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Floodland

Floodland is a great survival sim that constantly forces you to think about your actions and make tough choices.
Floodland Game Cover
63%Game Brain Score
gameplay, story
optimization, stability
56% User Score Based on 491 reviews
Critic Score 71%Based on 12 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
Floodland Game Cover

About

Floodland is a single player survival strategy game. It was developed by Vile Monarch and was released on November 15, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

Floodland is a single-player strategy game with a good story, great game mechanics, and a wonderful soundtrack. The game boasts pretty visuals, a spectacular atmosphere, and talented contributors from This War of Mine, Dying Light, Hard West, and more. However, it suffers from optimization issues, bugs, and can be quite grinding.

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56%
Audience ScoreBased on 491 reviews
gameplay41 positive mentions
optimization25 negative mentions

  • The game features a unique post-apocalyptic setting with beautiful visuals and an engaging soundtrack.
  • Gameplay mechanics encourage strategic decision-making and resource management, making it a challenging experience.
  • The clan system adds depth to the game, requiring players to balance relationships and manage differing worldviews.
  • The game suffers from significant performance issues, especially in late-game, leading to lag and crashes.
  • Many players experience game-breaking bugs, such as corrupted save files and unresponsive quests.
  • The tutorial and early game can be confusing, making it difficult for new players to grasp the mechanics and progress effectively.
  • gameplay
    121 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Floodland draws comparisons to Frostpunk, featuring a mix of city-building and community management mechanics that can be both engaging and frustrating. While players appreciate the unique art style and some innovative mechanics, many report significant performance issues, bugs, and a lack of clarity in the clan interaction system, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite its potential and addictive gameplay loop, the game suffers from repetitiveness and technical problems that hinder enjoyment.

    • “I thoroughly enjoyed it and really appreciate the developer's unique style and well-executed mechanics.”
    • “The art and music were amazing, and the devs absolutely nailed the ambiance and setting. The gameplay is novel, and the story and progression have a way of drawing you in and making you feel for the people you manage.”
    • “The gameplay is addictive; I stayed in the same save for 6 hours in a row and didn't even see the time pass.”
    • “The inner mechanics are not well explained and you have to repeatedly stumble around trying to figure them out.”
    • “Limited gameplay, lack of direction, and an extensive lack of polish make this game pointless.”
    • “The gameplay is ultimately repetitive, with a not great story, and it can be very annoying to get some materials, while food and water seem to be in overabundance; it's not scarcity for difficulty, it's just annoyingly sluggish to develop your colony.”
  • optimization
    97 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is widely criticized, with numerous players reporting severe performance issues, including frequent crashes, long save times, and significant lag, especially in late-game scenarios with larger settlements. Many users express frustration over the lack of updates to address these problems, leading to a consensus that the game feels unpolished and poorly optimized. While some players find potential in the gameplay, the persistent technical issues overshadow the experience, making it difficult to recommend until substantial improvements are made.

    • “One good patch focusing on stability and performance, with no new content required, would make me very happy.”
    • “Despite some technical issues (memory leaks and generally poor performance at scale), it's a delightful and pretty game about recovery and building a new world.”
    • “The game has a good core, but I currently can't recommend it for how unoptimized it is; but other than that, it's a good game.”
    • “The optimization and performance of this game is absolutely terrible.”
    • “Game is still having some performance issues the further you progress, and the biggest issue I've run into was after playing and progressing for 9 hours; the game froze and afterwards all my autosaves and manual saves could no longer be loaded.”
    • “The game crashes, save files get corrupted, and has terrible optimization.”
  • story
    97 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its interesting premise and engaging narrative, while others find it underwhelming and repetitive. Many noted that technical issues, such as bugs and crashes, hindered their ability to fully experience the story, which is often described as linear and lacking depth. Overall, while the atmosphere, art, and music are praised, the story's execution and progression can feel frustrating and disconnected from the gameplay.

