The Settlers: New Allies

About

"The Settlers: New Allies" is a historical real-time strategy game with a fully reimagined build-up experience and stunning graphics. Choose from three factions, each with unique playstyles, and experience a story-driven campaign or play online with up to eight players. The Deluxe Edition includes the game, Deluxe Pack, and Explorer Pack for extra content. Play in single-player, co-op, or multi-player modes, including local multi-player for two players and split-screen.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

60%

Audience ScoreBased on 284 reviews

story14 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game features beautiful graphics and a vibrant art style that enhances the city-building experience.
Gameplay combines city-building with real-time strategy elements, providing a satisfying experience for players who enjoy constructing settlements and managing resources.
The game runs smoothly on both PC and console platforms, with stable frame rates and minimal technical issues reported.

The game suffers from significant technical issues, including frequent crashes and problems with saving progress, leading to frustration for players.
Many players feel that the game lacks depth and complexity compared to earlier entries in the Settlers series, making it overly simplistic and repetitive.
The skirmish mode is poorly designed, limiting players to 1v1 matches against AI and lacking options for larger battles or customization.

story
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
61%
19%
The story in the campaign has been widely criticized for its lack of depth, poor writing, and repetitive missions, often described as uninteresting and bland. Many players found the cutscenes and voice acting to be subpar, leading to a general sentiment that the narrative feels tacked on and fails to engage. While some enjoyed the gameplay itself, the overarching story detracted significantly from the overall experience, making it feel more like a chore than an immersive journey.
- “New Allies features a campaign mode with a narrative that guides players through various missions.”
- “Plus the storyline, so far, is simple enough to easily follow with just the right amount of intrigue.”
- “I have played only the campaign for now, but the story, missions, and every map are quite interesting and don't let me get bored at all.”
- “The story itself is underwhelming, to say the least.”
- “The story-driven campaign promised is a pure sham, with characters with no substance, low effort, no charisma, and a simply failed narration from start to finish.”
- “The main story of the game is very poorly written.”
gameplay
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
64%
14%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while the graphics and overall presentation are appealing, the mechanics are overly simplified and often slow-paced, lacking the depth and complexity expected from a city-building and RTS hybrid. Critics have pointed out issues such as limited gameplay options, a simplistic storyline, and the inability to speed up gameplay, which can lead to prolonged waiting periods. Despite these drawbacks, some players still find enjoyment in the core mechanics and visual design, though many express disappointment compared to earlier titles in the series.
- “As a reboot of the classic Settlers series, it aims to blend traditional city-building elements with modern RTS gameplay.”
- “The gameplay combines city-building with real-time strategy elements, allowing players to construct settlements, manage resources, and engage in combat.”
- “I'm a veteran gamer and I love RTS games with some settlement building, but this one really got me hooked on both aspects of the gameplay with beautifully designed and detailed graphics, characters, buildings, actions, and environments.”
- “While the foundational mechanics are solid, the game has been criticized for being overly simplistic, lacking the complexity and depth that fans of the genre might expect.”
- “Nevertheless, mechanics have been brutally simplified and the gameplay is painfully slow with no possibility to accelerate time (in contrast to its predecessors).”
- “Combine that with the game-speed mechanic, and you are often stuck waiting, sometimes for 20+ minutes at a time, just for some arbitrary event to occur so you can continue with the mission.”
graphics
51 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
33%
6%
The graphics of the game have received a mixed but generally positive reception, with many players praising the appealing art style, smooth animations, and charming visuals that enhance the overall aesthetic. However, some critiques highlight that the game does not fully utilize modern technologies like ray tracing, and there are inconsistencies in quality, particularly in cutscenes and certain graphical glitches. Overall, while the graphics are considered beautiful and well-executed, there are calls for improvements to meet contemporary standards.
- “The art style is appealing, and the animations are smooth, contributing to an inviting aesthetic.”
