"Founders' Fortune" is a village-building simulation game where you manage colonists, build structures, and ensure their survival. With customizable designs for houses and furniture, create the settlement of your dreams. Keep your villagers healthy and happy, as their emotions and relationships affect productivity. Build a thriving community and expand your village over time.
Charming graphics and engaging gameplay that combines elements of The Sims and Rimworld.
Unique colonist personalities and wishes add depth to the gameplay, making each character feel significant.
The building mechanics allow for creative designs, including multi-story structures.
The AI can be frustratingly unresponsive, often ignoring tasks and wandering off to do unrelated activities.
The game can feel tedious due to excessive micromanagement, especially as the colony grows.
Lack of a comprehensive tutorial leaves players struggling to understand game mechanics and progression.
gameplay
136 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
69%
6%
The gameplay of *Founders' Fortune* is described as a mix of relaxing and engaging mechanics, appealing to players looking for a chill experience, though it lacks depth compared to similar titles like *RimWorld* and *Banished*. While the game features enjoyable building, farming, and basic combat mechanics, many players find the gameplay loop repetitive and the mechanics somewhat simplistic, with a need for further updates and polish to enhance the overall experience. Despite its charming visuals and potential for creativity, the game feels more like an early access title, with some players expressing disappointment over its lack of complexity and depth.
“Founder's Fortune offers a relaxing yet engaging gameplay experience that's perfect for unwinding after a long day.”
“The gameplay is a lot of fun, open world, survival, town building, with little gnome people who actually have wishes and needs.”
“The core game mechanics are solid and very well thought out.”
“It has some good qualities, but the general gameplay loop leaves much to be desired.”
“Unfortunately, this game plays more like an 'early access' than it does a 'full release.' It definitely feels like they pushed the release earlier than they should have as there is no polish, lots of bugs, mechanics that don't work properly, etc.”
“The gameplay, however, is bland with the maps you start on; all the other island tribes look the same with different colors and maybe a horn or two difference from other tribes.”
graphics
97 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
58%
3%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming, colorful, and cartoony art style, which creates an inviting atmosphere and enhances the overall gameplay experience. Many players appreciate the low-poly design and smooth animations, noting that the visuals are both cute and polished, making it accessible even on older hardware. While some critiques mention dated visuals or occasional blurriness, the general consensus is that the graphics are a standout feature that adds to the game's appeal.
“The game's low-poly art style is colorful and charming, creating a cheerful and inviting atmosphere.”
“The graphics are very beautiful if you like bright colors and 3D detailed models, a nice change from most 2D sprite graphics of most colony simulators.”
“The graphics are the most redeeming quality of the game, and are frankly some of the best in the whole genre already.”
“Some of the text and graphics are blurry when there's no reason for it.”
“The graphics are meh, especially the animations.”
“Graphic-wise, it looks like an early 2000 game, but who cares?”
grinding
81 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
3%
96%
The grinding aspect of the game is frequently criticized for being tedious and overly reliant on micromanagement, with players often feeling overwhelmed by the need to constantly direct villagers to complete basic tasks like farming and resource gathering. Many reviews highlight the frustratingly slow progression tied to research and resource costs, particularly the necessity of crystals for advancements, which can lead to a repetitive and exhausting gameplay experience. While some players appreciate the game's potential and find enjoyment in its mechanics, the consensus leans towards it being a grind-heavy experience that can detract from overall enjoyment.
“There's a 4 seasons mechanic which changes which crop you can farm and no farming in winter.”
“The micromanagement can get really tedious, and while there's the suggestion of tactical variety with ranged and melee weapons, it always ends up in the same messy dogpile, just making it that little bit more awkward to reach through the dead bodies for that ol' tricone hat.”
“A promising premise of cute characters building a colony together, but horribly misinterpreted into the most tedious combination of game elements, leaving you reading a book for hours at a time waiting for the game to progress.”
“I have no idea why this game has a 'very positive' rating; I only have 10 hours on this, but they were the most tedious hours I think I've ever had in a game, and that's something coming from a guy that likes strategy, colony sims, and city-building games.”
story
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
81%
12%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of a coherent narrative and repetitive, often unfulfillable quests that detract from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the emergent storytelling through colonist interactions and the ability to create their own narratives, many feel that the game lacks a structured storyline and suffers from bugs and balance issues. Overall, the story is seen as minimal, with players often left to generate their own experiences amidst a backdrop of frustrating gameplay mechanics.
“I feel like I'm making my own story.”
“Colonists' personalities bring some story and life to the base building mechanics.”
“I have played the majority of the games in this genre including RimWorld, Embark, Rise to Ruins, and this is the game that has the most complete storyline in terms of objectives and the least bugs of any of them.”
“Founders' Fortune sets no tone, has no storyline, is bugged beyond belief and plays like a dragged out D&D board match.”
“I'll never know why the devs thought it was a good idea to make you feel like herding malevolent cats while tribes and pirates spam you with basically unfulfillable quests that lead to game-ending raids.”
