They Are Billions

 PC
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 164 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 92 out of 164
  2. Mixed: 41 out of 164
  3. Negative: 31 out of 164

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Sqirch
    Jun 25, 2019
    5
    They Are Billions is a game with a wonderful concept, beautiful sounds and music, the graphics have this cartoonish look and are a pleasure to see, the gameplay is enjoyable. At this moment, there are three modes to play: Campaign, Survival and Custom games, the latter I didn’t explore it yet but from what’ve researched is actually the most interesting mode.
    Campaign was just released and    They Are Billions is a game with a wonderful concept, beautiful sounds and music, the graphics have this cartoonish look and are a pleasure to see, the gameplay is enjoyable. At this moment, there are three modes to play: Campaign, Survival and Custom games, the latter I didn’t explore it yet but from what’ve researched is actually the most interesting mode.
    Campaign was just released and is being improved after the initial backlash, both Campaign & Survival mode are Ironman, which means you can’t manually save/load while playing, you can lose extremely easily on this game, all you need is a lone zombie to go your tents and you’re finished, and after that you’ll have to start again from scratch. On Survival, the maps are also randomly generated so many times you’ll restart because the Starting Position is bad. You also have a number of different map types, only one is unlocked and you unlock map type by map type by finishing the earlier one with the necessary Score Factor (number zombies & days until the final wave), most of the content is gated.

    This game is good for those who love the challenge but also have the patience & time to invest, I never finished the 1st map type of Survival and I even read on forums people taking as much as 100 hours of game time to do it. It really depends on if you think this’ll be okay for you or not. The game can be extremely frustrating and feel like a waste of time.
    My last Survival map went like this – I was expanding well and having fun, then the announcer said “a wave is coming from the North”, so I prepared for that and sent my troops there but the wave came from the East instead, which is different from North on my book, and as soon they got in, it was a game over. While I had fun, it ended up feeling like a waste of my time, because my time is limited and I don’t have enough to invest on this game until the pay-off becomes good. When I invest time & money on a product, there has to be a pay-off to justify the investment.
    I believe tutorials and even Skirmish mode where you could play specific maps and all map types with the ability to Save/Load would help, and having two Campaign modes where one was Ironman and the other wasn’t would be good and more inclusive instead of being exclusive.

    In conclusion, this game is good for those who are hardcore and have time to invest, for the rest of the gamers demographic it might not be so good, at least at the moment. I’ll still keep an eye for it because I truly love the concept.

    5/10    … Expand
  2. Teufler80
    Feb 9, 2020
    4
    It was funny at the beginning, but the missing ingame save und sometimes unfair amoubts of enemies are quickly killing the fun
  3. denwer
    Apr 8, 2020
    5
    I totally agree with the Vasot, at the first glance game looks OK, but there are only 3 types of missions ( "hero", "kill swarm(zombies)" and "build colony"). Your colony almost always located in the open area, which means that you can be attacked from 4 sides.
    "Build a colony" is the most disappointing mission type, where you should attract 600 colonists, for example (3rd mission), so    I totally agree with the Vasot, at the first glance game looks OK, but there are only 3 types of missions ( "hero", "kill swarm(zombies)" and "build colony"). Your colony almost always located in the open area, which means that you can be attacked from 4 sides.
    "Build a colony" is the most disappointing mission type, where you should attract 600 colonists, for example (3rd mission), so you should build about 60-80 houses and protect them from zombies, which is more boring and irritating, than challenging task.
    Also, I was got upset, that you open most of the units and buildings using research tree where you apply point which you got from completing the missions, accept from this research tree you have very limited variety units and building.
    Also, there is no classic save/load opportunity, you quit and the game remembers this moment and continues from it. You cannot restart the mission, which is a washout. I made a mistake in 1 mission (build a colony) and concentrate on houses for colonists and not army and zombies attacked from 3 sides and units are slow and sometimes stuck in buildings, so I almost loose, so I wish there were restart and quickly save and load options to change your strategy when you find mistakes in your planning.
    Also sometimes buildings explode for no reason, maybe it interesting mechanic for hard or nightmare difficulty, but at normal difficulty (which I played) it also irritates a bit.

