Noble Fates
- December 14, 2021
- Xobermon, LLC
- 9h median play time
"Noble Fates" is a strategy game where you command a kingdom from the sky, building, crafting, farming, and defending your land. As a Demigod, you'll distribute wealth, foster relationships with neighbors, and loot or imprison others to augment your people's skills. The game features various activities and interaction with gods and other supernatural beings to maintain balance in this far-away land.
Reviews
- The game has a quirky and captivating world with a unique art style.
- The developers are very responsive and actively update the game based on community feedback.
- The gameplay offers a fun mix of colony management and RPG elements, allowing players to control their ruler in third person.
- The combat mechanics are clunky and need improvement, often leading to frustrating experiences during raids.
- The social interaction system can be tedious, requiring constant micromanagement to keep characters happy.
- There are significant performance issues, especially with AI pathfinding and character interactions, which can detract from the overall experience.
- gameplay150 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, featuring a blend of colony simulation mechanics reminiscent of titles like RimWorld and Going Medieval, but marred by bugs, clunky controls, and a steep learning curve. While some players appreciate the depth and unique mechanics, such as interpersonal relationships and building intricacies, others find the micromanagement overwhelming and the core systems underdeveloped. Overall, the game shows potential with its engaging concepts, but significant improvements are needed to refine the experience and address frustrating mechanics.
“The mechanics are excellent, well-planned, well-executed, and mostly logical.”
“Despite being in early access, Noble Fates has a surprising amount of polish and provides an engaging twist on the familiar colony-builder gameplay loop.”
“The gameplay is outstanding; a really good civilization builder, with elements of RPG.”
“The guided experience would be nice for someone with no experience in the genre, but it fails to give you a lot beyond the basic mechanics.”
“It's buggy at times and will even crash, has a learning curve due to a lack of understanding of some game mechanics that no tutorial really explains but you can figure them most out with a little trial and error.”
“The last thing I'll mention is that the building mechanics are a lot of guesswork as you can't look at the requirements for a room to be considered a certain type of room until you've already laid the groundwork for that type of room.”
- graphics114 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed feedback, with many players appreciating the unique and whimsical art style that complements the game's fantasy theme. However, some users find the character models odd or unattractive, leading to a desire for customization options or mods to alter their appearance. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered charming and engaging, they may not appeal to everyone, particularly those who prefer more realistic designs.
“The art style is beautifully engaging and the effects spot-on.”
“The graphics are a lot easier on the eyes than RimWorld and it oozes personality.”
“The unique graphics and sound design are delightful.”
“This was a decent game, but they changed the art style of the characters and I haven't really played it since.”
“But I can't get past the aesthetics of the character models; they are ugly as hell, and communication is an utter chore.”
“It's a simplistic kingdom building game with low-end graphics.”
- story65 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 86 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the potential for emergent storytelling and character-driven narratives, while others criticize the lack of depth and repetitive quest design. Many feel that the quests need more context and detail to enhance engagement, and while there are moments of intrigue and consequence, the overall narrative experience can feel shallow or disjointed. As the game is still in early access, there is hope for future improvements and expansions to the storytelling elements.
“The storyline is fun and interesting for the game, and all the wanderers and other kingdoms you meet add so much to the gameplay.”
“What I like is that there are consequences to decisions; it feels like the story a character goes on has a bit more weight.”
“The game gives a bit of backstory for your beginning characters, and your choices can have real impacts, which feels satisfying.”
“Quests are currently a bit lackluster; they need more details in the quest description of 'why/what happened'.”
“The names and storylines seem randomly computer generated; you can't even pick your own custom kingdom name.”
“This is supposed to promote 'storytelling', but when all the story amounts to is a checklist of things that will give your characters PTSD (i.e., their friend died, you butchered an invader for food, they had to wear gloves...), then it soon becomes tiresome.”
- grinding63 mentions
- 2 % positive mentions
- 5 % neutral mentions
- 94 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, particularly in farming, crafting, and managing character interactions. Many reviews highlight the repetitive nature of tasks, such as managing villagers' needs and farming mechanics, which can detract from the overall enjoyment. While some appreciate the depth and complexity of the systems, the consensus is that improvements are needed to reduce the monotony and streamline gameplay.
“Character progression system that gives some choice but isn't tedious.”
“The early game is great, but things get more and more tedious beyond that.”
“The whole 'everyone has likes and dislikes and will only be happy when given the specific things they want' thing is just kind of tedious.”
“Taking care of your subjects' needs and wants is very tedious right now, though.”
- optimization20 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant performance issues, particularly on lower settings and during extended play sessions. While some users report decent performance on average rigs following recent updates, others highlight ongoing optimization needs, especially for larger game elements. Overall, the development team appears to be actively addressing these concerns, but substantial improvements are still required for a smoother experience.
“The optimization is great and the performance flawless for any length of play session.”
