Due on Steam this February. I had an ant farm that looked a little like this gameplay video …
Banished is one of those games that’s going to appeal to a particular kind of gamer, probably the type that spends weeks at a time lost in something like Minecraft or the Anno series. If you’re wondering who the Banished are, that’s your rag-tag band of travelers, who have the clothes on their backs, a few wagons’ worth of supplies, and a dream: that one day they’ll have a town of their very own. Manage their lives, and they’ll build. And build. And build. It’s oddly relaxing to watch, as this hour-long gameplay video demonstrates.
No, you can’t have an army, or a castle, or even a pointy stick. That’s not what this game is about, but if you want ways to get your people killed, take your pick: disease, starvation, hypothermia, drought, accident, vermin infestation, and later on, fires and other natural disasters, if designer Luke Hodorowicz – who’s been making this thing on his lonesome for the last three years – gets time to put them all in.
There aren’t technological upgrades as such, but as your town gets more complex you can start handing out more complex jobs, like herbalist, miner and blacksmith. But be careful not to over-farm, over-fish or hunt the wildlife to extinction, because managing your environment is as important as managing your people.
“The only way you can really be done is to maximize everything,” says Hodorowicz. “At some point you’ll be out of land, so you can’t build any more houses without cutting into your food production. At that point, the town is probably ‘done.'”
Banished will debut on Steam February 18th, for about $20. There’s a Wiki FAQ over here.
Source: PC Gamer