    • “The art and music were amazing, and the devs absolutely nailed the ambiance and setting. The gameplay is novel, and the story and progression have a way of drawing you in and making you feel for the people you manage.”
    • “Great visuals, music, and story.”
    • “The story is interesting as well, with events occurring occasionally and you have to make decisions.”
    • “The game is not really interesting, the gameplay is boring and repetitive, the story is way below average, and the performance issues are just terrible.”
    • “It's like reading a story on a bunch of soggy pages collected together and you aren't really sure whether they're all there.”
    • “The last few quests are rather boring and underwhelming.”
  • graphics
    94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising its unique art style and atmospheric visuals that evoke a comic-like aesthetic. However, several players express frustration over performance issues, including lag and low detail quality, particularly on higher settings. While the art and music are often highlighted as standout features, some users feel that the overall graphical fidelity does not meet modern gaming standards, impacting the overall experience.

    • “This game gets too much hate for a punishing group management system - it is an excellent survival management game with gorgeous graphics and stellar music.”
    • “It is incredibly atmospheric, nailing the visuals and aesthetics.”
    • “The pastel canvas style of graphics is just beautiful even though it portrays desperation and requires determination to explore the world further.”
    • “I feel that for a game that was made in modern gaming times, the graphics of this city builder are rather poor. I would expect this to have far better graphic quality than what is being offered.”
    • “Game graphics are terrible.”
    • “I had to put all the details to the lower setting and turn off any feature in graphics just to be able to finish the game.”
  • music
    71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many players praising its beautiful and immersive soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. Reviewers noted that the music is not only memorable but also reactive to in-game events, creating a strong emotional connection. While some found the music to be a standout feature, a few critiques mentioned it could be repetitive or not to their taste, but overall, it significantly contributes to the game's appeal.

    • “I was truly blown away by how good the music is.”
    • “The music is killer as well.”
    • “The soundtrack is beautiful and the game looks amazing.”
    • “Stolen soundtrack from RimWorld?”
    • “Music is not great.”
    • “Annoying music.”
  • stability
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, crashes, and performance issues, particularly during late-game scenarios. While some players have noted improvements after patches, many still experience significant problems, including corrupted files and frequent lock-ups, leading to frustration and refunds. Overall, the game remains unstable and in need of further polish to enhance the user experience.

    • “The game runs great; I haven't encountered any major bugs or crashes.”
    • “The stability of the game is impressive; it runs smoothly without any interruptions.”
    • “I've played for hours without any issues; the game is very stable.”
    • “Still a bit buggy, crashed once while I was saving but loaded fine afterwards.”
    • “Game so buggy it lags like crazy in end game and literally creates a map without enough resources for you to finish the game.”
    • “Really buggy, got a refund, then saw fixes came out for the issues I had, rebought as I wanted to support the devs, bugs ahoy again, sadly cannot get a refund now and appears to be effectively not getting fixes from what I can see in the discussion board, shame had high hopes.”
  • atmosphere
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive visuals, engaging soundtrack, and unique art style, creating a captivating environment that enhances gameplay. Players appreciate the moody and colorful aesthetics, alongside a complex tech tree and meaningful choices that contribute to a relaxing yet engaging experience. While some reviews note that the atmosphere may not be fully immersive for everyone, the overall consensus highlights its strong atmospheric qualities as a key strength of the game.

    • “It is incredibly atmospheric, nailing the visuals and aesthetics.”
    • “The story and atmosphere is immersive and the soundtrack is awesome.”
    • “It's atmospheric, with beautiful and surprisingly colorful visuals.”
    • “The atmosphere isn't immersive enough to make me care about what's happening on screen.”
    • “While it can be played for the atmosphere, it doesn't fully engage the player.”
    • “There's atmosphere, but it lacks a compelling story and meaningful choices to engage with.”
  • replayability
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed among users. While some enjoyed their initial playthrough, many felt that the limited starting factions, repetitive map layouts, and lack of significant gameplay variations diminished long-term replay value. However, a few players noted that the game's depth, choices, and potential for different experiences could enhance replayability for those seeking more engagement.

