Floodland

The solarpunk genre is here and only is going to grow as our climate starts to transform. Plenty of people are going to find a way to express their existential dread at a problem that seems so big. There will be plenty of corny stories about rebuilding a world from the ashes of the people we were before. Where Floodland has a leg up is in its subtlety. You aren’t constantly talking about who you want to be and how you want to run your apocalypse town. You are showing who you are by how you build it.

Floodland is a city builder that triumphs because it focuses on its citizens as much as the city. A strong narrative both in its story and in your interactions with the clans means constant decision-making that'll always make you think in a way that city builders rarely do.

Floodland is an absolute must-play for fans of the survival simulator genre. The game runs smoothly, controls well, and has enough depth in it to keep players coming back for more. The bleak world of this post-climate change disaster is immersive and beautiful looking, and Floodland is also a great beginner-sim for players who may be new to the genre, with its classic research trees, simple mechanics, and well-crafted tutorial are easily understood at any skill level.

Floodland is a great survival sim that constantly forces you to think about your actions and make tough choices.

Floodland rises above the surface when the depth of its mechanics are given the space to breathe. It strikes a brilliant balance between complex systems that are slick and accessible, while offering a satisfying level of micro-management gameplay. For all of its wonders however, this bristling settlement sim can run aground of stagnated progress and unwieldy inter-clan mechanics on occasion, but nothing should stop you rebuilding humanity in this beautifully desolate world.

Really good survival strategy, which is particularly noticeable with its social aspect - and which is noticeably slowed down by its technology.

Performance and pacing problems mar an otherwise novel and comprehensive survival city builder.

Floodland offers a fresh, intriguing setting and implements it in an atmospheric manner, yet there are apparent flaws.

A simulation game focused on the peoples' life, rather than the world destroyed by climate change. Simple UI and tutorials completed with unique art seems suitable for beginners of the genre. However, resource limitations and bugs that sometime feel unreasonable make it difficult to head to the later part of the game.

Vile Monarch packs an experience that manages to stand out in the panorama of post-apocalyptic themed city builders, at least on the aesthetic front. From the point of view of the gameplay we would have preferred to see carried forward that vein of innovation that distinguishes the management side of relations between clans. Unfortunately, on the whole, the game has been able to capture the most successful aspects of other exponents of the genre to which it refers, without daring to detach itself from playful elements already repeatedly proposed over the last few years. In any case, city builder fans may appreciate Floodland for the solidity of the mechanics implemented and for its vision of a future that is anything but surreal.

Floodland is an interesting post-apocalyptic city-building experience, but it lacks depths in some of its core mechanics.

Floodland is an intriguing city-builder that manages to be intuitive and also quite complex in its game systems, but sadly it's also filled with many technical hiccups that can slow down (and potentially halt) your progress. The foundation is solid and there is a good game beneath it all, but the game will probably need a couple of patches to really shine.

There was a lot of replayability factors in Floodland I loved, and a strong political message. If you love micromanagement games, this had a treasure-trove worth of content.

More than anything, Floodland feels like a game that could really benefit from some updates and content changes. As it stands, there's a unique city-builder that fans of the genre will likely enjoy, but it could be one of those games that really turns into something special with the right support.

Floodland gives you a great survival challenge where you have limited resources to rebuild society. You are taught what to do from the beginning, and will slowly learn how to take care of your people. The difficulty can be punishing and some game concepts aren’t properly explained, forcing you to learn by experience. But if you stick with the learning process, you will find a nice survival gem that teaches you about the challenges of rebuilding civilization.

Floodland is a survival city-builder that doesn't amaze for its main themes, the commercial façade, but for its inner and partially veiled characteristics. Technically it isn't quite the satisfying game (the situation may get better on day one, but only time will tell), but artistically and soundwise, it has some really powerful blows to throw at its audience.

Floodland not only asks if you’ll sink or swim when the world ends, but if you’ll plunge your arm into the murky depths to pull others up with you or step on their heads to save yourself. Its ability to look toward the future of civilisation without losing sight of the individuals who will form it is insightful. It lacks a certain spark that would make it great, and some unfortunate bugs let it down in the mid-late game, but I look forward to returning to the floodlands once these teething issues are ironed out.

At first glance, Floodland isn't the most complex, especially when looking at previous creations from developers of games like Frostpunk. However, it has a distinct and detailed aesthetic that grabs one's attention. Small figurines of people running around gathering resources or sleeping under the stars. it was a pleasure to follow, while the details of the various ruined buildings or rusty towers gave a nice feel to the game's atmosphere and past. If you are a lover of survival sims, Floodland is for you.

Despite its shorter lifespan than most management games, Floodland remains a good surprise with its unique context and its attractive theme (ecology).

Floodland has a lot of great ideas and an addicting gameplay loop, but its Clan mechanics quickly suck any fun out of a game as soon it rears its ugly head. With only one scenario to play and no customisation options for these clans, it’s all too easy to suffer a slow decline for reasons that don’t feel like your fault. With such a major mechanic feeling so flawed, it’s hard not to feel like Floodland has taken a wrong turn at the last minute. For such a solid base, it’s a real shame.

Too many elements in Floodland could have used a little more polish. The title also lacks the replayablility to really make waves. [...] First of all though, the game should have been released in a technically sound state.

Floodland is not one of these small, independent gems. Compared to Frostpunk, I didn't feel a challenge, while the overall atmosphere and a certain "fakeness" of the world makes you feel like you're not really a leader. I can't say it wasn't fun however, as the game offers a very dynamic gameplay. It's also not too difficult, lasting around ten hours. There's not much to come back to after a single playthrough, which is a bigger problem.