Landnama
- July 30, 2023
- Sonderland
- 6h median play time
"Landnama is a single-player historical strategy game with compelling gameplay, good graphics, and a delightful soundtrack. As a Viking leader in the 9th century, you must settle Iceland, managing your resources wisely and surviving harsh winters. With only one resource, Heart, you'll need to explore, build settlements, and make tough decisions in this roguelike tower defense game."
Reviews
- Engaging gameplay that combines strategy and puzzle elements, making each decision impactful.
- Beautiful art style and relaxing soundtrack enhance the immersive Viking-themed experience.
- Replayability is high due to procedural generation and different clan mechanics, offering varied playthroughs.
- Game can feel repetitive and lacks depth after a few playthroughs, leading to a sense of limited content.
- Heavy reliance on RNG can result in frustrating experiences, where luck plays a significant role in success.
- Some players feel the game is overpriced for the amount of content currently available.
- gameplay61 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Landnama is characterized by its simple mechanics and procedural generation, offering a compelling and addictive experience with significant replayability. While many players appreciate the blend of survival, building, and puzzle elements, some criticize the game for its lack of depth and reliance on RNG, which can lead to frustrating moments. Overall, the game provides an engaging challenge, though it may benefit from additional content and variety to sustain long-term interest.
“Gameplay is simple, but procedural generation makes it very replayable.”
“The mechanics of building and exploring are really satisfying, and it's the right amount of difficulty to make it challenging without being frustrating.”
“Landnama is an absolute treat for strategy and exploration enthusiasts, combining a unique viking-themed setting with challenging gameplay and loads of replay potential.”
“The simplistic mechanics do not allow for player inventiveness and nor do they allow the player much agency in adapting to the map's circumstances.”
“Decently designed, but rather one-dimensional; spending hearts to produce/store more hearts while keeping enough for winter is pretty much the entire gameplay loop.”
“You can't restart easily when you get stuck by the RNG; the UI design is built to punish you for trying, including some pointless saga mechanic.”
- music29 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall immersive experience. Players appreciate the beautiful soundtrack that complements the charming graphics, creating a relaxing environment that encourages prolonged gameplay. While some note that the music may not be something they'd listen to outside of the game, it effectively supports the game's themes and enhances the strategic pondering moments.
“A wonderful and enchanting video game with beautiful graphics and a wonderful and relaxing soundtrack.”
“The music and overall presentation is beautiful, which is great when you're playing a game where you pause a lot to ponder your next strategy (I happily leave the game paused just for the vibes!).”
“The relaxing soundtrack and cute visuals will make you say 'just one more game' and it's the end of the night before you noticed!”
“My only criticism is that not having Ólafur Arnalds on the soundtrack is a huge missed opportunity.”
“The soundtrack?”
“Also, the soundtrack and the sound effects somehow make you play the game in a rhythm - hard to describe.”
- graphics22 mentions
- 77 % positive mentions
- 18 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their enchanting art style and captivating visuals, which enhance the overall gaming experience. Players appreciate the charming and detailed graphics, often noting their relaxing and atmospheric qualities, complemented by a well-matched soundtrack. While some suggest a desire for more variety, the overall consensus highlights the impressive quality and passion evident in the game's visual and audio design.
“The graphics are captivating, immersing players into a visually stunning world that enhances the overall gaming experience.”
“A wonderful and enchanting video game with beautiful graphics and a wonderful and relaxing soundtrack.”
“Really enjoyed the pixel graphics and the amazing sound design.”
“Graphics is ok and must say that I can see this game running well with iPad also, like Northgard does.”
- replayability12 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the procedural generation and randomness that enhance replay value, others feel that the content is limited and lacks depth for long-term engagement. Many users express hope that future updates will expand the game's replayability and challenge, as the current offerings seem insufficient for those familiar with the genre. Despite these concerns, some players still find enough variety to warrant multiple playthroughs.
“Gameplay is simple, but procedural generation makes it very replayable.”
“The different clans and the RNG provide a good amount of replayability.”
“Great game with simple mechanics but complex gameplay with infinite outcomes and replayability.”
“Played 2 hours and it seems like I've more or less discovered all that the game had to offer: there's basically no replayability.”
“Landnama could remain as it is: casual, simple, low-replayability, feeling like a mobile game.”
“The concept is good, but there is way not enough replayability or difficulty if you are used to this kind of game.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its stunning 2D art and calming soundtrack, creating an immersive experience that evokes the feeling of being a settler in a beautiful yet hostile environment. Reviewers appreciate the innovative and polished design, noting the attention to detail that enhances both the visuals and the overall ambiance, making it a relaxing yet engaging experience.
“The concept and atmosphere is innovative and very polished for the first game by a new indie developer.”
“The atmosphere is great and I love the visuals.”
“Very detailed oriented, calming and atmospheric soundtrack, cute detail oriented graphics, challenging yet good intro for beginners.”
- story8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's story is presented through a series of six missions in a viking-themed saga, offering a light narrative experience rather than a deep, complex plot. Players appreciate the seamless integration of storytelling elements, such as learning about Iceland's landmarks, but those seeking a more intricate storyline may find it lacking. Overall, the game provides engaging short narratives that enhance the gameplay without requiring a significant commitment to the story.
“The game will really draw you in the first couple of plays through a 'saga', which is a stitched-together campaign of six missions, each of which takes 10-40 minutes.”
“I also really like the short bits of storytelling and how seamless the overall experience is.”
“Learning about Iceland through the story, the landmarks, and special tiles.”
“The flair of the game is heavily influenced by this Viking setting, but it does not require you to follow a deep storyline.”
“If you want a complex campaign or deep story, though, this is not the game.”
“Even though this might not be the best game to debut with, I'll continue to follow your story and I really hope that you continue to improve, take notes from your players, and make your next game a smash hit!”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players have mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game; while some appreciate that it respects their time and avoids tedium, others find it fairly grindy and lacking excitement, despite recognizing a solid foundation.
“It's fairly grindy, with little excitement; it's a good base though.”
“You solve the gameplay loop in a few hours, and then it feels just like grinding.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game is perceived as fair yet challenging, enhancing the overall enjoyment, though it is not clearly communicated in the game's descriptions or advertising.
“But they are going about it in a way not reflected in any of the game's description or advertising, at least right now.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report a positive experience with optimization, noting that they encountered no performance issues or crashes during their 2-3 hours of gameplay.
“I have played the game for about 2-3 hours and haven't faced any issues like performance or crashing.”