“The AI needs to be tweaked; the game needs more in terms of story and building aspects.”
music
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
57%
13%
The music in the game is generally described as pleasant and fitting, creating a relaxing and whimsical atmosphere that complements the gameplay. However, many users note that it can be repetitive and lacks the depth of larger titles, with some expressing a desire for a more varied soundtrack. Overall, while the music enhances the experience, it may not stand out significantly compared to other games.
“The soundtrack is cheerful and upbeat, perfectly complementing the game’s whimsical vibe.”
“It looks wonderful, the soundtrack is lovely and sets the relaxing mood, and there's a skill tree to unlock new techs.”
“Okay this game is heart touching and the awesome music in this game is beautiful. I can't wait to see more stuff in this game. The more you play, the more love you'll have for the characters.”
“The music stops for too long between tracks, and I hate gaming without background music.”
“The music becomes a little repetitive, but then again this is an indie game unlike The Sims with their massive soundtrack.”
“Background music and ambient noises just exist.”
stability
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
74%
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with some players reporting frequent freezes, visual glitches, and minor bugs that detract from the overall experience. While many acknowledge that the game is playable and enjoyable despite these issues, others feel it lacks the polish expected from a full release. Overall, it appears that while the game has made significant progress, it still requires further refinement to address its stability concerns.
“I saw this as many did, years later, on 'Let's Game It Out', and as I love the colony sim genre, I gave it a shot, expecting the antics and bugs that Josh ran into; while it wasn't bug-free, I was shocked at how far and polished the developer made this title.”
“No buggy AI and pathfinding, the building system is easy to use and you can even move buildings after you place them.”
“It's a very nice looking game that runs great on my old dinosaur of a PC.”
“It freezes constantly.”
“It honestly feels like I'm playing a beta; there are weird visual glitches, missing text descriptions, and some odd grammar errors in descriptions.”
“As an outsider, it looks like fatigue has set in for the devs because this lacks polish and is rather buggy, which is not what I'd expect from a 1.0 release.”
replayability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the potential for infinite play and the ability to apply lessons learned in new runs, others criticize the lack of significant endgame content and limited map variation, which diminishes replay value. Many users express that once the game mechanics are mastered, the incentive to replay diminishes, despite some enjoyment in different play styles.
“This is kind of an 'infinite' game, so there is a lot of replay value in it.”
“I am looking forward to starting my next founder colony with all the hard lessons I've learned, so it's definitely replayable as is.”
“I chose the relaxing, more chill gameplay, while my husband went more hardcore... oh, and the replay value is priceless!”
“Enjoyable enough, though I am not sure how much replay value it has.”
“The game has little to no replay value even though the map is random since you play the game the same way regardless.”
“So there is a lot left to be done there, and with basically no map variation, there really isn't much to any replayability once you figure the game out.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in "Founder's Fortune" is characterized by its quirky and absurd character behaviors, such as colonists hilariously kicking trees and rocks before using tools, which elicits both chuckles and facepalms. Players find the game engaging and charming, with random funny moments that enhance the overall experience, making it a delightful colony simulation.
“These characters will have you chuckling, facepalming, and occasionally yelling at your screen as they go about their daily routines.”
“In conclusion, Founder's Fortune is a hilarious, engaging, and charming colony simulation game.”
“So grab your sense of humor, roll up your sleeves, and dive into the zany world of Founder's Fortune.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
Overall, the game's optimization is mixed; while many users report good performance and smooth gameplay even on older PCs, there are notable issues such as occasional pauses and a need for further optimization. The user interface and graphics are generally well-received, contributing to a positive experience despite the optimization concerns.
“Good performance; even on my quite old PC, it runs pretty well.”
“The UI is user-friendly, the graphics are pleasant to the eye, and my goodness, does this game run smoothly.”
“Great game, runs smoothly.”
“The game needs more optimizations.”
“Out of 11 villagers, the performance has been solid for only 7.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a deep emotional connection to the characters, often feeling a sense of attachment akin to raising them. The game's ability to evoke a range of emotions—from joy to sadness—enhanced by its beautiful music, creates a heart-touching experience that resonates strongly with players, leading them to restart the game to preserve their beloved characters. Overall, the themes of friendship and emotional investment are central to the gameplay experience.
“If you get emotionally attached to characters, especially if you basically raise them yourself, you may want to turn off lifespan.”
“Your pawns become happy, sad, emotional, downright pissed off sometimes, and even refuse to listen to your commands.”
“This game is heart-touching, and the music is beautiful. I can't wait to see more content for this game. I have five characters with me, and I love them so much. The more you play, the more love you'll have for them. I lost one in battle, and I was really sad. Then sad music started playing, and I just had to restart to have him back with his little family. This game is all about friendship, sticking together, fighting, and experiencing happiness and sadness. All I have to say is please update this beautiful game and bring awesome updates!”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's low-poly art style is praised for its colorful and charming design, contributing to a cheerful and inviting atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
“The game's low-poly art style is colorful and charming, creating a cheerful and inviting atmosphere.”
“The ambient sounds and music perfectly complement the visuals, immersing players in a captivating world.”
“Each environment feels alive, with dynamic lighting and weather effects that enhance the overall mood.”