Dream Engines: Nomad Cities

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Dream Engines: Nomad Cities is a single-player Science Fiction Role Playing game with masterful visuals. As the last surviving society, you must build and manage a flying city, ensuring your population and economy thrive. Fortify and defend your city against the Dream Plagues, but be prepared to pack up and flee when the danger becomes too great. The game features heavy grinding elements to challenge players.

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 213 reviews

gameplay11 positive mentions

grinding13 negative mentions

Unique blend of city building, resource management, and tower defense mechanics that keeps gameplay engaging.
Visually appealing art style and immersive music enhance the overall experience.
The ability to move your city to different biomes adds strategic depth and variety to gameplay.

Combat mechanics are simplistic and can feel tedious, detracting from the overall enjoyment.
Resource management can become overwhelming due to the numerous types and the need for constant micromanagement.
The game can feel repetitive as players are forced to rebuild their city frequently after moving to new maps.

gameplay
66 mentions
17 % positive mentions
74 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a blend of factory management and light hack-and-slash mechanics, offering players a mix of combat and resource management. While the core mechanics are solid and provide some engaging choices, many players find the gameplay loop repetitive and lacking in unique surprises, with some design choices leading to frustration. Overall, the game shows potential for improvement and expansion, particularly in its exploration and combat elements, but currently feels like a simplified version of similar titles.
- “A fun factory/logistics sim with some light hack & slash ARPG mechanics too, in the form of a little robot avatar.”
- “The gameplay is a mixture of simple combat, medium complexity production line management, and very complex base management.”
- “Great game, a great combination of automation/defense (Factorio style) gameplay mixed with perk building (light RPG elements).”
- “Unfortunately, as of writing, maps don't really contain any kinds of unexpected surprises or unique gameplay mechanics, as much of the variation comes from resource availability and stat altering bonuses and penalties.”
- “There does not seem to be anything that unique about the core gameplay loop.”
- “It does nothing particularly well and in its current state, it plays like a stripped down version of Factorio that lacks the detail in mechanics, but doubles the tedium making you remake your base every hour.”
graphics
28 mentions
50 % positive mentions
39 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are generally praised for their unique and appealing art style, particularly its fantastical steampunk aesthetics, which enhance the overall experience. However, some users noted a lack of visual diversity in environments and assets, leading to a somewhat repetitive feel during gameplay. Overall, while the visuals are considered good and enjoyable, there is room for improvement in terms of variety and detail.
- “Loved the aesthetic and the gameplay :)”
- “This game has great potential and a beautiful art style, a very good buy.”
- “Great visuals and idea!”
- “So apart from biome visuals, the landing zones don't really stand out much from one another.”
- “Fuzzy, undetailed graphics.”
- “But mostly same enemies, resources, etc. not much graphically diverse; very few assets.”
grinding
15 mentions
7 % positive mentions
7 % neutral mentions
87 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often requiring excessive effort to gather resources and clear maps. While some players may appreciate the grind, many feel it detracts from the overall enjoyment, making the experience feel more like a chore than fun. Suggestions for improvement include streamlining resource management and introducing blueprints to reduce the monotony.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “It gets quite tedious for a single long run, and even after release some areas feel unpolished enough.”
- “The byproduct of all this is that the game just becomes tedious.”
- “Right now it is very tedious to clear the maps and by the time you're done the resources are depleted or the danger level is too high.”
music
12 mentions
25 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising it as fantastic and immersive, while others find it limited and repetitive, expressing a desire for more tracks. Overall, the music complements the game's aesthetic, but the lack of variety is a common concern among users.
- “Different rule sets and maps to play with and sick music to set the mood.”
- “Music is alright but the game only has a few tracks, so hopefully they add more.”
- “Their music, graphic artists, and coders with team suncrash® are doing a bang up job!”
- “The Halloween-type music gets old quickly, and the enemies look pretty lame.”
- “Music is alright, but the game only has a few tracks, so hopefully they add more.”
- “There's only a few music tracks, but I'm guessing they will expand on that.”
story
8 mentions
25 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
The game's story and setting are generally well-received, though some players find it lacking depth or coherence. While the graphics are praised, the narrative is described as mediocre, with gameplay mechanics that can lead to frustrating experiences due to random resource placement. Overall, the story does not seem to be a strong point for many players.
- “The story and setting are great as well.”
- “The game graphics are good, and the story is okay.”
- “No story.”
- “Story?”
- “Update, January 2023: unfortunately, same story.”
stability
2 mentions
150 % positive mentions
-100 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game is stable and free of bugs, indicating a solid performance in its early access phase. However, there are concerns about its overall quality and potential, suggesting that while it functions well, it may lack engaging content.
- “Tons of potential and a solid, bug-free early access.”
- “The game runs smoothly without any crashes or major issues.”
- “I appreciate how stable the gameplay feels; it really enhances the overall experience.”
- “It's not buggy at all, it's just bad.”
replayability
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the game highly replayable due to the introduction of new tribes with unique advantages, enhancing the gameplay experience and making it suitable for speedrunning.
- “New tribes with unique advantages will be added, which alone will make this game very replayable and fit for speedrunning.”
- “Fun game and replayable.”
atmosphere
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is whimsical and reminiscent of Tim Burton's style, appealing to fans of his aesthetic. However, players express frustration over a lack of clarity regarding certain gameplay mechanics, such as the implications of specific tags like "harvesting."
- “If you are a huge fan of Tim Burton or just drawn to the whimsical atmosphere of the game, this one might be just for you! :D”
emotional
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Users express strong emotional reactions to the game, with some feeling compelled to uninstall it and remove it from their favorites, indicating a significant disappointment and a lack of desire to engage with it further.
optimization
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-500 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
The game experiences minor performance issues, particularly slowing down during the end-game, but remains playable overall.
- “The game runs smoothly for the most part, but I noticed some small performance issues that tend to slow down towards the end-game. However, it's still playable.”
- “I appreciate the optimization efforts; the game performs well overall, with only minor hiccups.”
- “Despite a few performance dips in the late game, the overall optimization makes for an enjoyable experience.”
- “There are small performance issues that slow down the game towards the end-game, but it's still playable.”
- “The optimization is lacking, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during intense moments.”
- “I experienced significant lag and long loading times, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
monetization
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization of the game is viewed positively, as players appreciate supporting the developers who deliver polished experiences without resorting to cash grab tactics, making it a rare find among early access titles.
- “I mainly bought it to support the devs; their games are nice and well-polished. A 1.0 release from an early access that isn't a cash grab is like a unicorn on Steam. You can throw a rock and hit an early access title with 5-10 years of development.”