Builders of Greece
- February 27, 2024
- Strategy Labs
- 20h median play time
Get on Steam"Builders of Greece" is a city-building and management game set in ancient Greece. As a ruler, you must make world-shaping decisions, command your subjects, and construct magnificent structures to make your Polis glorious. Overcome challenges and unexpected events to create a prosperous city and ensure its survival in the ancient world.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a solid foundation and shows great potential for future updates.
- Graphics are appealing and the city-building mechanics are engaging, reminiscent of classic city builders.
- Developers are responsive to feedback and have been quick to address serious bugs.
- The game is plagued with bugs, particularly with the save/load functionality, making it frustrating to play.
- Pathfinding for transporters is poorly designed, causing inefficiencies in resource management.
- The game feels incomplete with limited content, lacking essential features like military depth and religious buildings.
- graphics19 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the Greek aesthetic and immersive design, while others criticize the visuals as outdated and underwhelming for a 2020 release. Despite some graphical glitches and performance issues, many find the overall presentation appealing, though improvements are needed to enhance the experience. Overall, the graphics are considered decent for the genre, but not without significant room for improvement.
“I really like the layout and graphics of the game; it's easy to learn and to play.”
“Builders of Greece is an immersive city-building game that brings ancient Greece to life with stunning graphics and authentic architecture.”
“The graphics are nice, and the camera feature is fine.”
“Unfortunately, in the times of 2020 and beyond, games of this genre should not still have graphics and animations quality in a state that someone would actually refund a game, go buy a 2006 game, and then feel better rewarded.”
“All the logic interface and graphics are like 10 years ago.”
“The visuals are rough... maybe they'd have been considered good some 10 years ago.”
- gameplay18 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The gameplay is described as engaging and smooth, combining city management, resource allocation, and strategic planning, though it currently suffers from limited warfare mechanics and repetitive events. Players have noted the need for improvements in AI behavior, user interface, and overall depth, as well as a desire for more dynamic interactions and features. While the game shows potential, it is still in early access and requires further polishing to enhance the overall experience.
“The gameplay is engaging, combining city management, resource allocation, and strategic planning.”
“The mechanics are very good, and I think the gameplay is pretty smooth.”
“Still early days, but the gameplay is fun and good.”
“As it's in early access, I have a few suggestions for improvement: enhancing the AI behavior to make city interactions more dynamic, adding more historical events and challenges to deepen the gameplay, and refining the user interface for a smoother experience.”
“The game has been released as an early access and, therefore, is under development, and the gameplay might change with updated versions until it reaches version 1.0.”
“Camera is clunky (and too close), roads look like they are a simple brown line, the gameplay loop is not satisfying, the war minigame is like the 90's war video games, constructing just doesn't feel good as in other games... really need to polish details to feel good, don't buy now.”
- optimization9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a significant concern, with players reporting severe performance issues, especially in the late game and with high population counts. While there are indications that developers are aware of these problems and plan to address them, current gameplay experiences are marred by low frame rates and instability, even on capable hardware.
“Optimized all service building ranges, etc.”
“The achievements work fine now too, and the building optimization was really needed.”
“The biggest problem at the moment is optimization, but as the developers promise, by the final version of the game this will be fixed.”
“I think this game has massive potential, but without further optimization it quickly becomes unplayable.”
“The biggest problem at the moment is optimization, but as the developers promise by the final version of the game this will be fixed.”
“Because the performance is not playable, even after only 3 hours on a medium graphics setting, I only have 10 fps with a new gaming PC.”
- stability8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting frequent crashes, graphical glitches, and significant pathfinding issues that hinder gameplay. Many players find the experience nearly unplayable due to these bugs, particularly during tasks like building roads or loading save files, which often result in freezes and corrupted data. Overall, the game's current state is seen as a major drawback, leading to recommendations against purchasing it until significant improvements are made.
“Additionally, addressing some of the reported bugs, such as occasional crashes when saving the game, graphical glitches in certain building animations, and pathfinding issues for citizens, would greatly enhance the overall experience.”
“The concept is good, but the game is so full of glitches and stutter that it's almost unplayable.”
“Everything freezes and forces you to ctrl+alt+delete and go to the PC task manager to close the game.”
- music3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The music in the game is praised for its immersive quality and thematic fit, enhancing the overall experience. However, some players find it becomes monotonous over time, which may detract from long-term enjoyment. Overall, while the soundtrack contributes positively, there are mixed feelings about its longevity.
“The variety of building options and customization, along with the immersive soundtrack, make it a joy to play.”
“Great music, lovely graphics, a grumpy but not hopeless personality, and a solid core premise.”
“The music gets really monotonous after some time, but it does fit the theme well.”
“The soundtrack lacks variety and quickly becomes repetitive.”
“While the music complements the atmosphere, it fails to engage or excite over time.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the repetitive nature of rituals required to increase worship grades, with some expressing a desire for more visual differentiation between temples dedicated to different gods. The current mechanics make it feel like temples lack meaningful functionality, contributing to the overall sense of monotony.
“When you assign a temple to a god, the color trim or theme of the temple should change so you have an overview of which god is where. Do temples do anything? It feels like at the moment they don't; only rituals heighten the worship grade, and it's tedious to click every 30 seconds.”
“The grinding in this game is excessive and feels more like a chore than an enjoyable experience. It takes away from the fun and makes progress feel painfully slow.”
“I find myself spending more time grinding for resources than actually enjoying the gameplay. It becomes repetitive and frustrating, detracting from the overall experience.”
- story1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game currently offers limited content, featuring only one of eight campaign missions and one of eight maps available in sandbox mode, suggesting a lack of depth in the story experience at this stage.
“The story feels incomplete, as if it's just a series of disconnected events rather than a cohesive narrative.”
“Character development is lacking, making it hard to care about their fates or motivations.”
“The dialogue is often clichéd and uninspired, failing to engage the player or enhance the overall experience.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The limited availability of only one playable map significantly hinders the game's replayability, making it challenging for players to find new experiences.
“The variety of choices and outcomes keeps me coming back for more, making each playthrough feel fresh and exciting.”
“With multiple character builds and strategies to explore, the replayability is off the charts!”
“Every time I play, I discover new secrets and paths, which makes me want to dive back in again and again.”
“I can get over the fact that at the moment there is only one playable map, although it makes replayability hard.”
“The lack of variety in missions really limits the replayability; once you've played through them, there's not much incentive to go back.”
“After completing the game, I found little reason to replay it since the choices I made had minimal impact on the outcome.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate dissatisfaction with the game's monetization, suggesting that it may involve misleading advertising, as players feel the actual content and quality do not match their expectations. The limited and poorly designed buildings, particularly the high-cost options, contribute to a negative perception of the game's value.
“This game is nowhere close to what I imagined it to be. The buildings are poorly designed, especially the ones that are supposed to be the most expensive and important 'great looking buildings.' There are only 3 or 4, and they are ugly as well, including the Agora.”
“The monetization in this game feels exploitative. It seems like every feature is locked behind a paywall, making it frustrating for players who don't want to spend extra money.”
“I was really disappointed with the monetization strategy. It feels like the developers are more interested in making money than providing a fun experience for players.”