    All in all, the game has an interesting theme and some gameplay mechanics, but after playing 3-4 hours I cannot call it enjoyable. I waited that it would be like Frostpunk, interesting and challenging, but about zombies, but this game has more boring and irritating moments, than challenging.
    Maybe I missed something, but I cannot recommend this game at the current state.    … Expand
  4. primalsmash
    Jul 8, 2019
    4
    Review from seasoned rts player: even game has good review on steam for all time, recently is mixed and it doesn't mean anything, it got only 9 because it was popular by masses at some point (average player).
    I tell you this best rts release was starcraft broodwar, it was released in 1998 and it already had hotkeys and good interface. Though years i saw a lot of games, which had    Review from seasoned rts player: even game has good review on steam for all time, recently is mixed and it doesn't mean anything, it got only 9 because it was popular by masses at some point (average player).
    I tell you this best rts release was starcraft broodwar, it was released in 1998 and it already had hotkeys and good interface. Though years i saw a lot of games, which had potential, but devs destined them to fail, because terrible interface, controls and balance. Problem is game devs, themselves don't play games much and they seem to not play they own games and not understand issues in them. So to the point not necessarily ranked by order how bad these things are for the game:
    1. don't know how game in 2019 can't have hotkeys for buildings, you build a lot in this game...
    2. if one zombie touches your tent, they instantly multiply in numbers and you autolose
    3. you can't rotate and there are 1 square spaces where zombie can pass, at least you can see grid only with middle mouse button and check with alt for healthbars to spot them
    4. i head campaign is bad
    5. it has no mutliplayer, once you beat it and it is repetitive, it will start to bore you out    … Expand
  5. nilsy
    Sep 24, 2019
    5
    Frustrating game, its basically a very hard tower defense game.
    My biggest grip is that if you invest lot of effort and time the payback is not large enough and the game felt "fiddly" which is a nightmare with snowball effects.
  6. Almoststan
    Feb 6, 2020
    7
    A fun and aesthetically pleasing game that can easily give you hours of entertainment, but for me its campaign kind of lacks a certain something. Its difficulty curve too, seems way off. The early game, especially for newcomers will feel very brutal, as the condition for victory seem way too steep early game, in particular some unnecessary time constraints on missions, and very highA fun and aesthetically pleasing game that can easily give you hours of entertainment, but for me its campaign kind of lacks a certain something. Its difficulty curve too, seems way off. The early game, especially for newcomers will feel very brutal, as the condition for victory seem way too steep early game, in particular some unnecessary time constraints on missions, and very high population counts if you have yet to research cottages. Speaking off, some research buildings are absolutely necessary, like aforementioned housing, to complete certain missions. Other research items will make the game an absolute cakewalk, in particular the farms, thermal plants and wasp turrets. Once those get built about 80% of all future missions are a cakewalk.… Expand
  7. HowardV
    Jul 23, 2020
    4
    It has many good things, but bad things are much more

    It is a game with good graphics but with absurd and exaggerated difficulty, it is a type of game that at the slightest error you lose everything and you have to start the learning curve again, it is very slow and difficult, it is quite repetitive in its missions and its difficulty is unwarranted It is a great waste of time for    It has many good things, but bad things are much more

    It is a game with good graphics but with absurd and exaggerated difficulty, it is a type of game that at the slightest error you lose everything and you have to start the learning curve again, it is very slow and difficult, it is quite repetitive in its missions and its difficulty is unwarranted

    It is a great waste of time for little or no reward, you could be playing other types of games and make better use of time

    With this game you can lose an entire day of your life, and not advance anything ...    … Expand
  8. Thilus
    Nov 18, 2019
    5
    The game's main problem is that it is absolutely unforgiving. If anything goes down (and it takes just one zombie to overtake your whole colony, mind you!), you can retire the mission and start again. And the missions take hours sometimes. One wrong move, and you're done. And that's on "normal" difficulty. I mean, there are lower difficulty levels, but for some reason Easy is very easy,The game's main problem is that it is absolutely unforgiving. If anything goes down (and it takes just one zombie to overtake your whole colony, mind you!), you can retire the mission and start again. And the missions take hours sometimes. One wrong move, and you're done. And that's on "normal" difficulty. I mean, there are lower difficulty levels, but for some reason Easy is very easy, while Normal is very hard. That's just bad balance. The game has a lot of potential, but it's badly executed. I don't want to spend time on game that's going to punish me for little mistakes or some hasty decision when I'm playing on Normal. Sorry, move over game.… Expand
  9. SRKNZ
    Aug 6, 2019
    1
    Seriously flawed. That's my impression of They Are Billions. This is essentially a strategic city building game that looks good but for all that eye candy your ability to build defenses is seriously limited. This makes the game impossibly hard from the very first level. I was so unimpressed I walked away and wont be back.

