square construction layout is a little annoying. The major flaw for me yet is what I call "Tool Outbreak of Doom", basically, when you have more than 100 citizens and don't maintain the eyes in your iron and/or log stocks and your blacksmith stop making tools, the stock vanish and your blacksmith needs to work with a broken tool too, it makes he produces tools at a very low speed and can't keep up to the tool consumption, it causes a chain reaction lowering all your city production, food and fuel get consumed faster than can be produced and your town break. The annoying thing is, the stupid blacksmith keeps making tools but cant grab one for himself, It's serious.

    Otherwise the game is fun and addictive, but is not worth his value in this state yet.    … Expand
  40. 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
  41. 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
  42. CryChris
    Feb 23, 2014
    10
    Shining Rock Software. Create a great city builder....
    NO always online DRM.....The Gameplay is refresh...simple and complex..........................
  43. Jagermaestro
    Feb 22, 2014
    6
    Lets set a benchmark for scoring here:
    Just because the genre is under developed doesn't warrant an inflated rating.
    Just because one person made the game doesn't warrant an inflated rating. Just because your 15-18 and have a false nostalgia for "difficult" games doesn't warrant an increased rating. This game has poor prioritization which artificially scales its difficulty. Largely,    Lets set a benchmark for scoring here:
    Just because the genre is under developed doesn't warrant an inflated rating.
    Just because one person made the game doesn't warrant an inflated rating.
    Just because your 15-18 and have a false nostalgia for "difficult" games doesn't warrant an increased rating.

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

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

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

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

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

    10 out of 10 best game of the year.

    The indie love is officially out of control.    … Expand
  44. 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.
  45. 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
  46. 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!
  47. 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
  48. 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.
  49. 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
  50. 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.
  51. 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!
  52. 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.
  53. 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
  54. 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
  55. 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!
  56. Boras
    Feb 21, 2014
    10
    Amazing game, simple and complex at same time, it is a rare example of good game mechanics, simple but effective graphics and an awesome potential for future expansions

    absolutely suggested
  57. 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
  58. BastardySkull
    Feb 20, 2014
    7
    Very zen game, could have more depth later in game and some wonders/larger construction tasks or build trees. Challenge modes would have been good as well. Good potential for modding.
  59. 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
  60. 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!
  61. Beanbag
    Feb 20, 2014
    7
    Banished is a solidly designed indie game, one that will offer hours of fun for those that enjoy city builders. Like most games, it offers nothing truly groundbreaking, but is still a very enjoyable member of it's genre. Unlike most games, it was developed by a team of One. This one-man indie title is similar to larger company titles like Stronghold 3, with the exception that Banished is aBanished is a solidly designed indie game, one that will offer hours of fun for those that enjoy city builders. Like most games, it offers nothing truly groundbreaking, but is still a very enjoyable member of it's genre. Unlike most games, it was developed by a team of One. This one-man indie title is similar to larger company titles like Stronghold 3, with the exception that Banished is a far more polished piece of software (and it actually works the majority of the time!). Banished does seem to currently conflict with F-Secure's "Deepguard" product, part of their Antivirus package. It can be switched off to allow Banished to function perfectly, though this will likely be addressed by a patch sometime after the posting of this review.

    Overall, Banished earns a very solid 7 in my book. Banished is nothing new or exciting, but is an enjoyable re-imagining of a well-loved genre. It performs well and will offer at least a few days of entertainment, and it's relatively low price-point being comparable with a DVD or Blu-Ray makes it easy to suggest that you give it a try.    … Expand
  62. 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
  63. 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.
  64. Muuvinki
    Feb 19, 2014
    8
    Really addicting city building game which you might definitely wanna try out.
    However when you get a hang of it, you'll notice that there really isn't much to build anymore after all necessary buildings. I kinda hope for some kinda decorative items which would make village look even more beautiful than it already is. Also sometimes there seems to be so little time to do stuff and you are    Really addicting city building game which you might definitely wanna try out.
    However when you get a hang of it, you'll notice that there really isn't much to build anymore after all necessary buildings. I kinda hope for some kinda decorative items which would make village look even more beautiful than it already is. Also sometimes there seems to be so little time to do stuff and you are struggling even with food, although you have multiple villagers getting food. Other than that Banished is a brilliant game with lots of potential in it.    … Expand
  65. Demonidze
    Feb 19, 2014
    10
    Finally a great city builder type of game that doesnt filled with always online DRM and other non sense.

