Kainga: Seeds of Civilization Review
- Platforms: Steam
- Price: $19.99
- Release Date: December 6, 2022
- Genre: Simulation, Strategy, City Builder, Survival, Management
- Developer: Erik Rempen
- Publisher: Green Man Gaming Publishing
Intro:
Heya folks, Shaun here, and I wish you all a happy new year! I’m finally back with our first review of the new year. In this one, I’m covering an indie city builder with RTS elements called Kainga: Seeds of Civilization, by Erik Rempen and Green Man Gaming Publishing. A big thank you goes out to the developer and publisher for the chance to cover the game, it’s much appreciated, thank you!
About the Game:
Kainga: Seeds of Civilization is a simulation game that combines elements of city builders, survival games, and real time strategy games into a single package.
The game puts you in control of a tribe of settlers as they try to eek out an existence in a very hostile landscape. The world that they exist in is very different from our own and is inhabited by giant creatures that can easily kill your tribesman. You also have to contend with the harsh environment which can easily destroy your village in many different ways. The longer you survive, the harsher the environment becomes as well.
When starting a new game, you’ll have the option to take on various quests that allow you to unlock new structures and tribe leaders to use during the game, among other things. These quests vary in difficulty and they require you to meet various objectives in order to complete the level.
At the start of the game, you’ll have access to only a single area of the map, but as you complete quests, you’ll gain access to new, and more dangerous, maps to play on.
Surviving the elements, and the creatures aren’t the only hazards you need to watch out for. There are also other tribes to contend with, and they aren’t always peaceful, especially if you refuse their demands or stop trade routes. Other tribes are generally much more powerful than your starting tribe so contending with them will always be difficult.
One thing I can definitely say about this game is that it’s definitely challenging. Winning requires quite a bit of planning ahead but also a little luck as well. Largely because the elements are random and one poorly timed lightning strike can burn down your entire village. Making the wrong tribe angry can also turn ugly for your tribe as well. It’s not an easy game to say the least but it’s got a solid foundation for its gameplay.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I find myself somewhat mixed regarding the game. On the one hand, I think the game has quite a few really good ideas in terms of unlockables, quests, and maps, but the gameplay loop does get pretty repetitive, and the gameplay is what matters the most. It’s not a bad game by any means, but it’ll require a solid investment of time and patience to continue winning, especially in the later maps. In the end, I’ve decided to give the game a 7 out of 10.
Thanks for reading folks, and I’ll be back with my next review soon, until next time!
