Microcivilization

About

Microcivilization is a single player strategy game with a business theme. It was developed by Ondrej Homola and was released on November 13, 2023. It received positive reviews from players.

"Microcivilization is a single-player strategy game with sensational pixel-art graphics, offering a unique blend of exploration, expansion, exploitation, and extermination. Build a powerful nation using various methods, such as button smashing or harnessing the productivity of your people. Overcome numerous challenges, including disasters, wars, diseases, and social unrest, with the help of government combinations, unique heroes, and technology upgrades."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,120 reviews

gameplay66 positive mentions

grinding29 negative mentions

Engaging gameplay with a unique blend of clicker and civilization mechanics.
Beautiful pixel art and charming visuals that enhance the gaming experience.
Active developer who listens to community feedback and regularly updates the game.

Repetitive gameplay loop that can become monotonous after a few hours.
Lack of depth in the endgame and limited content for the price.
Frequent crises can lead to frustrating gameplay, especially if players are not actively managing their civilization.

gameplay
223 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
57%
13%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by a blend of clicker mechanics and strategy elements, offering an engaging yet repetitive experience. While players appreciate the innovative mechanics and the potential for depth, many find the gameplay loop becomes stale after a few hours, with limited variety and depth in later stages. Overall, the game shows promise but requires significant balancing and content improvements to enhance long-term enjoyment.
- “Nice art style and relatively interesting mechanics that are easy to grasp, yet with some ceiling to optimize for.”
- “The ascension mechanic is neat - achieve certain goals each run to unlock perks for your next run/civilization.”
- “An amazing active-clicker game with unique mechanics and progression.”
- “The gameplay loop gets old real quick.”
- “Firstly, the gameplay is extremely repetitive and offers very little variety.”
- “While the first few minutes of gameplay were fascinating, the game quickly became repetitive and monotonous.”
graphics
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
42%
4%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming pixel art style and vibrant colors, creating a visually pleasing experience that enhances gameplay. While many players appreciate the artistic design and smooth interface, some note a lack of visual variety and minor graphical issues. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's relaxing atmosphere, though there are calls for more diverse content and options.
- “The art style is a delightful mix of charming pixel art and vibrant colors, which enhances the immersive experience.”
- “Addictive, actually active and fun to play, has all the neat little accessibility things I'd want (holding keys for clicking, game speed setting), and has a gorgeous pixel art style.”
- “Graphics are quite nice for a clicker game and the progression through the ages is pretty enjoyable.”
- “The graphics and sound design are also rather average and do nothing to enhance the gaming experience.”
- “When this game came into my discovery queue my immediate thought was, 'ugh, more retro-graphics'.”
- “My only gripe is the lack of graphics options.”
story
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
82%
7%
The game's story is largely driven by a series of quests that can feel repetitive and tedious over time, with players expressing frustration over the scaling of rewards and the locking of research behind quest completion. However, the emergent storytelling potential is noted, as the random generation of quests and characters offers a fresh experience in each playthrough, alongside the strategic elements of managing crises and developing a civilization. While the initial excitement may wane after several resets, the variety in quest lines and the collection of unique heroes add layers to the gameplay experience.
- “Also due to the infinite combination of randomly generated quests and characters, it always feels like a new game.”
- “I see a lot of interesting roguelite potential in regards to emergent storytelling.”
- “Predicaments are also a lot of fun and add to that sort of emergent storytelling feeling.”
- “The exploration missions are overly repetitive and the payouts don't scale well at all (with the exception of villages for those sweet, sweet workers).”
- “You are just unblocking the same tree, with pretty much the same missions available to you.”
- “The quests get very boring and very annoying after the third reset.”
grinding
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
6%
88%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, especially in the late game where the excitement diminishes as they feel less powerful compared to the early stages. Many reviewers note that the need to restart and ascend adds to the grind, making the gameplay feel monotonous after a certain point, despite initial enjoyment. Overall, while the game has a solid foundation, the grind cycles can detract from the overall experience, particularly as players progress into mid-tier content.
- “The tech itself isn't tedious; it's the quests on the world map.”
