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

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  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
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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
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