Ozymandias

About

Ozymandias is a single player and multiplayer turn-based strategy game with warfare and historical themes. It was developed by The Secret Games Company and was released on October 11, 2022. It received positive reviews from players.

Build an empire in a single sitting. All the strategy of a classic 4X in a faster format, which also shines in multiplayer.

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87%

Audience ScoreBased on 957 reviews

gameplay65 positive mentions

grinding8 negative mentions

Ozymandias offers a streamlined 4X experience that can be completed in under an hour, making it ideal for players who want a quick strategy game.
The game features a unique power projection mechanic that simplifies combat, allowing players to focus on strategic expansion and resource management.
With a variety of maps and civilizations, each with different starting conditions and bonuses, Ozymandias provides a good level of replayability and strategic depth.

The game lacks exploration and diplomacy mechanics, making it feel more like a board game than a traditional 4X game.
Some players find the AI to be overly challenging, leading to frustration, especially on higher difficulty settings.
The limited number of maps and the static nature of civilization traits can lead to repetitive gameplay after several sessions.

gameplay
223 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
67%
4%
The gameplay of Ozymandias is characterized by its streamlined mechanics that simplify the 4X genre, allowing for quick sessions of around an hour while maintaining strategic depth and replayability. Players appreciate the easy-to-learn rules, though some find the lack of complexity and variety in mechanics limiting, leading to a more puzzle-like experience rather than a traditional 4X adventure. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of simplicity and challenge, making it accessible for newcomers while still engaging for seasoned strategy enthusiasts.
- “Combined with random opportunities that appear throughout the game, these mechanics ensure that no two campaigns feel exactly the same.”
- “It has simple rules and mechanics, but a tricky learning curve and strong replayability.”
- “The strategic depth and nuanced gameplay mechanics provide endless hours of enjoyment, as we strive to build an empire that will stand the test of time.”
- “Ozymandias promises much but delivers little, particularly in terms of its gameplay mechanics.”
- “In summary, Ozymandias falls short of its 4x aspirations, offering a lackluster experience marred by simplistic design, frustrating achievements, and shallow gameplay.”
- “The predetermined maps, civilization locations, perfect information, and focused scope lean gameplay more towards difficulty and completion chasing rather than the exploratory and story-creating gameplay something like the Civ series can provide.”
replayability
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
53%
5%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many players praising its depth and variety despite a limited number of maps. While some reviews highlight the potential for unique experiences through different strategies and scenarios, others express concerns about repetitiveness due to fixed maps and a lack of randomization. Overall, the game offers significant replay value, especially in multiplayer and with various civilizations, but some players feel it may eventually become stale.
- “Great lightweight little strategy game that actually has surprising depth and replayability for how simple the rules are.”
- “Tons of replayability across different starts, maps, and victory conditions.”
- “Great replayability and future DLCs will ensure this is played for years into the future.”
- “The game gets a thumbs down from me due to its replayability.”
- “There is also no random map option, and so the limited number of provided premade maps will limit single player replayability, as once you've tried the various starting positions on each map, I don't think the AI will provide much in the way of new challenges beyond what you've already seen.”
- “It only has fixed maps, so probably not much replayability.”
story
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
86%
7%
The game's "story" is primarily a minimalistic tutorial disguised as a campaign, consisting of just four missions that lack depth and narrative progression. Players express disappointment over the absence of a true storyline, with many suggesting that the tutorial does not adequately engage or intrigue them. While the gameplay mechanics are praised for their complexity, the overall storytelling experience is seen as lacking compared to other 4X games.
- “Every campaign tells a compact story of ambition and impermanence, where triumphs feel earned and losses sting just enough to keep you coming back.”
- “I'm not going to pretend this game has the storytelling capabilities of Civilization, but for a game with complexity comparable to a particularly heavy board game, the depth squeezed in is downright impressive.”
- “The story campaign will introduce you to all important aspects of running your civilization.”
- “My only real negatives are that the 'story mode' isn't much of a campaign, and is just an extension of the tutorial.”
- “I played through the story campaign (needs to just be renamed to tutorial) which is just long enough that it would probably exceed the play time to qualify for a refund from Steam if you didn't like it.”
- “The 'story campaign' is basically just the tutorial.”
music
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
28%
8%