    Suffice to say in my view this one needs a patch released    Seriously flawed. That's my impression of They Are Billions. This is essentially a strategic city building game that looks good but for all that eye candy your ability to build defenses is seriously limited. This makes the game impossibly hard from the very first level. I was so unimpressed I walked away and wont be back.

    Suffice to say in my view this one needs a patch released urgently. I'm amazed it was released in this state.    … Expand
  10. Wiebe
    Feb 26, 2020
    6
    Fun to play at first, great concept, but gets tedious and repetitive after a while, single player campaign was also bad.
  11. Metagrikling
    Apr 13, 2020
    0
    Failed my research points and had to reset whole 33% campaign.... spend 20 hours to find out that I can not advance because of trash game development.

    Just refunded the game and uninstalled. DO NOT BUY IT.

    Really, the game is not worth any money yet. Game is a deep testing/development stage.

    Come back after 2-3 years... maybe?
  12. Vasot
    Jun 19, 2019
    4
    The game is disappointing with a tedious and generic campaign that includes mission timers in almost all missions and spawning zombie hordes it feels like a lazy way to make the game more difficult. There are only three type missions (The "hero" missions, "kill the swarm" missions and "Build a colony" type of missions with a large number of colonists required) . The campaign is inferiorThe game is disappointing with a tedious and generic campaign that includes mission timers in almost all missions and spawning zombie hordes it feels like a lazy way to make the game more difficult. There are only three type missions (The "hero" missions, "kill the swarm" missions and "Build a colony" type of missions with a large number of colonists required) . The campaign is inferior from all other modes in the game there is no voice acting and neither a story except from an opening cutscene. Most animations are very poorly designed sometimes this reminds me some old games from the early 2000. Sorry but i can't recommend this game… Expand
  13. GamerGuysNGals
    Jul 8, 2019
    4
    "They Are Billions:
    Reviewed by: Carless Yen
    Platform: Xbox One X Developer: Numantian Games Publisher: Blitworks I usually never give any game a low score. I'm always able to find some enjoyment in someone's art. So I never completely bash it, or feel completely let down by it. I usually play and play it until I'm able to say I enjoyed this or, this was a bright point for me in the    "They Are Billions:
    Reviewed by: Carless Yen
    Platform: Xbox One X
    Developer: Numantian Games
    Publisher: Blitworks

    I usually never give any game a low score. I'm always able to find some enjoyment in someone's art. So I never completely bash it, or feel completely let down by it. I usually play and play it until I'm able to say I enjoyed this or, this was a bright point for me in the title. They are Billions made that really hard though. I played and played it looking for something to say I enjoyed this about it, but really never found any enjoyment in the title. Games usually like this aren't my cup of tea I'll be honest, but I really enjoyed the Townsmen a lot earlier this year. So i thought maybe I'd enjoy this as well. I really didn't, and I have to say it is probably the least fun I have had reviewing a game this year. To be honest it made me want to stop reviewing games, because I hate being negative. I also hate talking down about someone's hard work, and art. I almost didn't review this, and just shut the site down completely. However I said If I'm really honest they will probably never read this anyways so I can be honest about it with the readers, and not worry about offending the Developer. (Hopefully)
    The game just seems so predetermined. Like I have to follow a set layout, or I won't complete it. You aren't able to really do what you want to do as far as building without suffering for it. Even on the easy mode there is very little give to being able to build as you want. It almost feels as if you have to build the same way every time you play, and it just killed all the fun for me. I thought maybe it was just my skill, or lack of like for this genre of game so i researched it a little more, and found most reviewers saying the same thing. I even saw some were bashed for giving this opinion in forums, and blocked. I will say this didn't happen to me though, I just saw a couple of photos of people being silenced for negative reviews and comments about the game. My experience with the emails I have received have been pleasant. Another reason I hate to bash the game.
    It's your basic SimCity type game where you build your town, and all of it's food, energy, etc resources. You have to keep your town happy and protected from waves and waves of enemies. Like I was saying earlier you have to follow pretty much the same routine to survive, because even on easy the Zombies come quick and relentless. You don't even have to get to the billions because if your not ready the little waves will come, and take you out. Its not really a challenge though, because if you follow a set path you will succeed. That isn't fun to me though. I would have enjoyed being able to follow my own path, and had some free zombie free time and then felt the experience and thrill of the horde. The constant attacking of zombies taking out my small unprepared forces just really did nothing for me.
    I will say a few updates to this game, it could take a swing in a better direction. We will see though, they don't seem too be taking reviewer and customer criticism to well so probably set in their ways. I hope not though, because there is a glimpse of hope there. When I was following the pattern, and seeing zombies roll in by the thousands it was exciting for a little bit. If I had to have a bright spot it would be the amount of enemies on the screen at once. If they can slow down the attack though, and have a more exciting build up to that where your allowed to work a little more on your town before hand it could be a lot of fun. Until then they won't be to happy with my score, and neither am I really because it may be the lowest score I have ever gave a game, and I hate doing that with all the potential here.

