Villagers

36%
Game Brain Score Based on 220 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Villagers Game Cover
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"Villagers is a single-player, historical strategy game that simulates town-building and resource management in medieval times. With an intriguing story that spans six challenging missions, players must guide a group of settlers to build and nurture a thriving community, overcome harsh realities, and ensure their survival in the face of threats such as illness, bandits, and extreme weather conditions. The game takes about 3 hours to beat."

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

36%
Audience ScoreBased on 220 reviews
story24 positive mentions
stability14 negative mentions
  • The game has a promising storyline and engaging campaign mode that provides a sense of direction.
  • It offers a simple and relaxing gameplay experience, making it accessible for newcomers to city-building games.
  • The developers are actively working on improvements and updates, showing potential for future enhancements.
  • The game is plagued with numerous bugs and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay, making it frustrating to play.
  • It lacks depth and variety, with limited building options and repetitive gameplay that can lead to boredom.
  • Many players feel it is an unfinished product, often comparing it unfavorably to better-developed games like Banished.
  • story90 mentions

    The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its moral lessons and narrative depth, while others criticize it for being overly lengthy and poorly integrated with gameplay. Many reviews highlight that the campaign feels more like a series of tutorial missions rather than a cohesive story, often plagued by bugs and pacing issues. Overall, while the storyline has potential, its execution leaves much to be desired, leading to frustration among players.

    • “I really liked the art they used for it and the story was interesting.”
    • “If you love time management and building games with a fantastic storyline, look no further!”
    • “The storyline is wonderful to me and easy to follow.”
    • “It would have some potential if not for so many flaws clearly stating the devs did not care to create a good game... the campaign is very short and half of it is rather annoying (and often nonsensical) story which is also hard to read if you play on 1440p.”
    • “The storytelling leaves a lot to be desired.”
    • “All I have been doing so far is reading a loooooooong introduction story and still didn't get to the end before finally starting to play.”
  • gameplay20 mentions

    Gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the population mechanics and family interactions reminiscent of "Banished," while others criticize the clunky farming system, rapid tool degradation, and lack of wildlife management. The game offers challenging production chains influenced by weather, but many feel it lacks depth and difficulty, leading to a sense of wasted time and potential. Overall, while there are promising elements, the execution leaves much to be desired.

    • “I really enjoy how the villagers can have families and it is fun to watch them interact with the village.”
    • “Challenging gameplay with production chains that are affected by weather: if winter hits before your grain is done growing...ouch.”
    • “The game mechanics are a lot like Banished: you have to be careful not to grow too fast or everyone will starve to death, but grow steadily or your population will crash as your villagers age.”
    • “Also what the story tells is often not represented at all in the game. In gameplay itself, your population just explodes, but not the wildlife. Hunters are not able to hunt down bears or wolves, but would hunt everything else. Farming is clunky, and tools break so soon that you'll run out of all iron on the map sooner than anything else. I see this game as only a cash cow for the producers, not worth supporting.”
    • “It ran great, I love the idea of it, but the map sizes and lack of gameplay were lacking.”
    • “Gameplay is similar to Banished, but without any difficulty.”
  • graphics16 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players finding them functional but lacking in quality, while others note that they are better than some previous titles. Many reviewers express a desire for improvements, particularly the addition of features like screen space ambient occlusion (SSAO) to enhance visual fidelity. Overall, while the artwork is appreciated, the graphics are seen as needing significant upgrades to meet modern standards.

    • “It is a fun game with good graphics, but still in beta.”
    • “Better graphics for sure.”
    • “Good graphics, good story, but gameplay performance issues.”
    • “The graphics, they're better than Banished but only just; there is the most desperate need for SSAO. If they added that, it would look so much better.”
    • “This game should be used as an idea to make a similar WWII game, but with 5000% better graphics. It could work, but not like it is today.”
    • “Graphics... functional.”
  • stability14 mentions

    The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, major AI glitches, and unfinished content, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience. While some players note that the game runs smoothly without lags, the overall consensus is that the missions are plagued by bugs and pacing issues, indicating a lack of polish and support from the developers.

    • “Half finished, buggy, and abandoned by the devs. The developers say they are sorry, but offer no explanation.”
    • “This game is still very buggy, has major glitches in the AI, and almost no content at all.”
    • “Unfortunately, the missions are really buggy, and the pacing is off -- some are too easy and quick, while others are almost too hard to get through, partly because of bugs like merchants getting stuck in warehouses and never leaving.”
  • grinding10 mentions

    Players criticize the grinding aspect of the game for its tedious resource management and slow population growth, which detracts from overall enjoyment. Issues such as clunky farming mechanics, frequent tool breakage, and bugs that disrupt gameplay further exacerbate the grind, leading many to view the game as a cash grab rather than a well-balanced experience. Overall, the repetitive nature of tasks and lack of engaging gameplay elements make the grinding feel more like a chore than a rewarding challenge.

    • “Lastly, the game is badly in need of some game balancing. The population increase is tediously slow to the point of making the game almost not enjoyable once you've built enough resources to support the 15-20 villagers you manage to expand to.”
    • “However, it's too similar to Banished for me to enjoy enough to keep playing, and it still has some bugs that could mess up my village. Farmers forever farming veggies, even when deleted. To fix this, you have to reassign the farmers, but the field will be visually stuck there barren.”
    • “Farmers just forget how to do their jobs and don't farm in any season.”
  • replayability10 mentions

    The consensus among users is that the game has very low to no replay value, particularly criticizing its lack of engaging content that would encourage players to revisit it. This sentiment is especially pronounced for a sandbox builder game, where replayability is typically a key feature.

    • “It has a really low replay value.”
    • “None to little replay value.”
    • “No replay value for me.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The game features impressive graphics and a compelling story; however, players report significant gameplay performance and balance issues that detract from the overall experience.

    • “Good graphics, good story, but gameplay performance issues.”
    • “Have performance and balance issues.”
    • “The game suffers from significant performance and balance issues.”
    • “There are persistent performance and balance problems that affect gameplay.”
    • “The optimization is lacking, leading to frequent performance and balance issues.”
  • music2 mentions

    The music in the game is noted for its calming and soothing qualities, providing a relaxing experience that allows players to feel at ease.

    • “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The atmosphere is generally well-received, with users consistently noting its positive qualities.

  • humor2 mentions

    The game features a brand of humor that leans heavily on adult themes, often incorporating playful and risqué elements, such as the comedic depiction of a stork delivering babies amidst whimsical visuals. This blend of suggestive humor and lightheartedness resonates well with players looking for a more mature comedic experience.

    • “Funny adult humor (e.g., the stork arrives shortly after hearts fall from the sky on a house and moaning can be heard, haha!)”
    • “Funny adult humor (e.g., the stork arrives shortly after hearts fall from the sky on a house and moaning can be heard, haha!)”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

3hMedian play time
3hAverage play time
3-3hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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