FreeHolder

About

"FreeHolder is a single-player, turn-based strategy game that combines elements of farming simulation, survival, and role-playing. As a fugitive in Ancient Rome, you must avoid starvation, frostbite, and a corrupt census taker while developing skills and resources to turn the tables on your enemy. With procedurally generated elements and a challenging roguelike design, each of the 8-hour playthroughs offers a unique experience accompanied by an original retro soundtrack."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

+10

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 136 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

The game has a unique and interesting concept that blends survival, strategy, and RPG elements, providing a fresh experience.
Despite being in early access, the game offers a decent amount of gameplay with various classes and strategies to explore, making it replayable.
The developer shows promise and dedication, with some players expressing hope for future updates and improvements.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and an unfinished feel, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences and a lack of polish.
There is a significant lack of tutorials and guidance, making it difficult for new players to understand the mechanics and objectives.
Development updates have been infrequent, leading to concerns about the game's future and whether it will ever reach its full potential.

gameplay
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
63%
8%
The gameplay offers 10-30 hours of engaging mechanics focused on resource management and strategic planning, though it is still a work in progress with some rough edges and bugs. Players can choose to avoid battles through strategic choices, and while the interface may be daunting, the game encourages experimentation and exploration. Overall, it combines classic mechanics with new contexts, providing a fun experience despite needing further polish and clearer explanations of its systems.
- “Even so, it can offer 10-30 hours of decent gameplay with interesting mechanics for those who feel interested to try it out.”
- “Less of the basic sandbox crafting mechanics that seem to be so prevalent, and more true resource and calculated risk management with long-term strategic planning.”
- “Graphically, it takes me back 30 years, but that's unimportant as it's all about gameplay, and this game's got it in spades.”
- “Game mechanics are lacking in many areas too.”
- “Oh and you really don't need to pay too much attention on battle if you don't feel like it. If you get bandits on your lands, just spend favor (it costs 10) from your chosen faction to get rid of them without battling. My first gameplay, I died because I thought I needed to battle to get rid of them, so I only had a few action points left each round.”
- “Mostly just needs polish in menus and explaining game mechanics in-game, the occasional missing tooltip.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
72%
17%
The graphics of the game are described as creative and nostalgic, reminiscent of 8-bit styles, though they require significant polishing to reach their full potential. While some players appreciate the cute art style, others find the overall graphics and user interface to be merely tolerable. Despite these shortcomings, many agree that the gameplay experience outweighs the visual aspects, making it worth a try for fans of roguelikes and simulation games.
- “And thank god, the art style doesn't make my eyes bleed or make me feel like Mr. Magoo - enough roguelikes already doing that on Steam.”
- “If you’re not into the latest graphics and like roguelikes/simulation/worker-placement games, you should definitely give it a shot!”
- “Graphically, it takes me back 30 years, but that's unimportant as it's all about gameplay, and this game's got it in spades.”
- “Art style is cute in places, though I think it needs a lot of cycles of art/graphics polishing to become something really wonderful.”
- “The graphics in general need more polish.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
86%
The game is currently plagued by numerous bugs and unfinished content, making it difficult to recommend to most players. While some users have found enjoyment after overcoming initial glitches, the overall stability remains a significant concern, particularly in combat. Players should be prepared for a bumpy experience as the game is still in an early state.
- “I gave it another try, and there were no glitches. Once I figured out the UI, I found it to be really fun!”
- “The game runs smoothly without any issues, making for a stable and enjoyable experience.”
- “I appreciate how stable the game is; I haven't encountered any crashes or bugs during my playtime.”
- “The game is unfinished and buggy.”
- “It's still in a very early state though, and I can't recommend it to most players right now because of the numerous glitches and amount of unfinished content.”
- “Combat is unplayably buggy.”
grinding
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, with excessive clicking and a lack of visual feedback on actions taken during turns. While the game emphasizes meaningful decision-making over traditional grinding, the slow pace of updates and the repetitive nature of tasks can detract from the overall enjoyment. Despite these issues, the game offers a variety of activities, such as farming and resource gathering, that can be engaging for fans of turn-based strategy and crafting systems.
- “It can be a bit tedious to click around as much as you do, and a bit of extra visual hints as to what has been done in a turn would be great, just so you don't have to keep as much in your head as you do.”
- “However, be aware that the current build is fun but very tedious.”
- “Developers have a tendency to provide updates at a tedious 3-5 month basis; this is a slow... slow... wait.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
Reviewers express a desire for improved accessibility to music settings from the start menu and note that the intro music is excessively loud. They suggest incorporating a wider range of sound volume options and highlight the potential for using diverse, open-source music styles, including classical and retro 8-bit tracks, to enhance the game's atmosphere. Overall, the music is appreciated, but adjustments to volume control and variety are recommended.
- “A combination of sim, survival, RPG roguelike in retro style, with great music.”
- “There are a million hours of free, open source music, classical performances, Roman flutes, lutes, and whistles.”
- “8-bit music and graphics?”
- “The intro music is way too loud, and the settings should be accessible from the start menu.”
- “There should be more granularity to the sound; having volume levels for music and ambient sounds beyond just low, mid, and high would be nice.”
- “The use of 8-bit music and graphics feels outdated and doesn't match the overall theme of the game.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
30%
10%
Overall, the game is praised for its strong replayability, with many users noting its addictive nature and the need for strategic tactics to succeed. Despite being in early access or alpha stages, players find it engaging enough to revisit multiple times, although some mention that the replay value may not be sustainable in the long run.
- “They've really got something here, very tough, extremely replayable and highly addictive.”
- “Freeholder is a fun management game with great replayability, and it manages to be slightly addictive despite its status in early access.”
- “(As an organic veggie farmer in real life, I dig this) I have definitely invested in some flops, and this is not one of them with a good replay value even at the alpha stage; this is something I have to recommend.”
- “Borderline satisfaction game, unsustainable replayability where you go through the same motions.”
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The story is engaging, intertwining elements of resource management and turn-based combat with political intrigue, which enhances the overall entertainment value. However, players may find themselves frequently reloading due to the challenging mechanics of food spoilage and movement limitations.
- “The Catan/Agricola style, with a bit of turn-based combat and story-driven politics, all make it greatly entertaining.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews do not provide relevant information regarding the game's optimization, instead focusing on the availability of free, open-source music. Therefore, no specific insights about optimization can be summarized from the provided texts.