    Pros: Zombies by the millions
    Potential is there

    Cons: Town development feels scripted
    Even on easy , you can't set back and enjoy building
    Controls a little off on console, screen moved a lot
    Just not a lot of fun at the moment.

    Overall: 4.0 I tried really hard to enjoy this game, but it just doesn't seem to speak to me like I hoped it would. I love zombies, and killing them. I just didn't enjoy it with this title, hopefully some changes are coming for it though. Couldn't find a way to save my game either?    … Expand
  14. AusGamerz
    Jun 20, 2019
    0
    All of these "people" currently scoring the game a 10 sound like one person and mostly likely are the Dev's themselves.

    The game is sold as an RTS game but as a veteran of RTS games like Starcraft 1 & 2, Ages of Empires and many more I can tell you it plays much more like a time based puzzle clicker. No room to create things the way you want either, use the right build order or fail,    All of these "people" currently scoring the game a 10 sound like one person and mostly likely are the Dev's themselves.

    The game is sold as an RTS game but as a veteran of RTS games like Starcraft 1 & 2, Ages of Empires and many more I can tell you it plays much more like a time based puzzle clicker. No room to create things the way you want either, use the right build order or fail, simple as that.

    I guess the worst part is how far from an RTS game this is, also the campaign is so bad, that opening cinematic and voice acting were so cringe worthy its almost worth watching it for the laughs.

    Maybe buy for $5 but no more!    … Expand
  15. marcantoineg
    Sep 14, 2019
    1
    I usually like rts. I supported the game in early access but the campaign is uninspired, long, boring and ridiculously difficult. Even mission 1 will take you many tries. Don't bother.
  16. captainincredib
    Jun 21, 2019
    9
    what a variety of opinions, mine , i like it so much , ok the game is not perfect , but the new mode is from three days ago? what do you want ? i love hero missions , and with the last patch you can see blinking some items on the ground.
  17. hoanns
    Jun 5, 2020
    5
    Kinda repetitive, but cool setting. Kinda repetitive, but cool setting .....
  18. kretas
    Dec 2, 2020
    10
    I never felt that challenged in a game in the last years.
    Some people don't like the no save option, but there is,
    how much I tried to abrupt close the game because of a stupid mistake I made, It always jumps back to the latest point reminding me that I have to deal with my mistake even when its meant having hours of planning wasted. I really adore this and kept me pushing myself and    I never felt that challenged in a game in the last years.
    Some people don't like the no save option, but there is,
    how much I tried to abrupt close the game because of a stupid mistake I made, It always jumps back to the latest point reminding me that I have to deal with my mistake even when its meant having hours of planning wasted.
    I really adore this and kept me pushing myself and perfecting my strategy.
    Love it!    … Expand
  19. destinical
    Jan 26, 2021
    10
    This game is really underrated. Most people gave bad score only because of its poorly executed campaign. However, the core gameplay is of genius level! I've never enjoyed such rts masterpiece since the time of Warcraft 3, Age of Empires 2, Rise of Nations... I've seen some games inspired by They Are Billions, but sadly nothing comes close to its level and uniqueness. Despite some of itsThis game is really underrated. Most people gave bad score only because of its poorly executed campaign. However, the core gameplay is of genius level! I've never enjoyed such rts masterpiece since the time of Warcraft 3, Age of Empires 2, Rise of Nations... I've seen some games inspired by They Are Billions, but sadly nothing comes close to its level and uniqueness. Despite some of its flaws, TAB deserves more recognition. I guess it will be a long long time until I enjoy another superb rts.… Expand
  20. MTR99
    Jun 20, 2019
    0
    No option or button to save/load.
    Do you need another reason to skip this game?
  21. sherbz
    Aug 9, 2019
    8
    Despite a lacklustre campaign, this is still a very good and surprisingly influential RTS. If you are the sort of person who enjoys narrative, story and casual play, then it probably isn't for you. If however you have OCD, are a perfectionist at heart, and enjoy getting maximum efficiency from your in game decisions then TAB will scratch that itch like no other game can.
  22. Midgar_citizen
    Jun 21, 2019
    9
    I was playing around 20 from Campagin after early access, and around 500 before of it, i was reading so much about the feedback of this game, is not the perfect game, but i spend a lot hours enjoying the game, quick fixes , everyday can found a new patch , that thing noticed me about the dev team is working on it, a bit hard the swarms but only at the beginning. 9/10
  23. Freem4n
    Jul 25, 2019
    0
    This game crashes every 30 minutes on average and absolutely unsuitable for a playing. Oh, and saves are not allowed in this game. Nice convergence, isn't it? Not that it only crashes, but it freezes your entire PC so you have to switch the power off to forcibly restart it.
  24. LittleTerrapin
    Jun 22, 2019
    8
    This is most certainly not a game for casual players! (Such as those above who want a boring save button in the middle of a mission)

