Bastide
- February 26, 2020
- MedievalNexus
- 24h median play time
Get on Steam"Bastide is an Early Access, single-player strategy game set in the 13th century, built with Unreal Engine 5 and offering 23+ hours of playtime. Construct and manage a village to survive against threats, assign peasants to jobs, gather resources, and expand into a fortified town across procedurally generated maps. Future updates include mods, exploration, and trading with neighbors."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a fun and engaging experience with a mix of survival and city-building mechanics, allowing players to set their own difficulty levels.
- The developer is very active, providing regular updates and listening to community feedback, which shows a commitment to improving the game.
- The game has a lot of potential with its unique features, such as gridless building and a detailed weather system, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
- The game is currently in an unfinished state, with many features not working as intended, leading to confusion and frustration for players.
- Graphics and performance issues are prevalent, with some players experiencing crashes and lag, especially at higher population levels.
- There is a lack of clear guidance and tutorials, making it difficult for new players to understand the mechanics and objectives of the game.
- graphics16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players finding them average or outdated, reminiscent of games from 2010, while others appreciate the aesthetic and potential for improvement. There are mentions of technical glitches and a lack of differentiation in visual elements, but some users note that the graphics are acceptable and contribute to an enjoyable gameplay experience. Overall, the visuals are seen as a work in progress, with room for enhancement.
“It is a fun game overall with nice graphics and realistic gameplay.”
“The graphics are modest, but not cartoon.”
“Otherwise a good initial start, keep up the good work, I like the graphic aesthetics and seasons.”
“I don't like the graphics; it looks like a 2010 game and lacks 3D models.”
“Graphically weaker than 'Ostriv'.”
“Very boring, not a lot of content, poor graphics, clear rip-off of games like 'Banished' crossed with 'Dawn of Man'.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is generally enjoyable with appealing graphics and realistic mechanics, but it suffers from generic features common in similar titles, such as manual work recruitment and unclear trade mechanics. Players have noted issues with building placement and road snapping, which can disrupt the overall experience, and the farming mechanics are considered inferior compared to other games in the genre. While the game shows potential for improvement, many feel it currently lacks depth and longevity, suggesting that it may be worth waiting for further updates before diving in.
“It is a fun game overall with nice graphics and realistic gameplay.”
“I'm a big fan of city builders; Bastide seems to be a mix of Banished and Dawn of Man, similar concepts but different mechanics.”
“It definitely has the potential to be a fantastic game with a few visual and gameplay tweaks; if you are unsure, then perhaps wait until its full release.”
“But under the hood, there are generic mechanics from Banished-like games, plaguing literally every single one: manually set working areas, working radius around buildings, manual work recruiting.”
“The trade mechanics are not completely obvious and could use a little explanation or improvement.”
“I usually get way more hours from any game of the genre; this one just doesn't have more than a few hours of gameplay in its current state.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has seen some improvements, alleviating previous issues like excessive GPU heat. However, significant performance problems persist, particularly with higher populations, making it unplayable for many users on mid-range systems. Players express hope for further optimizations as the game continues in early access, but current performance remains a major concern.
“Last year the game caused my GPU to run extremely hot, but there have been improvements regarding optimization, and the GPU no longer gets hot.”
“Being in early access, there will no doubt be more optimizations done in the future.”
“Definitely a work in progress, needs a lot more content in general (building types, crops, other features that will help make it stand out from dozens of other similar games in the building genre), better balancing in terms of resources needed/consumed, and optimization.”
“By the end of development, you're probably going to need a pretty high-end machine to run it in late game stages and with reasonable high populations without significant issues with game performance.”
“Us normal folks absolutely cannot play this game; you need to optimize it. Performance is terrible on a 2060.”
“Once I reached a total population of 90-100 people, I noticed the game would get very laggy and occasionally freeze for brief periods of time.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and lacking depth, as farming is overly simplistic and does not present any real challenges or consequences. The mechanics are criticized for being less engaging compared to similar games in the genre, leading to a lack of motivation to continue playing. Overall, the game fails to provide a compelling reason to invest time in its settlement management systems.
“Right now it's just plain tedious.”
“Unfortunately, at present, this game has no hook - all the pieces of a settlement management game are there (farming, logging, housing, other food production, etc.) but there's no compelling reason to keep playing - you can't really fail beyond losing all your initial settlers and in that case, there isn't really anything you can do about that.”
“I'll also note that the farming and pasturage mechanics are much worse, not only than Dawn of Man and Banished, but much worse than Ostriv, which really leads in this genre.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is somewhat compromised by technical glitches, such as graphical issues where livestock blink in and out of visibility. Players recommend using the initial game session to familiarize themselves with the mechanics, as it may take time to grasp the basics before encountering potential freezes or other gameplay interruptions.
“It will take a few minutes to learn the basics of the game, so use the first game to learn until everybody freezes, starves, or the enemy kills your population.”
“Technical glitches: graphics and livestock blink on and off inside pastures.”
- music1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with users expressing a positive opinion about its quality.
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users highlight the emotional aspect of the game by noting the immersive experience of characters seemingly defying gravity while maintaining a natural walking motion, which evokes a sense of wonder and connection to the gameplay.
