Synergy
- May 21, 2024
- Leikir Studio
- 20h median play time
Get on SteamSynergy is a single-player strategy game with compelling mechanics and fabulous graphics. As a governor, your goal is to build a city for your citizens in a strange yet mesmerizing environment. You'll need to analyze the natural elements, conduct research, and ensure the safety and prosperity of your city through sustainable approaches, all while adapting to the unforgiving environment.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features stunning graphics and a unique art style reminiscent of Moebius, creating an immersive and beautiful environment.
- Synergy offers a fresh take on the city-building genre, emphasizing environmental interaction and resource management, which adds depth to gameplay.
- The developers are responsive to player feedback and are committed to regular updates, showing promise for future improvements and content expansion.
- The game suffers from frequent crashes and performance issues, especially with larger populations, making it frustrating to play.
- Many basic quality of life features are lacking, such as clear information on worker roles and resource generation, which can lead to confusion during gameplay.
- As an early access title, the game feels incomplete, with limited content and some mechanics that require further refinement to enhance the overall experience.
- graphics91 mentions
- 51 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning and distinctive art style, often compared to the works of Moebius. Players appreciate the beautiful visuals and unique aesthetic, which enhance the overall experience of the city-building gameplay. However, some users noted performance issues and a lack of depth in gameplay mechanics, suggesting that while the art is a significant highlight, it may not fully compensate for other shortcomings.
“The art style is absolutely stunning, the general mood is peaceful, the themes are pretty unique and relevant to today's world - without feeling heavy-handed - and the gameplay sends me delightful classical management/builder games vibes.”
“The visuals are very beautifully done, kudos to the artist!”
“This is a solid, if slightly obtuse, city builder that pays excellent homage to some of the greats of the genre all while being wrapped in an absolutely stunning art style.”
“Simply because you're absorbing a lot of new information (i.e. gameworld) and have to adjust to the graphics too.”
“And I just think that for a game with such simple graphics, this shouldn't be the case, so I hope the developers will face the performance issues.”
“Ultimately, I think the game leans too heavily on its art style and storytelling, but these things alone do not make a great city builder.”
- gameplay68 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally smooth and engaging, featuring a mix of familiar mechanics from classic city builders and innovative elements that encourage exploration and sustainability. While the art style and thematic depth are praised, some players note that certain mechanics, such as population happiness and resource management, could be better integrated and streamlined. Overall, the game shows promise but is still in early access, with hopes for future improvements and additional content.
“Great systems, great aesthetic, solid streamlined mechanics that encourage exploration and experimentation.”
“I was inspired by unusual art and was then immersed in the deep, unhurried, but challenging gameplay of this city builder.”
“The gameplay is fun and challenging.”
“I'm always on edge, not knowing when it might crash during gameplay.”
“The game is enjoyable, but the things that make it unique (its art style, expeditions/quests & lore, strategic building mechanics) are not fleshed out enough and don't offer a substantial reward as you interact with them through the game.”
“Gameplay-wise, there are some things that could be a little more streamlined.”
- story23 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's story is praised for its engaging narrative and effective storytelling through multiple choice situations during missions, enhancing player immersion. However, some reviewers note that the storylines can feel repetitive and lack significant challenge or rewards, suggesting that while the art style and narrative are strong, they may not be enough to elevate the overall gameplay experience in a city-building context.
“The game has a nice way of storytelling, with multiple choice situations during expeditions.”
“The storyline is engaging.”
“A progressive story with narration and clear objectives, with increasing difficulty.”
“I beat both of the (current) two storylines, and it was the same missing-resource challenge, just different resources.”
“Ultimately, I think the game leans too heavily on its art style and storytelling, but these things alone do not make a great city builder.”
“The missions are nice, but the sandbox mode is horrible.”
- optimization18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is a significant concern, particularly as city populations exceed 100, leading to severe performance degradation and lag. While some players find early access quirks manageable, many report that the game becomes nearly unplayable with larger towns, suggesting issues like memory leaks or inefficient path recalculation. Overall, despite its appealing graphics and gameplay, the performance issues hinder recommendations for the game in its current state.
“While there are some early access quirks, such as performance issues, they didn't bother me much.”
“As a side note to the devs, the game runs beautifully, but I did notice a big performance drop when building clay roads.”
“I'm assuming this is due to the path recalculation, but it definitely needs optimization.”
“The game performance is almost unplayable once you have over 100+ people in the city.”
“The game can also get really slow after you build up your town; I'm not sure if it's memory leaks or just poorly optimized.”
“The game is great and refreshing, but there is a lot of lag and performance issues slowly creeping in as you progress. For that reason, I cannot recommend the game as of yet.”
- music15 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received generally positive feedback, with many players appreciating its ability to set the mood and complement the game's theme. However, some users noted that the original soundtrack (OST) is somewhat limited and suggested improvements, particularly in ambient sounds. Overall, the music contributes to a calming and inspiring atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience.
“The music and audio effects are in tone, unoffensive and help the game's theme greatly.”
“A lovely city builder with absolutely fantastic art and music.”
“The music and how the game looks makes me feel very calm and inspired.”
“The OST is a bit limited but sets the mood well.”
“Improvement needed: the music, especially the ambient sounds, could also be improved.”
“Surprisingly, the music was just kind of there.”
- replayability14 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 21 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game currently offers a solid level of replayability, with diverse challenges and strategies that enhance the experience, especially given its early access status. However, some players note that replayability is somewhat limited, primarily hinging on varying production chains based on map resources. Overall, there is optimism for future updates to expand content and replayability further.
“There's enough to discover, challenges to complete, and strategy to make the game super fun and replayable.”
“This makes the game almost infinitely replayable and satisfying on multiple levels.”
“The only replayability I have noticed is that your production chains vary depending on the resources available on the map.”
“But other than that, there is little replayability.”
“So far there is a decent amount of content, so I am really looking forward to seeing how it develops and hopefully we'll get a lot of variety and replayability in the future when there is more tech, buildings, and plants available.”
- grinding13 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed bag; while the research and gathering system is innovative, its execution can feel tedious, especially when paired with the worker placement mechanics. Many reviewers express frustration with the repetitive nature of harvesting over farming, leading to a game loop that feels overly simplistic and lacking depth. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a potential hindrance to enjoyment, despite the game's soothing atmosphere and thematic inspiration.
“It adds its own twist to this formula with a research and gathering system that is fantastic in concept but a little tedious in execution.”
“Especially when combined with the already sometimes tedious Frostpunk-style worker placement mechanic.”
“I paid for the $40 dev support option, and hoped to at least get a solid 40-hour week out of playing this, but basically, it's too easy, and the game loop is tedious.”
- stability7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 71 % negative mentions
The game is currently in early access, leading to some instability characterized by bugs, glitches, and occasional lag, particularly during specific interactions. While players note that the systems can be unclear and the overall experience is not fully polished, many feel that with patience and problem-solving, they can navigate these issues.
“The game lags a lot, and I do have 16GB RAM. If I hover over the question mark in the top left of a building menu, the game freezes most of the time.”
“The game is still a bit buggy.”
“Bugs and glitches: this is early access, and they do exist in small numbers.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised as dreamy and fresh, creating an enjoyable and immersive experience for players.
“Really atmospheric and enjoyable!”
“Dreamy, atmospheric, fresh.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is mixed; while it offers brief stories during exploration, they lack depth and fail to create a strong connection with the characters, making players indifferent to their fates. However, the game does foster a sense of satisfaction in taking time to learn and engage with the environment, which can evoke positive feelings.
“Interestingly, synergy is the first game in my experience that made me feel good for taking my time and learning about something before harvesting and using it.”