    In my opinion this game is for people who like to spend long times on single maps trying not to die and to feel the sweet success of having beaten something truly hard. I play the campaign on brutal difficulty and find it very challenging and fun.    This is most certainly not a game for casual players! (Such as those above who want a boring save button in the middle of a mission)

    In my opinion this game is for people who like to spend long times on single maps trying not to die and to feel the sweet success of having beaten something truly hard.

    I play the campaign on brutal difficulty and find it very challenging and fun.

    The animations of the cutscenes are not hi quality and seem outdated, but that is not why I play a game like this anyway.
    I play for the challenge and if you are looking for a challenge with a game that finally is not a game that lets you forget every mistake by saving some random save-spot in the middle of a mission this is for you.

    The one thing I find sad so far is that the storytelling is a bit meh and that some of the missions feel like just a grind. For example in early missions when I have built up a wonderful defence and then BOOM, the mission ends and my defences have never been tested because no waves or serious zombie hordes came.... That feels like I wasted my time to build all those nicely placed walls because they were never seriously tested.

    I really LOVE that this game does not come with saving slots in the middle of a mission.
    Do it right or fail.

    The survival mode is still the best mode and is a standalone game that is great fun.
    And the survival to me atm is more fun than the campaign.

    One thing I find sad is that there is no decent reward for playing at higher difficulties except some points that don't do anything and punishment in form of a fail counter that takes away from that score.
    This part it not made well.

    This game is hard and should reward those who play brutal or nightmare in a good kind of way.    … Expand
  25. zeroram
    Jun 20, 2019
    9
    Very good RTS, tower defense cross-over. I say cross-over because of the 'zombie horde' invasions. There is quite a bit of standard builds you must master as in late game you will get shut down. Art style is very good and the tech tree in campaign mode is pretty extensive. Can be punishing if you start on wrong foot. Must have for RTS fans. (see; Starcraft fans)
  26. Chaltor
    Oct 23, 2019
    10
    Polished. Fun. Hard. Addictive.
    A bit of a hard learning curve.
    Get it and shut up and play.
  27. Seregramor
    Jun 20, 2019
    10
    i was exciting about the final versión after the early access, and is just AMAZING, good work guys
  28. Yuber
    Jun 20, 2019
    10
    The final camping is awesome, you have so many kind of stages, including quests from the heroes and stages tower defense style, new units and so many gameplay hours. Definitely the best option ni RTS games.
  29. suikoyami
    Jun 20, 2019
    10
    So great game!! i love RTS based games , i purchased the game in early access and i think the new campaign mode is very cool , some kind of issues at the beginning but the game is perfect , i love it
  30. LETO
    Jun 19, 2019
    10
    An amazing RTS, there is hate for the campaing, dont get why, i love it, but the true greatness of the game is behind survival. 10/10
  31. Violett
    Sep 30, 2020
    8
    Much was said about the campaign - it has many flaws, like dumb and boring hero missions, unability to reset research points etc. But the game itself is really challenging on high difficulty levels and really satisfying. Finished every mission in the campain on 200% difficulty and really enjoyed it.
  32. SubaqueousDream
    Jun 19, 2020
    7
    A solid game with great replayability but the annoying voice lines from units are extremely repetitive.
  33. Golconde
    Sep 16, 2020
    9
    It's a tough game. It will challenge you. One thing to know about this game is the campaign was released after early access where before all you had access to was the skirmish. The skirmish is where this game shines. It's where the twitch streamers started a cult like following for the game. I read a review once where someone said "its a shame the campaign wasn't perfect like theIt's a tough game. It will challenge you. One thing to know about this game is the campaign was released after early access where before all you had access to was the skirmish. The skirmish is where this game shines. It's where the twitch streamers started a cult like following for the game. I read a review once where someone said "its a shame the campaign wasn't perfect like the skirmish because it kind of brings attention away from it".
    If you're looking for an rts that will challenge you then this is the game. From a long time rts fan this is one of the best. Game devs even started copying its game play style including the Command & Conquer vets at Petroglyph Games with Conan Unconquered.    … Expand
  34. Monkeybear
    Jun 20, 2019
    10
    The best on RTS games, Steampunk style, and they are billions in real, so good work guys ¡¡¡¡
  35. nohasp
    Jun 20, 2019
    10
    yeah finally is here, you have three kind of missions and now you can choose a hero/heroine for complete the “hero missions” , now the game is more accesible in the first missions and its very well balanced. i totally recommended!!!
  36. ohayobtchs
    Jun 25, 2019
    9
    After the patch 1.08 TAB fixed and improve a lot of things, very quick Dev teams reaction.
  37. blanch
    Jun 25, 2019
    9
    I'm very tempted to start on the new highest difficulty. the 500% like it wasn't even a challenge. new Apocalypse mode on!! now that is my game
  38. Bryan3902
    Aug 30, 2019
    9
    The game is awesome, but it can make a bad first impression if you jump right into the campaign. Reading the negative reviews, I think most are due to the campaign game.