- “Later on, some of the events do start to feel grindy, like I can never catch up to how powerful I felt in the early game. It feels like I get less powerful as the game goes on, when it would probably be best to have peaks and troughs.”
- “The game's grind cycles are somewhat tedious and it is a slightly more advanced 'clicker' game.”
- “Sadly, once you reach the mid-tier era, the mechanics stay the same and it quickly became boring doing the same stuff over and over again (research, map clearing, managing growth spurt, grinding heroes at the end, etc...).”
replayability
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
49%
10%
Overall, "Microcivilization" is praised for its high replayability, attributed to its addictive game loop, strategic depth, and variety of content. Players appreciate the blend of incremental and grand strategy elements, along with unique features like scenarios and upgrades that enhance the experience. Despite being in early access, the game shows promise for further replayability improvements, making it a compelling choice for fans of resource management and strategy games.
- “It's early access and the recent development logs are suggesting adding some really interesting replayability features.”
- “Microcivilization is a game that offers a lot of content, variety, and replay value.”
- “There's very little replayability, if any, because of the roguelite elements, which I liked.”
- “One can't help but imagine the potential it holds for enhancing replayability in renowned titles like Civilization.”
- “This game is a very unique blend of idler & civ-like, with some rogue-like features that encourage replayability.”
music
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
60%
12%
The music in the game is generally described as relaxing and pleasant, effectively complementing the gameplay atmosphere. However, many users note that it can be repetitive and somewhat quiet, leading to a desire for more variety and volume. Overall, while the soundtrack is appreciated, there are suggestions for improvement to enhance the listening experience.
- “Microcivilizations is a gorgeous game with satisfying music and sound effects.”
- “The soundtrack complements the gameplay beautifully, creating an atmosphere that is both relaxing and engaging.”
- “The art, music, and gameplay are all beautiful.”
- “I will most likely continue to play this if I am honestly braindead and just want to chill with some music and not require proper tactical planning and moving troops efficiently like in say Total War: Warhammer 3 or some such.”
- “My only feedback, it seems the music is generally on the quiet side, so I find myself turning everything up and then murdering my eardrums on other games.”
- “- charming graphics, ok soundtrack (a little repetitive due to lack of variety)”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, receiving a low rating of 2 out of 5 stars due to persistent issues such as lag, low frame rates, and stuttering, which detract from the overall gaming experience.
- “Optimization issues.”
- “Technical performance: ⭐⭐☆☆☆ (2/5 stars)”
- “- Contra: Issues with lag, low frame rates, and stuttering significantly affect the gaming experience.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences significant stability issues, particularly on the Steam Deck, where it frequently freezes during combat and ascending, leading to game restarts and potential loss of progress. These bugs hinder the overall enjoyment and functionality of the game, leaving players frustrated.
- “Sadly, the EA version freezes sometimes on Steam Deck while fighting, which leads to civilization dead and requires a restart.”
- “Also freezes sometimes while ascending, which ends the game as it freezes after reload over and over.”
- “This seems like it might be a fun game, but it's either buggy or I just don't get it.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization model for the game appears to be a point of contention, with users noting that it could have been free with ads or pay-to-win (PTW) on mobile platforms. Additionally, the game's advertisements have effectively captured players' attention, suggesting a strong marketing presence.
- “On the phone, this would have been free with ads or pay-to-win, so there's that.”
- “I saw some advertisements for this game and couldn't stop thinking about it.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted for its interesting core idea, complemented by several humorous elements that enhance the overall experience.
- “The game has an interesting core idea and some humorous elements that really stand out.”
- “The humor in the game adds a delightful twist to the overall experience.”
- “I love how the game incorporates humor in unexpected ways, making it a joy to play.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is enhanced by a beautifully complementary soundtrack, which fosters a relaxing yet engaging experience for players.
- “The soundtrack complements the gameplay beautifully, creating an atmosphere that is both relaxing and engaging.”
- “The game's visuals and sound design work together to immerse you in a world that feels alive and vibrant.”
- “Every location is filled with intricate details that enhance the overall atmosphere, making exploration a joy.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a deep emotional connection to the game's narrative, often feeling sorrow when leaving behind citizens during ascension, highlighting the poignant impact of their choices on the game's world.
- “Every time I ascend, I shed a tear for each citizen I have to leave behind. ”