Banished is a real time strategy game that is based around building a community in the wilderness. Whilst this game may appear to look like your average city building/real time strategy game it is radically different on many fronts.
As a starting point this game is a refreshing and tough game to play on. This game is unlike many other games within this genre as they are often based around building and/or combat. This game instead is based around survival and managing the environment and resources available in a generated landscape. However unlike many other games you aren’t against other players but rather Nature itself. Inevitably comparing this game to other games within the genre is hard for many reasons.
Firstly this game involves planning in order to get anywhere progress wise. You not only have to plan and design the location of what building is going where. You have to manage both the resources you have and the procedure by which they are obtained. On paper it seems easy enough to master the game. However you have to source the materials to build the building and the manpower to run it. On top of this some resources once they run out, you are then unable to obtain that resource through your buildings.
I also like the authenticity of the details as this game is realistic in many ways. In particular with the environment as players will have to consider the weather in game. Mainly due to the implications for heating and crop production. Life is also fragile in this game. As your settlers need things like food and heat to survive. On top of this it is easy to lose settlers as they can die in a plethora of different ways whether it is through illnesses, injuries, environmental effects or even old age. Due of how brutal the environment is in this game, it must always be taken into account. Inevitably in this game you are hoping for the best whilst preparing for the worst.
Gameplay wise Banished is a city building game that is orientated around survival and resource management. Players in this game manage resources that are available namely food and raw materials in order to increase the likelihood of survival. However the small amount of citizens you have will grow your settlement(s) by various means including natural birth. To manage increased demands players construct various buildings in each settlement. At the start you will mostly be concentrating on building facilities that enable food production, housing and obtaining basic resources. But later on you can build various facilities such as a chapel and even a trade post.
There are also various economic features in the game that you can partake in. Whilst in the game at the start will only have micro management features for setting the amount of people in each job. This will be a feature you will monitor as if you have too many people in one job. The consequences will be dire as you will not have enough resources and waste precious time. The main economic (in a financial sense) feature in the game is a trade post. In the trading post you trade items for items but each item is worth so much in points. For example if a trader has wheat seeds which is worth 2500 points if you wanted to get it would can trade 625 pieces of firewood for it.
Overall I will happily recommend Banished to fans of simulation and strategy games. Especially for anyone who is looking for a unique and challenging strategy game.