    Here's how to enjoy this game: 1) Play survival! (not campaign). The survival mode is well-balanced, challenging, and has plenty of variety. Every survival map is randomly generated and they need different    The game is awesome, but it can make a bad first impression if you jump right into the campaign. Reading the negative reviews, I think most are due to the campaign game.

    Here's how to enjoy this game:

    1) Play survival! (not campaign). The survival mode is well-balanced, challenging, and has plenty of variety. Every survival map is randomly generated and they need different strategies. Ignore the campaign game (where the maps are pre-made) until you've totally mastered survival. Even then, you'll probably only play the campaign once. The campaign is not that good. Survival rocks!

    2) Set the difficulty level on something like 10% to start. I'm serious. The game is hard and you'll need some easy time to learn the game. Once you've won a game, you can gradually bump up the difficulty (my favorite now is 700%).

    3) Use the patrol function to cover every entry to your colony. You can't see zombies that are outside your units' view range, so you must patrol.

    4) It's OK to die. What would be the fun of playing a survival game if you always won? All it takes is 1 zombie to end your game. So, you need to be paranoid, build more defenses than you think you need, and always be asking yourself what could go wrong.

    I've never had a crash...not one, ever. I don't know of any bugs in survival mode.

    When you face a massive final wave of literally thousands of zombies of all varieties, it's really exciting...all your hard work on the line...is it good enough? And, when you survive, you'll definitely feel like you accomplished something!    … Expand
  39. aeito
    Sep 10, 2019
    9
    Great RTS. The campaign is a little difficult. But I admit it: a great game. I've been hooked since I installed it.
    I recommend to play the campaigns that the community has done with the editor in steam-workshop. great game.
  40. TheTota
    Feb 29, 2020
    8
    They are billions is a very captivating strategy game, that takes you through a campaign of "reconquest of the world" that has been overtaken by hordes of zombies. Completing it will take well over 60-70 hours that include missions with their own goals and specific environment where base building and map cleaning will be the main focuses. But the campaign also contains some third personThey are billions is a very captivating strategy game, that takes you through a campaign of "reconquest of the world" that has been overtaken by hordes of zombies. Completing it will take well over 60-70 hours that include missions with their own goals and specific environment where base building and map cleaning will be the main focuses. But the campaign also contains some third person exploration missions where you will slowly get pages of newspaper that will help you understand what happened to the world and what caused the infection.

    While the campaign contains a lot of hours, and diverse experiences, at some point the missions will feel very similar and less interesting, despite the addition of new enemies and technologies.
    It's important to know that there is NO recovery points in missions, losing mean starting all over again, which could be pretty frustrating, but once you've figured out how the game works I haven't found it that difficult overall.

    The game runs on a very powerful engine, allowing really thousands of units to live their lives on the map. The post-apocalyptic feel has really been nailed too, and the steampunk universe is very well represented. Some characters seem interesting but lack of a bio or some kind of history. For example, one of the units is a small british man (or perhaps a dwarf?) piloting a massive zombies killing machine. It just feel pretty random without any explanation on the character.

