Ozymandias
- October 11, 2022
- The Secret Games Company
- 9h median play time
Get on Steam"Ozymandias: Bronze Age Empire Sim" is a streamlined 4X strategy game set in the Bronze Age, where players expand borders, build cities, and raise armies. The game features historical maps, 52 empires with unique traits, and an abstracted combat system. With random victory conditions and a short story campaign, each game is a unique challenge.
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Reviews
- Ozymandias offers a streamlined 4X experience that can be completed in under an hour, making it perfect for quick gaming sessions.
- The game features a clever balance of resource management and strategic decision-making, providing depth without overwhelming complexity.
- The AI is competent and challenging, ensuring that each match feels engaging and rewarding, with various civilizations and maps adding to replayability.
- The game lacks random map generation and has a limited number of pre-set maps, which can lead to repetitive gameplay over time.
- Some civilizations feel unbalanced, with certain factions having significant advantages based on their starting positions, which can affect the overall fairness of matches.
- The victory conditions can feel arbitrary, as players may win unexpectedly before fully engaging in the game, leading to a lack of satisfaction in some matches.
- gameplay159 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its polished, streamlined mechanics that condense the 4X genre into a fast-paced experience, allowing for strategic depth without overwhelming micromanagement. While the core gameplay loop is solid and easy to grasp, some players find the lack of complexity and variety in mechanics limits long-term replayability. Overall, it offers a satisfying blend of simplicity and challenge, making it accessible for both casual and strategic players.
“Taking a minimalistic approach to the 4x mechanics provides a far more breezy experience with still enough bite to its strategy to be satisfying.”
“Gameplay loop is relatively quick but still long enough to feel like a meaningful time investment (30-40 min) and the rules are pretty straightforward to get started with.”
“Great strategy game, simple mechanics, hard to master, well worth the price.”
“Coupled with the player having no knowledge of what AI is doing during their turn, and with an obnoxious tile-threat mechanic, it becomes a frustrating puzzle.”
“Being so short, it loses on certain aspects; there isn't really any exploration, no fog of war, no trade, no diplomacy mechanics, no eras, no buildings (besides cities), and no tech tree with technologies that drastically change the gameplay.”
“What this game suffers from is massive linear path mechanics.”
- replayability51 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 49 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers a solid level of replayability, with multiple maps, starting positions, and customizable victory conditions contributing to varied gameplay experiences. While some players note limitations due to fixed maps and potential repetitiveness, the diversity of civilizations and strategies, along with the inclusion of multiplayer options, enhance replay value significantly. Many reviewers express confidence that the game can provide hundreds of hours of enjoyment, especially with future DLCs planned.
“There is also a good deal of replayability; probably 100-200 hours worth to get all the achievements.”
“Tons of replayability across different starts, maps, and victory conditions.”
“Great replayability and future DLCs will ensure this is played for years to come.”
“It only has fixed maps, so probably not much 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.”
“This will limit replayability in single player mode, and limits how emergent the gameplay can truly be in multiplayer (though the potential to ban factions from a match could offset this some).”
- music29 mentions
- 66 % positive mentions
- 24 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and immersive qualities, enhancing the overall gameplay experience. Reviewers appreciate the soundtrack's ability to complement the game's aesthetic and provide a relaxing atmosphere, making it suitable for both casual play and more strategic sessions. While some mention minor issues with specific audio elements, the general consensus is that the music is delightful and well-crafted, contributing significantly to the game's charm.
“The incorporation of lighter rounds for relaxation adds a pleasant rhythm to the gameplay, while the music enhances the overall experience.”
“The soundtrack complements the game perfectly.”
“Lovely audio design, really enjoy the soundtrack + the sound effects are very zen.”
“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.”
- story28 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The "story" aspect of the game is primarily criticized for being misleadingly labeled as a "campaign," as it consists of only four tutorial missions that lack depth and narrative engagement. Players find the tutorial helpful for learning mechanics but express a desire for a more expansive and thematic campaign that offers a richer storytelling experience, akin to other 4X games. Overall, while the tutorial serves its purpose, it falls short of providing a compelling story or immersive gameplay.
“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.”
“The short tutorial (only 4 missions) is surprisingly robust, like the rest of the game.”
“I believe it would be vastly improved if there were actual campaign missions taking you across various areas of the old world, but sadly, there aren't.”
“They call the 4 tutorial missions the 'campaign' but they're just simply tutorial missions.”
“Lacks the theme and storytelling of most 4x games, instead focusing on resource management and number crunching.”
- graphics22 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the simple yet effective art style and coherent presentation, while others find them limited and lacking in dynamism. Many commend the hand-drawn maps and elegant visuals that effectively convey necessary information, though some express a desire for more imaginative artwork and improved user interface elements. Overall, while the graphics may not be groundbreaking, they complement the gameplay and aesthetic well, contributing to a pleasant experience.
“The graphics and music are simple but effective and coherent.”
“I love the art style and the hand-drawn maps, but I do wish there was a way to have randomly generated ones.”
“Graphics are elegant and clearly show all the info you need.”
“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.”
“Not interested in the bronze age, and the graphics are nothing to write home about.”
“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.”
- stability5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for frequent freezing issues, particularly when starting new games and during multiplayer sessions, leading to significant disruptions. Users have reported needing to restart their systems to resolve these problems, although some have noted that the game remains playable on Linux through Proton despite occasional freezes.
“I'm dealing with an issue where at least half the time when I start a new game on my laptop, it just freezes.”
“The multiplayer is pretty buggy.”
“Opening and closing the game frequently freezes my Steam, and I have to restart my computer to clear it.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the fast-paced gameplay and lack of tedious late-game micromanagement, making it a refreshing alternative to traditional 4X games. However, some express frustration with the potential for early mistakes to lead to a slow and boring endgame, likening the experience to grinding in a competitive ladder system. Overall, the game offers a balance for those seeking less grind and more strategic expansion.
“I was so close to grinding my rival into dust, and then I just... won the game, and the fun was over!”
“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.”
“One match after another, a little like grinding the ladder in an RTS game.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its engaging puzzle and optimization elements, but users report that it requires more performance than expected, particularly on the Steam Deck. Adjusting the display settings to 40Hz and capping the frame rate at 20fps has been suggested as a workaround to improve performance.
“Play it if you're looking for a neat puzzle or optimization game.”
“Performance-wise, it seems to demand a great deal more than it should - I found that setting the display to 40Hz and a 20fps cap solved this.”
“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.”
