Spice Road
- April 23, 2014
- Aartform Games
- 27h median play time
Get on Steam"Spice Road" is a single-player historical strategy game set in the 18th Century on the Spice Road. Players build and manage a town, engaging in trade and empire building while navigating the challenges of war and discovery. The game features advanced economic and social simulations, and utilizes the StormRaid™ engine for high-end DirectX® graphics. It takes about 30 hours to complete.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a unique blend of logistics and economic strategy, providing a deep and engaging experience for players who enjoy managing trade routes and settlements.
- Despite its simple graphics, the gameplay is well-designed and stable, allowing for enjoyable and challenging gameplay over many hours.
- The game features a variety of buildings and strategic choices, making it replayable and appealing to fans of city-building and management genres.
- The city-building mechanics are cumbersome, requiring players to individually place buildings in each settlement, which can become repetitive and tedious over time.
- The graphics are dated and may not appeal to players looking for a visually polished experience, resembling early beta games rather than a finished product.
- The sandbox mode is limited, as many features are locked until players complete the mandatory campaign, which can frustrate those who prefer to jump straight into free play.
- story18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as engaging and reminiscent of a compelling book, with each mission introducing new concepts and challenges that encourage deep reflection. However, the tutorial-like campaign is criticized for being tedious and overly simplistic, serving primarily as a gatekeeper to unlock sandbox mode and building upgrades. Players express frustration with the lack of meaningful difficulty and the reliance on a lengthy tutorial to access the full game experience.
“This game is akin to a good book - you binge into the plot then put it down and think about it post-read...”
“I've played for over 30 hours and every new mission introduces new things, new concepts, and new challenges.”
“It's a deal breaker for me, since this kind of game usually requires an extremely well-thought-out campaign to make them worth playing.”
“Worst of all, the tutorial 'storyline' is mandatory to access all the buildings in sandbox.”
“Hence the tree is merely a means of blocking sandbox access to the full building menu until the whole storyline is completed.”
“It's a deal breaker for me, since this kind of game usually requires an extremely well thought-out campaign to make it worth playing.”
- graphics11 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have been widely criticized as primitive and dated, often compared to N64 quality, with some users describing them as cheap and cheesy. However, many players find that the engaging gameplay and high replayability compensate for the lackluster visuals, making the overall experience enjoyable despite the graphical shortcomings.
“Graphics is somewhat simple, but for me it was absolutely okay because the gameplay was fun.”
“The graphics are adequate, although it's not that important here.”
“The major downside is the primitive graphics, but the amount of things you can do and the replayability makes up for this flaw.”
“The graphics on this are very dated.”
“The graphics are cheap and cheesy, but the system requirements are so low this game will probably run well on a George Foreman grill.”
- gameplay7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The gameplay is well thought out and offers around 30 hours of challenging and enjoyable content, though it suffers from a lack of depth and variety, leading to potential boredom over time. While it successfully scratches a managerial itch and features enjoyable mechanics reminiscent of classic titles, it ultimately requires more polish and complexity to maintain long-term interest. Overall, it is considered worth purchasing, especially on sale, for its novelty and fun factor.
“It has a well-thought-out gameplay.”
“It gives enough challenges and motivation for 30 hours of gameplay.”
“It scratches the trading itch that Railroad Tycoon III had left and the Port Royale series failed to take over with very nicely designed game mechanics.”
“It tries to do something different, and while it could use a ton more polish and mechanics that add a bit more depth and variety to keep it fresh for a longer period of time, the game is different enough that it scratches a managerial itch of mine I have trouble finding good ways to scratch.”
“Gameplay gets boring after a while, therefore returning it.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers significant replayability due to its diverse activities and the challenge of achieving 100% completion, despite some criticism regarding its primitive graphics and a desire for a longer campaign. Players find that the variety of gameplay elements compensates for these shortcomings, enhancing the overall experience.
“I wish the campaign was longer, but you can enjoy some replayability by trying for 100% completion on all levels.”
“It is very replayable.”
“The major downside is the primitive graphics, but the amount of things you can do and the replayability makes up for this flaw.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players generally find the game to be a light experience, noting that it lacks deep emotional investment, making it suitable for casual play during breaks rather than for an emotionally engaging experience.
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while the game offers novelty, it suffers from shallow mechanics that make the grinding experience feel tedious and unengaging, suggesting it may only be worth purchasing on sale for those interested in achievement hunting.
“It's ultimately worth buying at least on sale for its novelty, but it desperately needs deeper mechanics to make it interesting for more than just grinding out the achievements.”
“The grinding feels repetitive and uninspired, making it hard to stay engaged with the game for long periods.”
“While the game has potential, the excessive grinding required to progress becomes a chore rather than an enjoyable challenge.”
- music1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The lack of music in the game has been noted as a downside, detracting from the overall experience despite the fun gameplay elements like trading and city building.
“Really fun game, trading seems all cool, building a city is fun; the only downside I can see is that there is no music.”