    So, They are billions is a very unique game, with its own feel and gameplay that will hook you up into a pretty long campaign, that will sadly lose interest mission after mission once passed the 50% because you will be repeating the same patterns over and over again. But don't get me wrong, the feel of having a big army crushing zombies, or seeing your defenses take down some hordes, or even having your economy thrive makes an overall enjoyable experience.    … Expand
  41. lucorp
    Dec 12, 2020
    9
    What happens when you combine steampunk with spawning zombie hordes and make game really (I mean like really really) hard? One of most enjoyable base building + tower defense indie strategies.
  42. Ksie
    Feb 4, 2021
    9
    Классная стратегия на выживание. После появления компании стала еще лучше, хотя и весьма затянута.
  43. Bibikelis
    Dec 7, 2021
    10
    На пс 5, просто очень мало и конкурентов. Достойная игра , всё кто любит стратегии обязательно к покупке!
  44. Scherzade
    Feb 16, 2022
    9
    I find the concept and tide of the enemy is really attractive - it is a zombie horde game, tons of brain eating waves of corpse is exactly what I expected - However, I feeling when I quickly adapt to the game, I start feeling quickly loosing interest as well. perhaps the reason is, that I prefer micro control and enjoy when I manage tons of things altogether.
  45. cmfrip
    Jul 28, 2020
    6
    The game is crude, badly designed at times and certainly throws punishment at you . However the actual game dynamics do work and of course with all good puzzle games, winning after a long effort is worth it - it can be quite rewarding.

    It sure is nice developing the knowledge to manipulate the game in your favour - but it is an RTS city-builder - so this comes with the genre and it    The game is crude, badly designed at times and certainly throws punishment at you . However the actual game dynamics do work and of course with all good puzzle games, winning after a long effort is worth it - it can be quite rewarding.

    It sure is nice developing the knowledge to manipulate the game in your favour - but it is an RTS city-builder - so this comes with the genre and it succeeds in being good at that. In this way, it can be quite addictive. If it did not have it's flaws I would give it 7/10 – so I will give it 6/10 – it is a good game if it's not flummoxing you! Its better than Dungeons 3 for sure!

    So if you like Sim/strategy/Tower defence/Puzzle games or you are a sadist, then you should get this when its at a decent price. £25 is too much for a game that is taking Warcraft 3 and adding to mechanics (Dota did it, but that was 20 years ago) especially since I would opine key features are missing or it is just so buggy. I would pay £10-15; it is worth that for sure. This is on my wishlist therefore(I played on a game pass).

    There are several mission types, but the base-building one is it's forte because the way combat is, it's missable (given units behave like on C&C or warcraft); They sit there firing and that's it. The variation seems welcome though.

    Steam punk and zombies are well traversed themes, and to bind them together is not an indication of creativity, rather a cede to get footfall, and although there is creativity there, I am not amazed by it.

    Most audio I turned off though - Did not like the battle chatter or the music. The music is OK for the theme, romantic Orchestral type music you would listen to whilst hob-nobbin' with the rich technocrats of a steam punk era.

    About it's perceived flaws:
    -The worst sin this game commits is making you play without saving; You get one automated save game every five minutes, which is not long enough to stop anything in this game. This is one of the most miserable aspects of the game. Play for 2 hours, catastrophe occurs. Do it again. Absolute misery. Thankfully there is a mission forfeit option....
    -The game design requires you keep your settlement closed tight and all areas cleared: The problem with that is that the dynamics do not allow for mistakes. A single zombie getting into your settlement will result in absolute catastrophe and often enough this little problem is best solved by being observant - i.e. you going back and forth between places to ensure the z's do not get to where they should not be - this can get taxing very quickly.
    -This is compounded by the announcer not being specific sometimes - or changing lines so you are not quite sure what the problem is.
    -Camera seeking to locations where the disturbance takes place often requires an extra 5-30 seconds to find the offender(no indicator-you need to find them manually). However, Z's at the best of times do not look much less than citizens, infact citizens when hobbling home after a long day, seem to shamble.(I would too after a hard day's toiling!).
    -The resource monitors indicators also are tucked into the bottom right hand corner, and really could have been presented in a different way... I often stare at this and come away with nothing.
    -Did I mention about the building UI? i.e. not describing fellow building resource usage so you have to guess (1 of many bugs nuances)
    -Additionally to that, you cant overlap a building's coverage – This can be very frustrating -especially when alarms are going off , or you need to do your 1 minute patrol.
    -AI can be dumb so it will sit there and not shoot anything, so they need hand holding ALL the time!
    -path-finding AI can also cause you problems i.e. walking through z-wilderness instead of a settlement...
    -Adding to this, the way the walls work can block thoroughfare, but don't tell you(untill all hell breaks lose and an army walks round, rather across a gate)
    ***This list gets longer...***

