New Cycle

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"New Cycle" is a city-building survival game set in a post-apocalyptic world. After solar flares devastate human society, players must establish and develop a settlement, starting from humble beginnings and advancing to an industrial metropolis. Challenges include natural disasters, resource shortages, and societal issues such as refugee crises and disease outbreaks. Free-form or grid-based design allows for creativity in building and expanding the settlement.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 985 reviews

gameplay104 positive mentions

stability20 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and a captivating atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
The gameplay mechanics are engaging, offering a mix of city-building and survival elements that keep players invested.
The developers are responsive to community feedback and have been actively updating the game, showing promise for future improvements.

The pacing can feel slow, especially in the early game, leading to periods of waiting without much action.
There are issues with the user interface, such as difficulty in tracking resources and managing buildings effectively.
Some mechanics, like the conveyor belt system, are not well explained and can be frustrating to use, leading to confusion during gameplay.

gameplay
279 mentions
37 % positive mentions
60 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "New Cycle" is characterized by polished mechanics and a rewarding progression system that blends city-building and survival elements, offering a satisfying experience as players manage resources and citizen needs. While the game presents a steep learning curve initially, it becomes engaging as players unlock new technologies and navigate dynamic challenges like natural disasters and seasonal changes. However, some mechanics lack clarity and could benefit from better explanations, and while the game shows great potential, it currently feels somewhat familiar and could use further depth and refinement in its systems.
- “The game offers a solid foundation with a creative blend of mechanics and a fresh approach that keeps things engaging throughout.”
- “The gameplay is engaging, with a richly detailed world and atmospheric effects that add depth and immersion.”
- “The dynamic weather conditions and crises add depth to the gameplay, making each decision crucial.”
- “My main complaint is that some mechanics could be explained a little bit better.”
- “A significant portion of the game's mechanics and symbols are introduced without sufficient explanation, potentially overwhelming new players.”
- “The game is not good at explaining how many of its mechanics work; you often have to beat your head against something for a while to figure it out.”
graphics
196 mentions
59 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their stunning detail and immersive art style, often described as a blend of realism and unique aesthetics reminiscent of paintings. Players appreciate the atmospheric visuals, which enhance the gameplay experience, although some have noted issues with building differentiation and occasional graphical glitches. Overall, the game's visuals are considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to its appeal in the city-building genre.
- “The graphics are stunning, bringing the world to life with intricate details and smooth animations.”
- “The art style is beautiful, and the atmosphere feels immersive, especially with the weather effects and the soundtrack.”
- “The game's graphics are detailed and immersive, reflecting the technological progress of the player's settlement.”
- “I was hesitant to post this, but I played the game for a few hours and couldn't look past the visuals.”
- “The graphics make the whole city look the same, and it was difficult to remember which building served what function.”
- “This game right now should be called the brown cycle owing to its 400 shades of brown used in its art style, seemingly exclusively.”
story
101 mentions
24 % positive mentions
71 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally engaging, featuring a grim narrative set in a harsh world, but many players feel it lacks depth and variation, leading to diminished replay value. While the world-building and atmosphere are praised, some reviewers express a desire for more impactful choices and a less straightforward storyline. Overall, the narrative is seen as a strong aspect, but improvements in storytelling mechanics and quest design are needed to enhance player experience and emotional engagement.
- “I love the story and am really enjoying this game.”
- “The intricate world-building and dynamic gameplay keep you engaged, while the captivating storylines drive a sense of purpose.”
- “You will fall in love with the storylines, the graphics, the atmosphere.”
- “My biggest gripe is on the 'closure' to the story side of things.”
- “I know this is still early access, but for the campaign, it feels no different than sandbox because of the lack of story (or I just haven't played long enough).”
- “The story seems rushed, with little to no events.”
music
65 mentions
63 % positive mentions
32 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received a mixed response, with many praising its immersive and beautiful qualities that enhance the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. While some players find the soundtrack calming and nostalgic, others criticize it for being repetitive or overly somber. Overall, the audio design is noted as a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's ambiance and emotional depth.
- “The audio design is awesome and the music makes me feel like I am deep in thought; I found myself vibing to the music a lot of the time.”
- “Its inviting atmosphere is significantly enhanced by soothing background music, creating a peaceful environment that makes city planning and management a truly enjoyable endeavor.”
- “Everything is then dramatically enhanced by a wonderful original soundtrack that adds dynamic beauty or tension to each moment.”
- “Pls fix horrible music”
- “The music is sad and it's like there's no life in the game.”
- “That said, I do not like the constantly sad dreary music.”
optimization
36 mentions
47 % positive mentions
