TerraScape
- July 17, 2024
- bitfallstudios
- 20h median play time
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Get on itch.io Store"TerraScape is a card game for 2 players, offering multiplayer and single-player modes, including PvP. Build your dream city by placing cards wisely to earn points and unlock new decks, while managing positive and negative influences. With procedural maps and exciting challenges, TerraScape promises excellent game mechanics, fantastic visuals, and wonderful music."
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Xbox
Reviews
- Beautiful graphics and relaxing music create an immersive atmosphere.
- Engaging gameplay that combines strategic planning with puzzle-solving elements.
- Offers a variety of game modes, including puzzles and free play, enhancing replayability.
- Limited content and building options can lead to repetitive gameplay after a few hours.
- Some UI and readability issues make it difficult to identify buildings and their effects.
- The game can feel overly simplistic for players seeking deeper city-building mechanics.
- gameplay140 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its blend of strategic planning and relaxing mechanics, featuring intuitive controls and visually appealing graphics. Players appreciate the engaging merging and deck-building elements, which add depth and replayability, although some find the core mechanics can become repetitive over time. While the game offers a cozy and meditative experience, there are critiques regarding limited objectives and a need for more diverse gameplay elements to enhance overall engagement.
“A stylish, neat, and clever city-builder with a deck-building and 'transform' mechanic.”
“The core gameplay loop of placing buildings and discovering combos is highly addictive, and the steady stream of new structures keeps things interesting.”
“The game combines strategic planning with creative map manipulation, allowing for unique and engaging gameplay.”
“Very limited gameplay, even for the genre and price point.”
“The core gameplay is okay, but my experience continues to be ruined by poor UI and quality of life issues.”
“The loop of gameplay consists of you just placing tiles in a way that gives you enough points to draw another set of tiles from a random deck, which plays really boring currently.”
- graphics137 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the charming art style and detailed visuals that create an immersive and relaxing atmosphere. However, some players noted issues with readability and a lack of distinctiveness in certain elements, leading to a blend of visuals that can detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered beautiful and fitting for the game's cozy vibe, there are calls for improvements in detail and clarity.
“Impressive graphics and soundtrack.”
“The visuals are charming and detailed, creating an immersive world that's easy to get lost in - a great post-work couch wind-down game.”
“Beautiful graphics, very chill, tons of replayability and a lot to experiment with the cards and the possible building combinations.”
“As a builder game, I found the main weakness to be the graphics.”
“The graphics are a blurry mess and all of your builds are hard to see because they blend into the terrain too much.”
“The aesthetics, although clean, are very bland and not very distinct, leading to placed tiles just blending together in a mush, requiring you to mouse over them to differentiate what even was placed there to begin with.”
- music62 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and relaxing qualities, effectively complementing the visuals and gameplay. Many players appreciate the soothing soundtrack, which enhances the overall atmosphere without being intrusive, making it suitable for both focused play and casual listening. While some users noted minor issues with specific tracks, the general consensus is that the music contributes positively to the game's aesthetic and experience.
“The music is perfect, calm, not too present... quite relaxing.”
“The soundtrack perfectly matches the relaxing nature of the game.”
“Terrascape's lush visuals and relaxing soundtrack create a realistic atmosphere that invites players to dive into the game's puzzle-solving challenges.”
“I can't tell you much about the game's music because I don't think there is much to talk about.”
“I’m not overly fond of the music choice.”
“Though I guess this is one of those games where you will play while listening to music or a podcast or something.”
- replayability19 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
Overall, "Terrascape" is praised for its high replayability, driven by its card mechanics, randomized maps, and the need to find synergies for high scores. However, some players feel limited by the tech research constraints and the repetitive nature of the maps, suggesting that while the game has potential, it could benefit from additional content and variety to enhance replay value further. Despite these criticisms, many agree that the game offers a satisfying experience for fans of strategic and puzzle gameplay.
“Beautiful graphics, very chill, tons of replayability and a lot to experiment with the cards and the possible building combinations.”
“One of the best features of Terrascape is its high replayability.”
“Most long-term replayability comes from the kingdom mode, which allows you to generate randomized maps and build your kingdom with a selection of any six of the twelve currently available building decks.”
“I can't see how there is any replayability at all.”
“Replayability, but right now as it stands - not worth it.”
“It doesn't have the 'replayability' that Dorfromantik has due to the nature of the maps, but it's a fun and similar game.”