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

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

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

    I would recommend this game to anyone who likes the city building genre.    … Expand
  66. Palanor
    Feb 19, 2014
    10
    One of the best city builders that as come out in the last few years. For once you have to think before you do anything . Some may not like the interface . I keep a few windows open and i do fine. First time i played , it was 4 am by the time i looked up ,says a lot about how much this game sucks you in. You end up feeling about your villagers and there plight.
  67. Jancelot
    Feb 19, 2014
    6
    Nice game, its been a long time there has been a game like this. Its a bit to easy though, once you got a basic town set up there's not much that can happen. I had build every kind of building after 2 hours of playing and i wasnt even rushing it (i'm playing on the hardest difficulty in harsh conditions). After a while you just waiting till a trader with a new kind op crop comes by orNice game, its been a long time there has been a game like this. Its a bit to easy though, once you got a basic town set up there's not much that can happen. I had build every kind of building after 2 hours of playing and i wasnt even rushing it (i'm playing on the hardest difficulty in harsh conditions). After a while you just waiting till a trader with a new kind op crop comes by or till some immigrants want to join your settlement. Still a game worth buying though, I just really hope they will add some more content and some more difficulty to the game. It feels a bit like a beta, it has al the basics but no in depth gameplay.… Expand
  68. liquixcat
    Feb 19, 2014
    10
    I played this game for 4 hours on my first sitting. This game just sucks you in and keeps you there. It's hard, unforgiving, relentless and cruel but it's enjoyable, rewarding, entertaining and engaging too! After 6 winters I think I finally have the hang of food distribution and keeping people healthy and alive. Sure a person dies here or there, but it's almost always from old age.I played this game for 4 hours on my first sitting. This game just sucks you in and keeps you there. It's hard, unforgiving, relentless and cruel but it's enjoyable, rewarding, entertaining and engaging too! After 6 winters I think I finally have the hang of food distribution and keeping people healthy and alive. Sure a person dies here or there, but it's almost always from old age. Finding a good balance takes time, but it's completely doable. Now I just need some fruit for my Tavern. :D

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

    Great game; amazing even. I plan to spend another 4 hours on it after work tonight too.    … Expand
  69. gromenawer
    Feb 19, 2014
    6
    Game mechanics are great but the game it self is quite easy to master. After a few hours of learning the rules and provided that you know just a little of mathematics you can find the optimal equilibrium in the game. It has some variance in the type of plants you grow and animals you tender but ultimately you can explore the whole game very quickly in any difficulty. Its feels more like anGame mechanics are great but the game it self is quite easy to master. After a few hours of learning the rules and provided that you know just a little of mathematics you can find the optimal equilibrium in the game. It has some variance in the type of plants you grow and animals you tender but ultimately you can explore the whole game very quickly in any difficulty. Its feels more like an early release for the given price.

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

    There are some minor bad choices on how the UI works but you can pretend they are not there. Technically the game has a great performance.    … Expand
  70. Jaskkro
    Feb 19, 2014
    9
    This game is challenging, charming, complex and captivating. I played it for 6 hours in one sitting, and though it has a few flaws (like the sometimes buggy AI running to their death in the cold), the game provides an incredible amount of freedom. Then when one considers it was made by a single person, it really gives you a sense of awe.
  71. SpyderScythe
    Feb 19, 2014
    10
    I absolutely love this game. It is a beautiful city building sim that will suck you in. The amount of things to do in this game is quite amazing, especially since it was made by one man. I cannot stop playing this game since I bought it, and the longer I play, the better it gets. I highly recommend this game if you are a fan of city building games. You will not be disappointed.
  72. Eppurvandekamp
    Feb 19, 2014
    9
    Un título casi perfecto. A quienes nos gusten este tipo de juegos la compra es obligada. No es el juego perfecto pero os aseguro q os tendrá horas y horas entretenidos.
  73. comradenash
    Feb 19, 2014
    8
    Beautifully put together, particularly for a one man team. Intelligently designed for an immersive and authentic feeling survival/strategy game. If I could offer one basic criticism it would be that the UI is not very intuitive, and I do sort of wish there was some kind of end game. It would be rewarding to be able to link your cities up, make moral decisions about the commoners poachingBeautifully put together, particularly for a one man team. Intelligently designed for an immersive and authentic feeling survival/strategy game. If I could offer one basic criticism it would be that the UI is not very intuitive, and I do sort of wish there was some kind of end game. It would be rewarding to be able to link your cities up, make moral decisions about the commoners poaching on your land, etc.

