Emerge: Cities of the Apocalypse
- April 27, 2016
- Emilios Manolidis
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"Emerge: Cities of the Apocalypse" is a post-apocalyptic survival strategy game. Build and manage your own city in a harsh, procedurally generated world filled with danger and scarce resources. Defend against raiders, mutants, and other threats as you work to rebuild society. Remember, every decision you make could mean the difference between survival and extinction.
Reviews
- The game offers a fun blend of turn-based strategy and real-time combat, providing a unique gameplay experience.
- There is a good variety of character classes, weapons, and unlockable content, which adds depth and replayability.
- The game successfully captures the tension of a zombie apocalypse, making each decision feel impactful and rewarding.
- The game suffers from repetitive gameplay and a lack of meaningful progression, as players often start from scratch in each mission.
- Many players experience frequent crashes and technical issues, particularly on newer operating systems, which detracts from the overall experience.
- The user interface and menu design are considered clunky and unintuitive, making navigation frustrating for some players.
- gameplay18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a simple core mechanic that revolves around class and weapon choices, leading to repetitive experiences across stages. While some players find it enjoyable with decent replay value and clever design, others criticize it for being mediocre and lacking depth. Overall, the game offers a mix of basic mechanics and unique elements, appealing to those who appreciate resource management and turn-based strategies, but may not satisfy players seeking more complex gameplay.
“Had a blast playing this one; the game itself offers a very simple core gameplay that revolves around your class and weapons of choice.”
“Overall, a pretty solid game with decent graphics, music, sounds, and gameplay for a small fee.”
“It is surprisingly in-depth from the get-go, without being hard to understand, and it improves on its mechanics as you move along.”
“So the game is simply mediocre mobile-type gameplay.”
“The gameplay is okay, but it's not fun enough to play the same very basic start over and over and over.”
“[b]Gameplay[/b] leaves a lot to be desired.”
- story18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for its lack of meaningful continuity between missions, leading to a repetitive and grindy experience. Players feel frustrated by the absence of a cohesive narrative and the inability to carry over progress or items, which detracts from the overall engagement with the campaign. While there are some interesting mechanics, such as class-based objectives and a progression system, the disjointed nature of the missions makes it difficult for players to feel invested in the story.
“There is a progression system that allows you to choose perks between missions as well as a skill system for the soldiers you get, which there are classes to choose.”
“You'll have to save cities (or die trying) by capturing/defending territories (an amount is required in each mission) and by doing a special objective (the real condition to win that matters).”
“You start off on a world map and as you clear out zones of zombies, new zones with new mission objectives will show up.”
“After 2 hours and 3 maps with barely any sort of meaningful carryover from previous missions, it's feeling like a chore.”
“Deal breaker, but it's very personal: the campaign doesn't make any sense, you only take a few items into the next mission, and it's quite hard and slow-paced, so it doesn't feel right to play everything all over again.”
“Thus the game can feel like a grind due to lack of persistence between missions and reliance on unlockable content to customize your own sandbox game.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players noting low resolution and dated visuals, while others appreciate the simple yet effective art style that complements the gameplay. Despite the technical limitations, many find the aesthetics fitting for the game's setting, and overall, the graphics are considered decent for a smaller title.
“I normally go for more graphics, but this game more than makes up for that with its constant twists and turns.”
“Art work and the feel of it works well for the setting and gameplay.”
“Graphics are on the money; the board game-esque aesthetics are pleasant to the eye and the atmosphere captures the zombie apocalypse times we're all going through in the game world right now.”
“While I can stomach the low resolution and low quality visuals, the main offender with visuals is that the game does not revert to my preferred display resolution upon finally exiting.”
“Other than graphics and repetitiveness in the game, I don't have any problems with the game.”
“It is a bit tricky at first and the graphics are dated, but if you give it a chance you will agree it is $8 well spent.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game "emerge: cities of the apocalypse" offers significant replayability through the unlocking of various classes, traits, and map modifiers, enhancing its value for players. While the gameplay can become repetitive if overplayed, the diverse elements ensure that returning to the game remains engaging. Overall, it is praised for its fun mechanics and potential for countless hours of gameplay, making it a worthwhile experience for those who enjoy challenges and variety.
“While the same elements that offer such high replayability can cause someone to burn out if played too much, they ensure that every time you return, the game still holds its appeal.”
“Bottom line, emerge is a very fun game that offers a lot of replayability as long as you allow yourself to take a break whenever you begin to find it too repetitive.”
“There is an element of replayability, with the chance to unlock different classes (some hidden), traits, and map modifiers.”
“An amalgam of turn-based strategy and real-time 'tower-defense' genres, the game is deceptively simple-looking for the replayability it offers.”
- music4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as a decent futuristic techno grunge that complements the setting and art, although some players find it somewhat annoying. Overall, it contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, enhancing the experience despite mixed feelings about its repetitiveness.
“The setting, art, and music choices all work seamlessly, and the gameplay, while basic, does provide enough replay value to make this game good value for your money.”
“Overall, a pretty solid game with decent graphics, music, sounds, and gameplay for a small fee.”
“The soundtrack is a decent futuristic techno grunge.”
“Music is kinda annoying but at least it's not some rock or techno.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively repetitive and tedious, often leading to boredom after short play sessions. While some consider manipulating game mechanics to expedite progress, the overall sentiment is that the grind detracts from the enjoyment of the game.
“Still, I gotta stick with it for completion's sake, and it's so grindy. I guess I could just manipulate a small level to have everything controlled and then just grind the turns until the 3 million credits or the 200k crystals are earned, but I get so bored; I can't play it for more than 30 minutes now.”
“It also becomes very, very repetitive and grindy.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent crashes and glitches that often require players to restart or revert their saves. While some users express patience with these problems, they note that the game's performance feels outdated compared to modern standards.
“I have tried to be patient with this game, and I know it isn't complex, but it is as buggy as a game released 10 years ago. I don't expect to have to restart the game each time I succeed in combat.”
“This game has a few issues with crashing and sometimes glitches that make you have to revert your save or restart your game, but this is the fault of the engine it runs on, not the developers of the game.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's graphics and board game-inspired aesthetics effectively create an immersive atmosphere that captures the essence of a zombie apocalypse, resonating with players' current experiences.
“The graphics are spot on; the board game-esque aesthetics are pleasant to the eye, and the overall atmosphere captures the essence of the zombie apocalypse we're experiencing in the game world right now.”
“The immersive sound design and haunting visuals create a chilling atmosphere that keeps you on edge throughout the game.”
“The combination of eerie music and detailed environments truly brings the world to life, making you feel like you're part of a post-apocalyptic reality.”
