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
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

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