- optimization11 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs smoothly in early access with some minor lag issues, players have noted significant room for improvement, especially on larger maps and for specific platforms like the Steam Deck. Many users have expressed hope that further optimizations will be implemented before the game's full release, as current performance can be inconsistent, particularly during complex gameplay scenarios.
“The early-access version runs smoothly; I didn't see any bugs.”
“The game is a visually appealing score-optimization puzzle.”
“Love the music, the general aesthetic, and the gameplay of building and puzzle elements to go for that ever more optimized building placement.”
“The game clearly still needs a lot of optimization, and will hopefully get it before leaving early access.”
“I only wished it was optimized for my Steam Deck too.”
“The only 'issue' I've come across was around optimization, which I can see from the devs' current roadmap is on there (the game runs great, but at times zooming out can lag the game a bit, and placing a few cards in the same area around the same time can cause lag too).”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and boring, often feeling forced to repeatedly farm low-level resources to unlock higher-level cards. The micro-management required for building placement adds to the frustration, making the gameplay experience feel overly repetitive and lacking in variety. Overall, many reviewers express dissatisfaction with the grinding mechanics, which detract from the enjoyment of the game.
“Not for me... I played it for about an hour and it was boring and tedious.”
“The main issue so far is that you have to play lower level cards until you unlock the higher cards in a particular deck, and sometimes that can get a bit tedious.”
“The game is a bit too tedious and gets boring quickly.”
- atmosphere10 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
Terrascape is praised for its lush visuals and relaxing soundtrack, which together create a cozy and inviting atmosphere that enhances the puzzle-solving experience. While some reviews note that the graphics are simple yet charming, others suggest that the overall execution could be improved to elevate the atmosphere further. Overall, the game successfully immerses players in a tranquil environment, though opinions on its engagement level vary.
“Terrascape's lush visuals and relaxing soundtrack create a realistic atmosphere that invites players to dive into the game's puzzle-solving challenges.”
“The graphics are smooth, and the atmosphere and music are fantastic.”
“Terrascape's atmosphere, music, and detailed assets make this gem a relaxing puzzle game.”
“There are so many variables to take into account; it surely is cozy and relaxed in atmosphere, but more than a little crunchy in execution.”
“I think I would find it so boring that even the great graphics and atmosphere of the game can't make up for it.”
“Could improve visual quality and atmosphere.”
- story7 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has been criticized for feeling incomplete and lacking meaningful plot development, leaving players unsatisfied and yearning for a more structured campaign. Many users express disappointment over the absence of engaging narrative elements and the reliance on repetitive missions, suggesting that the game has potential but requires significant improvement in storytelling to enhance player motivation.
“This really feels like an incomplete game, where the developers haven't fleshed out any meaningful story plot or advancement; it's a pity as it has potential but needs more work to give the player something to play for.”
“This really feels like an incomplete game, where the developers haven't fleshed out any meaningful story plot or advancement. It's a pity as it has potential but needs more work to give the player something to play for.”
“I miss the days where games had 20 mission campaigns, each introducing a few new mechanics at a time.”
“"use place game".... awesome quest objectives.... have no clue what that even means... :(”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its absurd scenarios, such as using the fishing deck to the point of obscuring the water, and is reminiscent of classic puzzle games from the early 2000s. Overall, players find the game to be genuinely funny, adding to its charm and enjoyment.
“It's absolutely hilarious to use the fishing deck so extensively that you can't see the water anymore.”
“Funny puzzle game.”
“It's funny, but I remember playing a game similar to this around 2001 with a similar tile-floating island upgrading mechanic.”
- stability4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game demonstrates strong stability with no significant glitches reported, indicating careful development. While it runs smoothly for the most part, some users have noted minor optimization issues, such as lag when zooming out or placing multiple cards simultaneously, which the developers are addressing in their roadmap.
“No glitches on my end.”
“An excellent, and seemingly bug-free, chill game for the price.”
“The game runs great, but at times zooming out can lag the game a bit, and placing a few cards in the same area around the same time can cause lag too.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a wholesome and relaxing experience, with players feeling a mix of satisfaction when achieving goals and mild heartbreak when they fall short. Some users express a desire for scoring adjustments to enhance the emotional stakes of their decisions, particularly regarding environmental impacts.
“Extremely satisfying when you get it right, and mildly heartbreaking when you don't.”
“Wholesome and relaxing.”