The music in the game is widely praised for its understated yet effective quality, enhancing the immersive experience of ancient civilizations. Reviewers highlight the soothing and atmospheric soundtrack, which complements the gameplay and evokes the essence of the Bronze Age. Overall, the music is described as delightful, relaxing, and well-suited to the game's strategic elements, contributing significantly to its appeal.
- “The music is understated but effective, evoking the rhythms of ancient civilizations rising and falling under the weight of ambition.”
- “The soundtrack complements the game perfectly.”
- “The music is very chilled out and I've ended up doing some extra reading on the Bronze Age after playing this.”
- “Just turn off the AI music playing wrong notes.”
- “Despite the many different regions to play in, all of them have roughly the same nations (since they are differentiated by being mercantile, industrious, militaristic, etc.) so you'll find that the songs have identical bonuses to the Egyptians.”
- “Presentation could be a tad better (graphics/music/sound effects), but the focused and polished gameplay experience really makes up for the outdated outlook of the game.”
graphics
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
53%
8%
The graphics of the game are generally described as simple and minimalist, serving their purpose without being visually stunning. While some players appreciate the elegant art style and hand-drawn maps, others find the visuals basic and lacking in dynamism, with a few noting issues with resolution and interface clarity. Overall, the graphics are considered serviceable, complementing the game's strategic mechanics rather than overshadowing them.
- “The maps are beautifully drawn and the art style, whilst minimalistic, works perfectly for this style of game.”
- “Graphics are elegant and clearly show all the info you need.”
- “Great art style and comfy soundtrack.”
- “Graphics are basic but serviceable.”
- “Very limited graphics (which at least means you could run this on a potato), not very dynamic, very uninformative interface requiring you to keep opening tabs/panels to get data.”
- “There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews highlight a mixed experience with grinding in the game, noting that while some players find the end-game repetitive and tedious, others appreciate the faster gameplay and reduced micromanagement compared to traditional 4X titles. The grind can feel burdensome, especially after early mistakes lead to prolonged, monotonous turns, but for those seeking a less intensive experience, the game offers enjoyable empire expansion without the typical grind of similar genres.
- “Instead of feeling motivated to explore and conquer, I found myself bogged down by tedious tasks and arbitrary obstacles.”
- “Most civ-type games force you into a grindy end-game where you are simply doing the same thing over and over to achieve extermination, or pile up cash, or work to the end of a tech tree long past the point where there was anything interesting for your civilization to discover or build.”
- “And regarding overall game dynamics: one or two mistakes early in a game is fatal, and then it's simply a slow, tedious, excruciatingly boring agony, 2 minutes per turn, turn after turn.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with users reporting frequent freezes when starting new games and issues with certain civilizations becoming unplayable. Multiplayer experiences are also plagued by bugs, including desynchronization and crashes that affect overall gameplay. While some players have encountered fewer issues on Linux via Proton, the overall consensus indicates that stability needs improvement.
- “I'm dealing with an issue where at least half the time when I start a new game on my laptop, it just freezes.”
- “Good game, but there's a common bug that makes several civilizations unplayable because once you start them, the game freezes and nothing is clickable anymore.”
- “Opening and closing the game frequently freezes my Steam, and I have to restart my computer to clear it.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
The game's optimization is crucial for early-game competitiveness, akin to chess openings, and it appeals to players who enjoy puzzle and optimization challenges. However, some users report that it demands more performance than expected, particularly on the Steam Deck, with adjustments like lowering the display refresh rate and capping the frame rate helping to improve performance.
- “Play it if you're looking for a neat puzzle or optimization game.”
- “Your early game needs to be pretty optimized to be competitive, similar to chess openings.”
- “I've not played a huge amount of this game, but I wanted to leave a review partly because I think it's a really fun game from a small team that should be supported, but also specifically to talk about Steam Deck performance.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive depiction of Bronze Age civilizations engaged in epic battles, complemented by a fittingly simple musical score that enhances the experience of conquering and expanding one's influence.
- “The atmosphere is spot on, with Bronze Age civilizations battling through the known world, accompanied by simple music in the background as you vanquish your foes and spread your influence and power.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users find the humor in the game to be genuinely funny and enjoyable, eliciting laughter and positive reactions.
- “Ahahaha, that's actually funny!”
- “The humor in this game is top-notch and had me laughing out loud!”
- “I love how the game uses clever puns and witty dialogue to keep things entertaining.”