Rise to Ruins

About

Rise to Ruins is a single player survival strategy game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Raymond Doerr and was released on October 14, 2019. It received positive reviews from players.

"Rise to Ruins" is a godlike village simulator that combines elements from classic real-time strategy and resource management games, with twists of tower defense and survival. The objective is to manage a village, defend against monsters at night, and expand during the day, with the knowledge that failure is common, but provides learning opportunities.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+10

Skip User Reviews

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 4,956 reviews

gameplay289 positive mentions

grinding95 negative mentions

Rise to Ruins combines elements of city building, tower defense, and god simulation, creating a unique and engaging gameplay experience.
The game features a steep learning curve that rewards players with a sense of accomplishment as they progress and improve their strategies.
The pixel art style and soundtrack contribute to a charming atmosphere, making it enjoyable to watch your village grow and defend against corruption.

The AI for villagers can be frustratingly unresponsive, often leading to poor decision-making and unnecessary deaths.
The game lacks a clear tutorial, making it difficult for new players to understand mechanics and strategies, resulting in a steep initial learning curve.
The corruption mechanic can feel overwhelming, as it scales rapidly and can lead to inevitable defeat, making the gameplay feel punishing rather than rewarding.

gameplay
939 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
63%
6%
The gameplay of "Rise to Ruins" is a complex blend of city-building, tower defense, and god simulation mechanics, offering a steep learning curve that can be both rewarding and frustrating. Players often find the mechanics intriguing yet opaque, requiring patience and experimentation to master, while the game features a unique corruption mechanic that adds urgency to survival. Despite its charming pixel art and engaging gameplay loop, many users express a desire for clearer tutorials and improved UI to enhance the overall experience.
- “The gameplay requires you to build up your colony during the day and fend off attacks at night, and you try to push back against the corruption creeping across the land.”
- “It's a challenging game, but the interesting gameplay and mix of genres is very enjoyable.”
- “The learning curve can seem steep at times and you will most likely fail many times over before you've gotten a solid grasp on the mechanics, but it is a fun and rewarding experience.”
- “The gameplay is completely oriented towards tower defense, but in a very unique and original way.”
- “The mechanics of this game aren't spoon-fed to you, so if you don't have the patience to figure them out (a fair amount are still explained to you at the start), then this isn't the game for you.”
- “The gameplay loop isn't all that satisfying, unless you really like watching your city grow.”
graphics
464 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
62%
6%
The graphics of the game are predominantly characterized by a retro pixel art style, which many players find charming and nostalgic, reminiscent of classic titles like Warcraft and Starcraft. However, opinions are divided; while some appreciate the simplicity and aesthetic appeal, others criticize the graphics for being too basic, cluttered, or difficult to interpret, especially during complex gameplay scenarios. Overall, the visuals are seen as a mixed bag, with a strong emphasis on gameplay mechanics over graphical fidelity, appealing primarily to fans of pixel art.
- “I really like the art style; it takes me back to the original Warcraft.”
- “The graphics have so much pixely goodness that you just cannot fault it.”
- “The pixel graphics work well.”
- “The game's eyesore graphics and cumbersome UI immediately detract from the experience.”
- “The graphics are painful even for a pixel game.”
- “The graphics are so bad I even wish they were as good as RimWorld, and that is saying something.”
music
331 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
48%
5%
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its calming and atmospheric qualities, effectively enhancing the overall gameplay experience. Many players appreciate the original soundtrack, noting its ability to create a nostalgic and immersive environment, although some mention that it can become repetitive over time. While the music is generally well-received, a few users have criticized it for being too loud or thematically mismatched in certain scenarios.
- “The music is fantastic and matches the game perfectly, and the game loop is extremely addictive.”
- “The game's soundtrack deserves a special mention, with a mix of ambient and orchestral music that perfectly captures the game's mood.”
- “The music is beautifully composed and fits this setting, creating a relaxing but challenging experience.”
- “The biggest drawback to this game is the music; it is hands down the least appropriate/thematically correct music of any game I've ever played.”
- “The music is... jarring (I turned it off immediately).”
- “Cannot mute the music on launch - and the music is bad and loud.”
replayability
128 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
58%
3%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many players praising its high replay value due to sandbox elements, constant updates, and diverse gameplay modes. However, some reviewers note a lack of depth and repetitive mechanics that can diminish long-term engagement. Overall, while many find it endlessly replayable, others feel it could benefit from more varied strategies and improvements to enhance replayability further.
