TFM: The First Men
- November 2, 2022
- Gathering Tree
- 1h median play time
Get on Steam"TFM: The First Men" is a strategy simulation game with character-driven base building, party-based exploration, and tactical real-time combat. Inspired by creation stories, Knights and Merchants, and Rimworld, the game offers a modern take on old-school base building and features complex character progression with varied traits and skills. Players can lead multiple parties, manage settlement needs, and make important character decisions to shape their legacy.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique blend of RTS, 4X, and RPG elements, providing a deep and complex simulation experience.
- The art style is distinct and atmospheric, enhancing the mythological and historical themes of the game.
- Regular updates and an active development team show promise for future improvements and content expansion.
- The user interface is unintuitive and can be overwhelming for new players, making it difficult to understand game mechanics.
- The game is currently plagued by bugs and performance issues, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- Many players feel that the game lacks sufficient content and variety, making it feel incomplete in its current early access state.
- gameplay86 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 81 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "TFM: The First Men" is characterized by its strategic simulation elements, combining character-driven base building, exploration, and real-time tactical combat, with a focus on deep progression and narrative choices. While the game offers significant replayability through procedural generation and open-ended gameplay, players note a steep learning curve and some initial confusion with mechanics, which can lead to a slow start. Overall, the innovative mechanics and unique art style are praised, though the complexity may not appeal to everyone.
“The story-driven gameplay allows players to shape their civilization's history through their decisions.”
“Really fun game, the biggest strength is probably the originality and how it actually innovates with new gameplay ideas.”
“I'm enjoying the experimentation with the mechanics; there's even a sandbox campaign to experiment with the complex tech tree.”
“👎 [b]pacing:[/b] the slow progression of gameplay can be tedious, even with the option to accelerate time.”
“Gameplay feels way too boring after the first few hours.”
“Game is workable but there are game-breaking mechanics with little tutorial.”
- graphics60 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are characterized by a distinct and atmospheric comic book-style aesthetic that effectively blends fantasy and historical elements. While many players appreciate the unique two-dimensional art and animations, some feel the visuals, though beautiful, do not significantly innovate within the genre. Overall, the art style garners praise for its creativity and potential, despite some mixed opinions on gameplay mechanics.
“Distinct and atmospheric, with a comic book-style aesthetic that blends fantasy elements with historical visuals.”
“The game features fully two-dimensional graphics with a comic book-inspired aesthetic, enhancing the mythological and historical themes.”
“The artwork is just fantastic; I am really excited to see where the development of this game will lead us.”
“The graphics are okay and the game's engine seems to run pretty smoothly; there's a base for a great game here.”
“Graphics are okay and adequate for this style of game.”
“The art style, however, isn't for me, but that's a personal thing.”
- story28 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game features an epic, character-driven story set in a fantasy world where players guide Adam and Eve through a landscape filled with mythical creatures and ancient secrets. While the narrative is rich and shaped by player choices, some reviewers noted that the limited number of campaigns and repetitive progression can lead to a lack of depth after completion. Overall, the storytelling is praised for its variety and world-building, though some players expressed a desire for more engaging gameplay elements.
“The story unfolds through the lives of your characters, each with their own attributes, skills, and destiny.”
“The game emphasizes character-driven storytelling, where your choices shape the narrative and influence the world around you.”
“Interesting story, world building, and variety in game design.”
“For now, it's only 3 interesting campaigns with mostly the same progression (and due to slow village development, it's not such great playing them one by one). After you finish them - end of the story.”
“My society's story: everything was going fine, then everyone died because they didn't have a bonfire to sit at.”
“If you like understanding all things from the beginning, this game is not for you. Here, you develop your story, and the story is different every time.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game offers approximately 30 to 60 hours of gameplay, with open-ended mechanics and procedural generation contributing to its replayability. However, some users note that the limited content variation could hinder long-term replay value, suggesting that more diverse events and scenarios would enhance the experience. Overall, while the complexity of the systems allows for replay value between saves, the lack of varied content may restrict replayability in the long run.
“Approximately 30-60 hours, with open-ended gameplay and procedural generation adding significant replayability.”
“👎 [b]limited content variation:[/b] adding more diverse events and scenarios could enhance replayability.”
“The current systems in the game are quite complex, with a lot of replay value from save to save.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, with slow progression and frustrating combat that can detract from the overall experience. Despite the option to accelerate time, the micromanagement required can feel overwhelming, though some believe the effort ultimately pays off in delivering a unique colony builder and RPG experience.
“The slow progression of gameplay can be tedious, even with the option to accelerate time.”
“As it stands, combat is way too frustrating, difficult, and tedious to hold my attention.”
“The micromanagement gets tedious and there are a lot of things you need to keep in mind.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from severe stability issues, with numerous bugs rendering it nearly unplayable. Players have reported instances of save game corruption, leading to significant frustration and loss of progress. Overall, the game's stability problems have significantly detracted from the experience, prompting calls for a delayed release to address these issues.
“The game is extremely buggy to the level of being unplayable. Sometimes bugs corrupt your save game, and when that happens, say goodbye to your wasted hours because there is no going back.”
“Unfortunately, at this time, the game is so buggy as to make it unplayable, and I almost wish for the release date to have been postponed a little more.”
“Sadly, it's let down by being extremely buggy and broken.”
- music6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised, with comparisons to iconic soundtracks by composers like Hans Zimmer, creating a relaxing atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience. Users appreciate the quality and impact of the music, often elevating their overall enjoyment of the game.
“I've seen soundtracks in games at Hans Zimmer levels such as Gothic, Diablo, Kenshi, or WoW, so I spare my 10 for those games.”
“Watching your people doing different things with awesome music is very relaxing.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game is currently in early access and has been reported to have bugs and performance issues; however, regular updates are being released to enhance stability and optimization.
“Currently in early access, with some reports of bugs and performance issues, but regular updates are improving stability.”
- character development4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
"TFM: The First Men" is praised for its deep character development, which enhances the overall gameplay experience alongside its complex base-building mechanics, setting it apart from other colony simulation games.
“The game combines deep character development with complex base-building mechanics.”
“It has the essence of any other colony sim but features a greater character development system.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is characterized as distinct and immersive, featuring a unique comic book-style aesthetic that effectively combines fantasy elements with historical visuals.
“Distinct and atmospheric, with a comic book-style aesthetic that blends fantasy elements with historical visuals.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in the game to be consistently entertaining, with one user highlighting their extensive playtime of over 1000 hours as a testament to its comedic appeal.
“It's going to be pretty funny with my 1000+ game time.”
