There's a lot of civilization building/management games out there, but I think this one really stands out. It has a ton of charm, a unique and pleasant style, and some fun comedy. Most games of this category tend to just throw you into blank slate world with bland tutorials and let you be on your way. There's nothing wrong with that, but it does leave something to be desired by the eventual ladder half of the game. It's very easy to lose interest in your settlement and your people.

However, The Universim grabs your attention from the beginning with it's stunning and comedic intro. It pulls you in right from the start, and keeps your attention due to the charismatic (and sometimes sassy) narrator. I really can't stress enough the amount of charm that this game oozes and brings it well above its counterparts.

Now for the gameplay. There's the standard needs of your citizens that come with every settlement game: hunger, thirst, sleep, and the like. You place facilities and give your "nuggets" jobs to maintain their, and everyone else's needs. The only thing that you don't have to worry about from the beginning is housing. As people are born and the population increases, the game automatically places housing to be built around you town center. At first I wasn't too happy with that system. But I grew to enjoy not having to worry about population control and making sure everyone was sheltered.

Overall I'm very impressed with the systems in place and the games ability to keep me enraptured. However, there are some major bugs and fine tuning needed to be done. Such as frequent crashes and certain AI quirks. I refuse to let those bring down this review, after all, the game is still in beta and early access which heavily imply that these problems and bugs will be fixed before the final release of the game. Especially if you take the time to try this game out and help to report bugs.

TLDR; Amazing game already, and I can't wait to see this game polished and shipped.

There's a lot of civilization building/management games out there, but I think this one really stands out. It has a ton of charm, a unique and pleasant style, and some fun comedy. Most games of this category tend to just throw you into blank slate world with bland tutorials and let you be on your way. There's nothing wrong with that, but it does leave something to be desired by the eventual ladder half of the game. It's very easy to lose interest in your settlement and your people. However, The Universim grabs your attention from the beginning with it's stunning and comedic intro. It pulls you in right from the start, and keeps your attention due to the charismatic (and sometimes sassy) narrator. I really can't stress enough the amount of charm that this game oozes and brings it well above its counterparts. Now for the gameplay. There's the standard needs of your citizens that come with every settlement game: hunger, thirst, sleep, and the like. You place facilities and give your "nuggets" jobs to maintain their, and everyone else's needs. The only thing that you don't have to worry about from the beginning is housing. As people are born and the population increases, the game automatically places housing to be built around you town center. At first I wasn't too happy with that system. But I grew to enjoy not having to worry about population control and making sure everyone was sheltered. Overall I'm very impressed with the systems in place and the games ability to keep me enraptured. However, there are some major bugs and fine tuning needed to be done. Such as frequent crashes and certain AI quirks. I refuse to let those bring down this review, after all, the game is still in beta and early access which heavily imply that these problems and bugs will be fixed before the final release of the game. Especially if you take the time to try this game out and help to report bugs. TLDR; Amazing game already, and I can't wait to see this game polished and shipped.