“Performance is decent on an average rig after a recent performance sprint by the developer and it will improve more in the future, I'm sure.”
“Some minor performance issues but the dev team seems to be regularly working on it.”
“But the game does need some heavy optimization.”
“I can run Cyberpunk around 70-88 fps at ultra settings, but this game is so badly optimized that even at low settings you will still get low fps.”
“Needs a lot of optimization.”
- humor19 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate its goofy and charming dialogue, along with quirky character interactions that evoke laughter, others find the crude humor unnecessary and unfunny. Overall, many reviews highlight the game's witty writing and amusing scenarios, making it enjoyable for those who appreciate a lighthearted approach to kingdom-building and combat.
“I find the overall humor and NPC interactions funny; they are goofy as hell and that's what makes them so great. Additionally, if someone does not like making conversations, it is not really an essential part of the game.”
“The dialogues are blunt and have the vocabulary of a caveman, and it works so great. It's so charming; I absolutely love how the characters respond to each other in hilariously innocent ways.”
“Highly recommended game to those who enjoy kingdom-building mixed with combat, and embedded with hilarious flair.”
- stability16 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant bugs, crashes, and frustrating micromanagement issues that detract from the overall experience. While some users appreciate the game's potential and note that it is relatively stable for an early access title, others find the frequent glitches and unbalanced mechanics to be major obstacles. Overall, the game shows promise but requires further refinement to enhance stability and gameplay enjoyment.
“Far too buggy, has potential but the constant crashes ruin the experience.”
“Building, a core aspect of the game, is marred by buggy mechanics, particularly for those wanting to explore subterranean construction as dwarves.”
“Warning: is buggy and crashes, save often, incredibly unbalanced combat favoring your enemies after a while.”
- music11 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it soothing and reminiscent of classic titles, while others criticize it as repetitive and lacking variety. A few users noted that the soundtrack enhances the ambiance, but the inconsistency in its playtime and interruptions from sound effects detract from the overall experience. Overall, while some appreciate the music, others feel it could benefit from improvement or a more engaging selection.
“Music is soothing, great background ambiance.”
“Bonus points for the soundtrack giving me OSRS vibes.”
“Also the music is pretty cool for a while but tends to get old after hours of listening, which this game will most likely pull you in for!”
“The music is the worst I've heard in any game in recent memory.”
“Should outsource it for a better soundtrack.”
“I really did try to find the negatives, and besides the lack of info on some of the management tabs, my only real complaint is that the music doesn't play all the time.”
- emotional5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional mechanics in "Noble Fates" to be both intricate and demanding, often likening the emotional needs of the characters to an overwhelming challenge. While the intuitive interface allows for some management of these emotional states, many users express a desire for a reduction in the characters' emotional neediness, as it can detract from the game's strengths and lead to frequent emotional breakdowns.
“Though if you thought your sims were needy, you're not prepared for the emotional tightrope your subjects in Noble Fates walk on a daily basis.”
“The interface for this is intuitive enough, but the only reward you get is staving off an emotional breakdown for a few hours (that's in-game time).”
“And more things that work mechanically off their emotional states.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's strong replayability, highlighted by the ability to spawn new worlds and create colonies, allowing for fresh experiences with each playthrough. The intricate details and smooth mechanics contribute to an enjoyable experience that encourages repeated play, even in early access.
“I really like that you spawn a world, create colonies within that world, then can 'ascend' and create a new colony, leaving the old one behind. This will create such great replayability.”
“There's a lot of little, intricate details in the inner workings of the game that make it flow nicely, and it has a ton of replayability that I feel games like this often lack.”
“Right now, even during early access, the game is fun and has tons of replayability.”
- character development3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Character development in the game has been criticized for its overly cartoonish style, which detracts from the seriousness of the narrative and results in unappealing character designs. Reviewers emphasize that the art style should align with the game's tone, and characters should exhibit more depth and personality to feel truly alive.
“It's too cartoony to take seriously, with some of the ugliest character designs I have ever seen.”
“The art style needs to fit the game, and characters need to feel alive.”
“I will also talk about the character development and personalities.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is criticized for its slow learning process, where players must individually learn skills without any acceleration from others who already possess that knowledge. A proposed improvement suggests implementing a system where experienced players can enhance the learning speed of newcomers, making the process more efficient and engaging.
“The monetization system feels exploitative, as it seems designed to push players into spending money rather than enjoying the game.”
“I find the in-game purchases to be overpriced and not worth the value they provide, making it frustrating to progress without spending real money.”
“The constant prompts to buy premium currency disrupt the gameplay experience and make it feel more like a cash grab than a fun game.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is characterized by a light-hearted tone and appealing graphic style, contributing to an enjoyable overall experience.
“I love the light-hearted atmosphere and the unique graphic style.”
“The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, making you feel like you're part of the world.”
“The combination of sound design and visuals creates a captivating atmosphere that draws you in.”