What a wonderful game. Highly recommended if you like puzzles, planning, and resource management.

I didn't go in expecting much, but it's been two weeks and over 100 hours and I'm sitting here now after having completed all of the levels and 100%-ing the achievements and just wanted to leave a review for those on the fence.

This is a great little city builder that is broken down into individual level challenges but also has a sandbox mode when you want to keep playing after completing the story. Each level offered unique tasks and had me slowing down and thinking things through or else I'd find myself short on resources or growing in angry townsfolk. The most remarkable aspect of these levels is simply how well balanced they are. You *will* have a way to win each level if you put in the time and effort to think it through and experiment, but some are won so narrowly it is clear how deliberate and well thought-out they are. I never got frustrated, but always felt under the gun. A tough balance to strike. A big thumbs up to the designers who put these together. It kept me coming back for more.

Not too much to say on the different aspects of the game's design: The UI is clean and useable and offers both high level, and detailed views of resources and progress. Controls are straightforward and don't overwhelm. The artwork is simple and fun and I think this is a fitting approach to this type of game where more detail would just add unnecessary clutter. Sound and music is unremarkable but no complaints there (I tend to turn off music anyways). The fanfare for completing levels is rewarding. There isn't a cohesive story per-say in the base game, but that is simply due to the nature of the game's design (note: there is somewhat of a serial narrative in one of the DLCs which was an interesting and engaging way of explaining the challenges)

Only criticisms I would mention is a repeated crash I have experienced in the sandbox, which is a very minor thing for me. Could just be my save game so YMMV. The game seems to save after every day/night cycle, so a reload and I'm back in the game. Also pathing roads could be made easier through dense forest if there was a way to remove tree foliage in tactical view. Neither of these affected my playthrough to any significant degree, and are things observed and highlighted after only dozens of hours of playtime.

I've seen some digs on the DLC in other reviews. I immediately purchased them as they added probably another 30-40 hours for me, and they all had the same level of quality the base game had. My recommendation? Buy the base game, and if like me, you want more, get the DLCs.

I highly recommend it if you enjoy solving puzzles; This isn't an over-handed city builder. There's no fat here. It's a simple but challenging game that isn't trying to do too much, but what it does it does really well.

What a wonderful game. Highly recommended if you like puzzles, planning, and resource management. I didn't go in expecting much, but it's been two weeks and over 100 hours and I'm sitting here now after having completed all of the levels and 100%-ing the achievements and just wanted to leave a review for those on the fence. This is a great little city builder that is broken down into individual level challenges but also has a sandbox mode when you want to keep playing after completing the story. Each level offered unique tasks and had me slowing down and thinking things through or else I'd find myself short on resources or growing in angry townsfolk. The most remarkable aspect of these levels is simply how well balanced they are. You *will* have a way to win each level if you put in the time and effort to think it through and experiment, but some are won so narrowly it is clear how deliberate and well thought-out they are. I never got frustrated, but always felt under the gun. A tough balance to strike. A big thumbs up to the designers who put these together. It kept me coming back for more. Not too much to say on the different aspects of the game's design: The UI is clean and useable and offers both high level, and detailed views of resources and progress. Controls are straightforward and don't overwhelm. The artwork is simple and fun and I think this is a fitting approach to this type of game where more detail would just add unnecessary clutter. Sound and music is unremarkable but no complaints there (I tend to turn off music anyways). The fanfare for completing levels is rewarding. There isn't a cohesive story per-say in the base game, but that is simply due to the nature of the game's design (note: there is somewhat of a serial narrative in one of the DLCs which was an interesting and engaging way of explaining the challenges) Only criticisms I would mention is a repeated crash I have experienced in the sandbox, which is a very minor thing for me. Could just be my save game so YMMV. The game seems to save after every day/night cycle, so a reload and I'm back in the game. Also pathing roads could be made easier through dense forest if there was a way to remove tree foliage in tactical view. Neither of these affected my playthrough to any significant degree, and are things observed and highlighted after only dozens of hours of playtime. I've seen some digs on the DLC in other reviews. I immediately purchased them as they added probably another 30-40 hours for me, and they all had the same level of quality the base game had. My recommendation? Buy the base game, and if like me, you want more, get the DLCs. I highly recommend it if you enjoy solving puzzles; This isn't an over-handed city builder. There's no fat here. It's a simple but challenging game that isn't trying to do too much, but what it does it does really well.