    Overall Banished is worth every cent of $20 though!    … Expand
  74. janontour
    Feb 19, 2014
    10
    absolutely love this game - if you like city building games but are fed up with way too casual simulations like sim city, where you hardly have to think anymore but just doodle and build a city without a real challenge, banished is just that: it is a puzzle disguised as a city building game. I don't know how many times I had to restart my town because 2 hours ago i made a crucial mistakeabsolutely love this game - if you like city building games but are fed up with way too casual simulations like sim city, where you hardly have to think anymore but just doodle and build a city without a real challenge, banished is just that: it is a puzzle disguised as a city building game. I don't know how many times I had to restart my town because 2 hours ago i made a crucial mistake in the setup of my city. But I loved starting over every time. It's a challenge and can be frustrating, but if you are up to it, it is a fantastic game. Considering it is done by one guy it is an amazing achievement!… Expand
  75. kursku
    Feb 18, 2014
    10
    This is the SimCity and Cities XL for Medieval Lovers! The game has it all, specially because it goes beyond most of our expectation. It's simple, has an amazing interface and something that I've never seen, the shortcut for specific areas. The game it's still evolving, so I'm waiting for new and different things.
  76. Gunteraz
    Feb 18, 2014
    10
    This game is amazing. I haven't left my computer since i got this game 8 hours ago. It sucks you in like the tornadoes in this game do with your villagers. For a 1-man development "team" this game is an achievement worthy of a monument.
  77. timsplace0
    Feb 18, 2014
    10
    This is one of the best game I have played in a long time, spent about 12 hours lost in Banished today.

    Only complaint is your wrists and hands may hurt from overplaying, seriously.
  78. dippman
    Feb 18, 2014
    9
    Great city building game. Its easy to learn but has depth to keep players interested. There's constant challenges and the pacing of the game is perfect. It's not as intimidating as other games of the genre, yet the complexity is still there. I only wish there were some more structure. I can see myself wasting hundreds of hours of my life on this game. Blows other AAA titles out of theGreat city building game. Its easy to learn but has depth to keep players interested. There's constant challenges and the pacing of the game is perfect. It's not as intimidating as other games of the genre, yet the complexity is still there. I only wish there were some more structure. I can see myself wasting hundreds of hours of my life on this game. Blows other AAA titles out of the water. Cannot recommend enough!… Expand
  79. MaxPay
    Feb 18, 2014
    10
    This game should serve as an example, almost like a benchmark. It was developed entirely by 1 guy and yet, it's one of the best ''city builders'' to come out in a very long time. There's also a survival aspect and it features disasters. You can play it indefinitely; there's no silly endgame scenarios like: ''Build 3 farms''. Maps are huge and are randomly generated. Gameplay is refreshingThis game should serve as an example, almost like a benchmark. It was developed entirely by 1 guy and yet, it's one of the best ''city builders'' to come out in a very long time. There's also a survival aspect and it features disasters. You can play it indefinitely; there's no silly endgame scenarios like: ''Build 3 farms''. Maps are huge and are randomly generated. Gameplay is refreshing and addicting. 10/10!… Expand
  80. TheDizzation
    Feb 18, 2014
    10
    Amazing game for me. This type of game is really rare, and hard to make it good. It has some deficiency, but the game is combined perfectly. The fact is that this game is made by one guy is making it more amazing! I mean SimCity is made by a big company, compared to this they made nothing. I mean it. Anyways this game is a must buy if you like RTS and city building games!
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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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