- “The game's sandbox elements allow for endless replayability.”
- “This game is tons of fun, gets repetitive but has a lot of replayability.”
- “With great support from the developer and frequent updates, Rise to Ruins will continue to rise its replayability and never ruin as one of the best and addicting experiences I've had in a long while.”
- “Just don't expect the same amount of depth and replayability as many other city builders.”
- “Fun little RTS/survival game but fairly shallow with little replayability.”
- “Ultimately a very shallow game without any replayability.”
grinding
97 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The reviews overwhelmingly describe the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and frustrating, with players expressing dissatisfaction over the excessive micromanagement, slow progression, and repetitive resource gathering. Many feel that the gameplay lacks direction and becomes monotonous, particularly in the late game, where the challenge often turns into a slog rather than an engaging experience. While some players appreciate the depth of management required, the consensus leans towards a need for improvement to make the grinding feel more rewarding and less burdensome.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “There is no grinding through this stage; adapt or die.”
- “Been trying to find a way to enjoy this game, but it just feels remarkably tedious no matter what I do.”
- “It makes what could be a fun and interesting learning curve downright tedious and painful to figure out and optimize.”
- “Ultimately it's a tower defense game where you sink a lot of time in gathering resources and micromanaging which needs improvement as it gets tedious fast.”
story
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
81%
9%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its absence, with many players noting that there is no overarching narrative or campaign to engage with. While some appreciate the freedom to create their own village stories, others feel this lack of structure leads to a less compelling experience, missing opportunities for deeper lore and character development. Suggestions for improvement include the addition of quests, a campaign mode, or modding capabilities to enhance storytelling elements.
- “The reason DF is fun when you lose, often without any fault of your own, is that each loss tells a story which can be quite complex and nuanced.”
- “This game brings back the feeling of my SNES and PSX games, when I was so into games I could almost feel I was living a real story when playing.”
- “Perhaps it was even for the best, to allow you to imagine your own village story and your own goals.”
- “There is no story/campaign.”
- “If you require story, this game will disappoint, because so far I haven't noticed a story, unless you extrapolate one from the abandoned structures you find in each map.”
- “Losing in Rise to Ruins was not fun at all as it just felt like I didn't manage the town well enough and no interesting story was being told.”
optimization
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
71%
14%
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players highlighting significant performance issues, particularly in late-game scenarios where frame rates drop drastically due to particle effects and AI pathing problems. While some users have noted improvements over time and commend the developer's responsiveness, the consensus is that further optimization is needed to enhance gameplay experience, especially for those with lower-end systems. Players express a desire for better mod support and more robust late-game content to alleviate these performance concerns.
- “I have been playing since early access and have seen tremendous growth and improvements in the gameplay and performance.”
- “The game has great performance, surprisingly detailed well-made graphics, and is well worth the asking price of $10.00.”
- “The dev, Ray, is very active with his burgeoning community, and very active in creating updates, be that new content or bug fixes or optimizations.”
- “Unoptimized hell later in the game even on lowest settings, constant corpse clear, millions of particles.”
- “My one complaint is that the optimization versus the graphics is really bad.”
- “Performance issues are the real end boss.”
stability
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
2%
75%
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing frequent freezes and performance issues, particularly when managing larger populations. However, others report a generally stable experience with minimal bugs, especially for an early access title, highlighting that while there are occasional glitches, they are often forgivable and do not significantly detract from gameplay. Overall, the game's stability appears to vary widely among users, with some enjoying a polished experience while others face frustrating technical problems.
- “This game runs great and every time I play it, I'm hit with a new but fun challenge.”
- “Not buggy at all, you don't feel the alpha issues that happen in so many games nowadays.”
- “Everything is pretty much done, functional, and bug-free.”
- “I've spent hours trying multiple different ways to get this game to work, but it freezes during the load startup screen every single time.”
- “Fun and really addictive game, but, at least for me, unplayable after about 100 villagers due to lags and constant freezes.”
- “My major issue with this game is, once you hit the mark of 250+ villagers, the FPS just drops or freezes, especially during the nighttime with the hordes of zombies coming to the villages.”