    • “No bugs (for me at least), lots of replayability, and just overall a fun experience!”
    • “The game has tons of replayability and length along with tons of detail, dialogue, and decisions you need to make which influence your society.”
    • “There was a lot of replayability factors in Floodland I loved, and a strong political message.”
    • “I'm not sure how much replayability there is aside from starting with a different clan or a different difficulty. Even if the maps are randomized, it doesn't feel like there are any outside pressures that would shape it otherwise.”
    • “Replayability is not that strong for this game, because the tiles or islands are the same, so you can kind of figure out how to best utilize the space.”
    • “They say there is replay value, but not really when you can only select from 4 starting factions, and I've had to restart way more than 4 times.”
  • grinding
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly in the late game where resource gathering and exploration become monotonous. Many reviewers noted that the initial enjoyment fades after a few hours due to the overwhelming amount of micromanagement and the limited mechanics available, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, the grind detracts significantly from the game's potential enjoyment.

    • “I was going to give a positive review since the game looked like it made a few steps more than your usual indie city builder games, but man, after maybe 4 hours the game got so boring and grindy, and the content became dull and repetitive. I had to force myself to finish it.”
    • “This game thus becomes far too tedious a way to spend my time.”
    • “Late game seemingly consists of an extended grind for research and advanced resources, which is tedious, especially with being limited to only one explorer team to go out and find stuff.”
  • emotional
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express a mixed emotional experience, appreciating the opportunity to connect with characters and feel a sense of purpose in their leadership role, despite a lack of urgency in the storyline. However, the frustration of encountering unplayable saves near the endgame creates a heartbreaking sense of loss, overshadowing the overall emotional engagement. The game elicits both sadness and warmth, highlighting its ability to evoke deep feelings.

    • “I found myself wishing there was more pressure to continue the main story, as being allowed to take all these problems at my own pace with infinite time to spare took away some of the fun of the challenge. However, this lack of a time limit or overarching threat made me focus on the people and truly feel the purpose of my role as the leader of the settlement.”
    • “Getting close to endgame and having all saves unplayable seems unacceptable, and the daunting task of starting over again just to have it happen again is heartbreaking.”
    • “Sad but wholesome.”
  • humor
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is described as subtle and not as overtly tongue-in-cheek as in similar titles like Tropico, yet it still manages to elicit some amusement, particularly in the context of the release notes. However, some players find the humor ironic, especially when it comes to the game's performance issues, suggesting that the attempt to downplay these problems is more amusing than effective. Overall, while there are moments of humor, it is overshadowed by critiques of the game's technical shortcomings.

    • “It's like Tropico without the tongue-in-cheek humor, but in a good way.”
    • “It's kind of funny though, because when I saw the release notes, the part about the saves really stuck out.”
  • monetization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization strategy is perceived as a cash grab, suggesting that the game may have been discounted in a desperate attempt to generate revenue rather than to address existing issues.

    • “I feel that it likely went on sale as a last-ditch cash grab for a game that probably isn't getting fixed.”
    • “The monetization strategy feels exploitative, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra money.”
    • “It seems like the developers prioritize profits over player experience, which is disappointing.”
  • character development
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development is praised for its refreshing design and art direction, contributing to a visually appealing experience that enhances the overall narrative.

    • “The character designs and art direction are really refreshing and beautifully crafted.”
    • “The depth of character development allows players to form a genuine connection with each character.”
    • “I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, making their journeys feel authentic and engaging.”
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15h Median play time
14h Average play time
6-20h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 12 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Floodland is a survival strategy game.

Floodland is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 14 hours playing Floodland.

Floodland was released on November 15, 2022.

Floodland was developed by Vile Monarch.

Floodland has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its optimization.

Floodland is a single player game.

Similar games include Endzone: A World Apart, Settlement Survival, Flotsam, Frostpunk 2, Surviving the Abyss and others.