44 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally well-received, with many players reporting smooth performance even on high settings and minimal bugs or crashes. However, some users noted mid-game performance issues, particularly during population spikes and seasonal changes, as well as occasional texture pop-ins. While the game performs admirably on a range of systems, there are calls for further optimization to enhance the experience, especially in later stages of gameplay.
- “Game performance is excellent, even when running all quality settings on 'ultra', making it accessible for a wide range of systems.”
- “Amazing game, almost perfectly optimized for an early access game.”
- “This smooth performance really lets you immerse yourself in the game without any distractions.”
- “Optimization could be a lot better though.”
- “Encountering texture pop-ins and occasional lag highlighted the need for graphical optimization.”
- “The performance does dip in the later stages of the game when more is built; this is to be expected, but it could also do with some optimization.”
atmosphere
35 mentions
66 % positive mentions
26 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and visually stunning design, enhanced by beautiful graphics, a captivating soundtrack, and atmospheric effects that create a rich, post-apocalyptic world. Players appreciate the blend of cozy and bleak elements, with detailed environments and weather effects that contribute to a unique and engaging experience. However, some note that while the atmosphere is compelling, it may not appeal to everyone due to its somber tone.
- “The game also looks gorgeous overall and it has a very immersive aesthetic and atmosphere.”
- “New cycle delivers a visually stunning post-apocalyptic experience with smooth performance and an immersive atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere, style, gameplay loop... so promising.”
- “The atmosphere is rather bleak and somber, which might not appeal to everyone.”
- “The main problem of this game is that the resources are just magically transported everywhere; the people that you see walking around are just for the atmosphere.”
- “It copies a lot of the formats that front punk has, but it's missing the challenges and atmosphere.”
stability
21 mentions
14 % positive mentions
-10 % neutral mentions
95 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag; while many players report smooth performance with minimal crashes and only minor visual glitches, others highlight significant bugs, particularly with specific systems like the conveyor. Despite being in early access, the game is generally playable and enjoyable, though some users note that it remains unpolished and occasionally buggy. Many reviewers express optimism for future improvements as the game develops.
- “For a beta version of a game that is not yet released, there were almost no glitches, and the game ran smoothly.”
- “The stability of the game is impressive; I experienced very few issues during my playthrough.”
- “I was pleasantly surprised by how stable the game felt, especially considering it's still in beta.”
- “The conveyor system, while cool, is super buggy.”
- “At the time I wrote this review (2024, January), the game was still quite unbalanced and buggy.”
- “At early access, this game is buggy as hell.”
grinding
17 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with many tasks feeling unnecessary and frustrating. While the game offers enjoyable city-building and survival mechanics, the lack of quality-of-life features leads to excessive micromanagement and boredom, particularly in longer play sessions. Overall, the grinding can detract from the experience, making players wish for more engaging gameplay elements.
- “A notable issue is the repetitive tasks assigned by NPCs, which, after some time, can become tedious.”
- “The game is sorely lacking in quality of life features; give the players the tools to succeed, because the game is complicated, but unnecessarily tedious and difficult because of the lack of these tools.”
- “I'm not sure where you are heading with the world map, but man oh man is it boring and tedious.”
replayability
9 mentions
33 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find substantial potential and depth in exploring different mechanics and optimizing gameplay, others feel it lacks variety in storyline and map layouts, limiting its replay value. Some users express a desire for more engaging content to enhance replayability, particularly in survival scenarios.
- “The game seems to have a lot of potential and replayability once you have a grasp on all the different mechanics.”
- “The game offers substantial replay value.”
- “Overall, the game feels deep and replayable.”
- “A good game if lacking in replay value right now.”
- “Replay value seems a little diminished without much storyline variation.”
- “Some of us want to go through and just get the story while building everything, and we'd do replay value one each map just on easy mode.”
monetization
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized for being misleading, with users feeling deceived by ads that promise a city-building experience but deliver a different gameplay style, leading to perceptions of it being a cash grab. Additionally, interactions with the developers have further fueled frustration, as players feel misled about the game's true nature.
- “You know those mobile game ads that make it look like it's a proper city/settlement builder, only to trick you into some stupid thing where you don't actually build anything? It's the biggest bait and switch.”
- “It really seems like a cash grab, like Days Gone, after my messages with the devs. This review is all over the place because as I was writing it, I was messaging with the devs. In the early part of my review, I was not angry, but now I am after being lied to.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Reviewers feel that while the game attempts to evoke emotional responses, it falls short compared to titles like Frostpunk, which effectively convey emotional distress through impactful storytelling and meaningful challenges. They suggest that for a stronger emotional experience, the game should enhance its narrative depth and the significance of player choices.
- “It still cannot beat the emotional distress offered by Frostpunk.”
- “If the goal is to be a game about resource management, present better metrics and progression; if the goal is to be a game about a population in crisis, craft a story with meaningful problems, stakes, and emotional impact.”