- “I'm a veteran gamer and I love RTS games with some settlement building, but this one really got me hooked on both aspects of the gameplay with beautifully designed and detailed graphics, characters, buildings, actions, and environments.”
- “Graphics are great and runs very smooth.”
- “The graphics are bad for a 2023 game.”
- “I've seen quite a few people say the graphics are alright... I disagree, not for 2024's standards.”
- “I 100% prefer the graphics from the 6th/7th generation, and the graphics here are comparable to an early 2010s game.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
Overall, the game's optimization is generally praised for smooth performance and stable frame rates on PC and console platforms, with few technical issues. However, some users report significant performance problems on Linux, including stuttering and crashes, indicating a mixed experience across different systems.
- “The game runs smoothly on both PC and console platforms, with stable frame rates and minimal technical issues reported.”
- “This game is actually optimized well, similar to buying a DLC for Cities: Skylines 2.”
- “Game crashes and restarts with unbearable stuttering and a stuck mouse cursor.”
- “For me on Linux, I had horrible performance and stutters the entire time.”
- “That's with an optimized resource chain.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Reviews indicate a mixed sentiment towards the game's monetization, with some players expressing dissatisfaction with the presence of microtransactions, while others find them unobtrusive and not detrimental to the gameplay experience. A few users noted that in-app purchases are mostly optional and do not significantly impact solo play. Overall, the perception of monetization varies, with some players advocating for a more traditional model without microtransactions.
- “I have no problems with Ubisoft ID or microtransactions as I am not a buyer of such stuff, and it did not bother me when playing solo.”
- “The in-app purchases are really only visible if you go looking for them.”
- “If the microtransactions are for shop decoration items, to me that isn't really a microtransaction.”
- “But even if it wasn't, I would not give a recommendation for the microtransactions only.”
- “What I don't like are the microtransactions in the game, and I miss the large maps and a map maker.”
- “Microtransactions in the game... why?”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, with users frequently encountering bugs that affect gameplay and save functionality. While some players find the overall experience enjoyable, the persistent bugs and mechanical problems detract from the enjoyment, leading to frustration and boredom for others.
- “Definitely get it on sale; still buggy but overall a decent experience.”
- “Game is good, not hard, still enjoyable, but save game is sometimes buggy.”
- “Game is buggy and so boring; I literally fell asleep while playing this game.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews; while some players find it charming and reminiscent of classic titles, others prefer to turn it off in favor of their own orchestral selections. Overall, the soundtrack is noted for its beauty and appeal, with some users praising it as standout.
- “This game has charming music just like all the older classics.”
- “I think this game has some beautiful artwork and good music.”
- “The soundtrack slaps.”
- “Turn the music off, put some of your favourite orchestral music on instead and play happily for hours.”
- “This one also has charming music just like all the older classics.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Reviews indicate that the game's replayability is lacking, with some players noting that it falls short compared to other early access titles. The RTS elements and base building mechanics are criticized for their limited variety, which diminishes the overall replay value.
- “I've played early access games with more depth and replayability than this.”
- “The RTS elements just don't have the variety that makes it interesting, and base building doesn't have the variety and replayability that I'd hoped for.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is noted to be minimal, resulting in a lack of engaging narrative that may leave players feeling underwhelmed.
- “The dialogue and character development are minimal, which may leave players seeking a more engaging narrative experience somewhat underwhelmed.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its impressive graphics, creating a visually appealing environment that blends elements from both Settlers 4 and 5, while offering a more complex economic system.
- “This game has much more economy than Settlers 5, so I would say it's a crossover between Settlers 5 and 4 with really nice graphics and atmosphere.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players note that grinding can effectively allow them to progress in the game without spending real money, suggesting that dedication and effort can yield significant rewards.
- “The grinding in this game feels endless and tedious.”
- “I find myself repeating the same tasks over and over just to progress.”
- “Grinding takes away from the enjoyment of the game and feels like a chore.”