    Its not too bad! Restarting a 2 hour game, however, really is :/    … Expand
  46. GurmpyCoolCat
    Sep 15, 2019
    7
    Great concept and fun gameplay. This game is more difficult than others that I have played of this genre. I would say each solo match is just so very long. They need a faster speed option for advancing time. You will kill a whole lot zombies!!
  47. CGlenn79
    Dec 18, 2020
    9
    This review is strictly for the Zombie survival portion of the game. I did not play the campain.

    Wow, This was some fun. I have played this game numerous times and at first took me some time to actually pass the map at 100%. I refused to lower it any more to beat it. I am not the avid gamer that can beat it at 800% percent but I do find 180% is about all the challenge I can handle.    This review is strictly for the Zombie survival portion of the game. I did not play the campain.

    Wow, This was some fun. I have played this game numerous times and at first took me some time to actually pass the map at 100%. I refused to lower it any more to beat it. I am not the avid gamer that can beat it at 800% percent but I do find 180% is about all the challenge I can handle.

    Since I started playing they have added a few more things for both the colony and zombies. This has added its own unique challenges and has kept the game going.

    The game does get a bit repetative and has a slow part at the beginning while you are not making money, have any troops. It gradually increases as time goes on to the point you have to pause to take care of things. If you are looking for a fun cheap game give this a shot. You will enjoy it.    … Expand
  48. MaximumGaming
    Aug 7, 2022
    6
    I think the developers dropped the ball big time, the campaign missions are very bland, there are no interesting characters or set pieces.

    The hero missions are a bore, you walk your hero around a large complex and slowly shot things. where's the interesting dialog or interactions? The hero is underutilised the points you put into him are simple things like higher attack or health, why    I think the developers dropped the ball big time, the campaign missions are very bland, there are no interesting characters or set pieces.

    The hero missions are a bore, you walk your hero around a large complex and slowly shot things. where's the interesting dialog or interactions? The hero is underutilised the points you put into him are simple things like higher attack or health, why can't you give him abilities that help your army or make him semi powerful by himself to encourage reply. He doesn't even join your army.

    The swarm missions are dull, we could of been given different objectives with a small force etc.

    Games like Starcraft 2, warcraft, spellforce, command & conquer deliver a much more immersive story which this game sadly lacks.

    To sum up the campaign disappoints in every way possible, it's only worth buying for the survival mode.    … Expand
  49. apokalipto
    Aug 13, 2023
    9
    Very good game. I enjoyed playing this game a lot. I strongly recommend this.
  50. RealPlayer666
    Dec 20, 2020
    6
    Strong 6 score. There is too many completely rubbish technology's in game, it's almost impossible to play at many different way (RTS suppose to have that option), and you can bite you enemies (this is strategy game not arcade). However nice graphics, high difficult level and many options.
  51. Strelock
    Feb 18, 2022
    1
    no saves during the missions. good that i played for free. it is not worse any money
  52. kerkdeller
    Jan 8, 2023
    7
    Im not too well versed in strategy games, but Im glad I found this as a more simplified RTS experience. Feels very reminiscent of Age Of Mythology. Can be frustrating to spend 1 hour + on a match only to fail and have to start all over again, but that's generally the gameplay loop of these games.

Awards & Rankings

68
#68 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019
53
#53 Most Shared PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Games.cz
    Aug 19, 2019
    70
    Solid, but unbalanced mix of strategy genres. It suffers from several suspect design choices that all but destroy the tempo of the game, further exacerbated by a lacklustre story campaign.
    Read full review
  2. Game Informer
    Jul 23, 2019
    80
    They Are Billions is an interesting mashup of classic RTS, tower defense, and survival that successfully conjures up that “one more game” feel, assuming you can persevere through countless defeats.
    Read full review
  3. Wccftech
    Jul 15, 2019
    85
    They Are Billions offers an almost perfect gameplay loop, mixing tower-defence with city building and exploration, as you balance resource-management, defence and offense, all against your ever-impending doom at the hands of a world infested with the undead. The only downside to a game that looks and sounds great, offering a tense experience in a compelling setting, is a campaign that doesn't fully make-use of the gameplay loop perfected by Numantian Games, leaving the campaign feeling weak, compared to the survival mode, which is the real draw.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »