Populous™ II: Trials of the Olympian Gods

About

In Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods, play as a demigod and wield powerful abilities to defeat Greek deities and take your place on Mt. Olympus. Summon heroes like Odysseus and Herakles, and use 1,000 maps to conquer and strategize. Master the elements of earth, wind, water, and fire to prove your divine worth.

Genres & Tags

Role Playing

Play Modes

Populous™ II: Trials of the Olympian Gods screenshot

67%

Audience ScoreBased on 12 reviews

replayability1 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods is a nostalgic classic that brings back fond memories for players who enjoyed the original game.
The game offers simple yet fun gameplay with a good variety and lots of replay value, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
Despite its flaws, some players appreciate the opportunity to relive the experience of a beloved title from the strategy golden era.

The game suffers from significant technical issues, including frame rate problems and clunky controls, making it difficult to enjoy on modern systems.
There are no meaningful updates or enhancements, such as remastered graphics or quality-of-life improvements, which makes the game feel outdated.
Many players feel that the game is a lazy cash grab, lacking the refinement necessary to justify its re-release on contemporary platforms.

graphics
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
Overall, the graphics have seen some improvement, but many users feel they remain outdated and blocky, lacking significant updates or remastering. The interface and controls are criticized for being clunky and reminiscent of older technology, leading to a gameplay experience that feels repetitive and frustrating by modern standards. Many reviewers suggest that nostalgia for the original version outweighs any graphical enhancements made in the current iteration.
- “The only discernible difference is the improvement in graphics and evidence of progression.”
- “Despite the updated graphics and attempt at improvement, the original Populous is superior.”
- “Some things are best left in the past. I used to play this on the Amiga and it was great, but now the graphics are so blocky and outdated with nothing done to update them that you really would need to buy an Amiga to bring this back to its former glory. Avoid and stay with your memories.”
- “The graphics are ancient, the interface is clunky, and the gameplay feels repetitive by modern standards.”
- “No remastered graphics, no UI tweaks to make it less of a hassle on modern resolutions, and the controls are as clumsy as they were 30 years ago.”
gameplay
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
The gameplay in the sequel is largely familiar to those who played the first game, with minimal new mechanics to learn aside from experience point allocation. While it offers simple and enjoyable gameplay with good variety and replay value, the graphics are outdated, the interface is clunky, and the overall experience can feel repetitive by modern standards.
- “If players have read and understood the first game's manual and mechanics, then there's not much else to learn in this sequel outside of allocating experience points to specific powers of nature.”
- “Simple but fun gameplay, with some good variety and lots of replay value.”
- “The graphics are ancient, the interface is clunky, and the gameplay feels repetitive by modern standards.”
- “If players have read and understood the first game's manual and mechanics, then they've not much else to learn in this sequel outside of allocating experience points to specific powers of nature.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of "Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods" is perceived as a lazy cash grab rather than a genuine nostalgic experience, leading to disappointment among users.
- “Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods is one of those re-releases that feels more like a lazy cash grab than a nostalgic treat.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game utilizes DOSBox for emulation, which, while functional, lacks optimization for modern systems. This is particularly disappointing considering it is a paid release on platforms like Steam and EA's.
- “The game relies heavily on DOSBox for emulation, and while it works, it's hardly optimized for current systems, especially given that it’s a paid release on Steam and EA's platform.”
- “The performance is inconsistent, with frequent frame drops and long loading times that make the experience frustrating.”
- “Despite the nostalgic appeal, the lack of optimization makes it feel outdated and unpolished compared to modern titles.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the game's simple yet enjoyable mechanics, noting that it offers a good variety of experiences that contribute to its high replay value.
- “Simple but fun gameplay, with some good variety and lots of replay value.”