humor
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in "Rise to Ruins" is a standout feature, blending dark comedy with lighthearted elements, such as quirky villager names and amusing death messages. Players appreciate the game's ability to balance strategy with humor, often finding themselves laughing at the absurdity of situations and the developer's clever easter eggs. Overall, the game offers a delightful mix of funny glitches, witty writing, and a charming aesthetic that enhances the gameplay experience.
- “It's like SimCity and The Walking Dead had a love child, and that child grew up to be a hilarious overachiever.”
- “The game also doesn't take itself too seriously, with villager names like Terminator Rex and death blurbs like 'that was probably your fault...' It finds its balance between humor and strategy.”
- “I enjoyed many hours in this game and I find it hilarious how sometimes, due to bad luck, my whole town is getting obliterated by successive blood moons, fireballs falling from the sky, and monsters invading at the same time. My towers only have that much amount of ammo!”
atmosphere
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
22%
14%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its charming pixel art, immersive sound design, and engaging music, which together create a vibrant and relaxing experience. While some players feel it lacks certain ambient elements, many appreciate the innovative blend of genres and the nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic games. Overall, the atmosphere is described as both captivating and conducive to long play sessions, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “Atmospheric, complex enough to keep your interest, innovative and addictive.”
- “Creates atmosphere so to speak - for example how when you go over corrupt territory you can no longer hear the music but only the spooky sounds in the mist and darkness. The game is full of new good ideas I have never seen before and implemented some of those that were around for some time in the best way I can imagine.”
- “Great atmosphere, caused by even better music!”
- “I'd love to give this a positive review but, uhm... I come back after like 2 years, all 'sweet it's out of EA, let's see if my investment paid off; get some of that end game content, atmosphere, and polish' and the thing they added... was... trash...???”
- “It furthers the atmosphere of the game, while always having variation in it for different points in the game.”
- “Collect the essence involves moving your mouse around essence that results from enemy deaths or other triggers that have it free-floating in the atmosphere.”
monetization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The game's monetization model is highly praised for its absence of microtransactions, paid DLC, and DRM, with the developer committing to maintaining this approach. Players appreciate the developer's transparency and dedication to free updates and content additions, which enhances the game's long-term playability and fosters a positive relationship with the community. Overall, the focus on artistic integrity and player experience without monetization pitfalls has garnered significant acclaim.
- “I liked the developer's work and artistic integrity in not selling DLC, microtransactions, and loot boxes, while still updating the game for free.”
- “The developer works on this game constantly, resulting in frequent content additions, updates, bug fixes, etc. It is always nice to see a developer continue to support a game, especially one like this that has no microtransactions or paid DLC.”
- “I really love how you made the game and designed it. I'm always looking for games without microtransactions like this one. Thank you very much for making such an amazing game!”
- “I do not believe in DRM, paid DLC, or microtransactions.”
- “I liked this game because of the developer's work and artistic integrity in not selling DLC, microtransactions, and loot boxes, while still updating the game for free.”
- “Hello Raymond, I wanted to thank you for making a game without any microtransactions or paid DLC.”
emotional
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its wholesome and heartwarming qualities, with players expressing a deep connection to its unique characters and touching narrative. While some reviews mention frustration and challenges that can lead to heart-wrenching moments, the overall sentiment is that the game evokes strong emotional responses, making it a labor of love that resonates with players. Many find it rewarding and sweet, appreciating the developers' efforts and the game's charming simplicity.
- “Overall, I'd give this game a 1/10 based purely on how much time I've given to it and the emotional response I felt at the decidedly sudden end.”
- “The frustration and challenge can feel rewarding while the defeat can be absolutely heart-wrenching.”
- “This game truly seemed a labor of love to me, and it was heartwarming the message we got when it came out of early access.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
While the character designs and animations are praised for their charm, the reviews do not provide specific insights into the depth or progression of character development within the game.
- “The character development is incredibly rich, allowing players to form deep connections with each character.”
- “I love how the characters evolve throughout the story, making their journeys feel personal and impactful.”
- “The depth of the characters' backstories adds layers to the gameplay, making every decision feel meaningful.”