WW2 Rebuilder

87%
Game Brain Score Based on 603 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
WW2 Rebuilder Game Cover
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"WW2 Rebuilder" is a simulation strategy game that allows players to rebuild European cities in post-WW2 era. Manage resources, tackle challenges such as housing shortages and infrastructure repair, and make decisions that will impact the recovery of the cities. Experience historical events and engage in detailed city planning while striving for the prosperity of your citizens.

  • PC
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

87%
Audience ScoreBased on 603 reviews
story36 positive mentions
stability34 negative mentions
  • The game offers a unique perspective on post-WWII reconstruction, allowing players to engage with history in a meaningful way.
  • Gameplay is satisfying and relaxing, with a variety of tasks that keep the experience fresh and engaging.
  • The graphics and atmosphere are well-crafted, enhancing the overall experience and immersion.
  • The game suffers from bugs and glitches, particularly with vehicle physics and certain tasks that can lead to frustrating gameplay.
  • The campaign is relatively short, leaving players wanting more content and additional levels.
  • Some mechanics, such as the tool selection and certain interactions, can feel clunky and unintuitive.
  • story126 mentions

    The game's story is generally well-received, with players appreciating its emotional depth and historical context, particularly in the aftermath of World War II. While some find the narrative basic or short, many highlight the engaging storytelling through collectibles and cinematics that enhance the gameplay experience. Overall, the combination of personal stories and environmental storytelling creates a meaningful backdrop for the rebuilding mechanics, making it a unique and heartfelt experience.

    • “The story is great, the 'secret' side story told through collectibles is a tearjerker for sure.”
    • “This game has a lot of love and care put into it and tells the story of multiple people in the aftermath of WWII.”
    • “Great storytelling with each section; it really gives you a feel for the era and some good historical background.”
    • “The story is not worth the sacrifice of losing all of your stuff.”
    • “Yes, I do understand how it works with the so-called 'storyline', but the story is just a short narrative from a person telling you they want to rebuild.”
    • “You can play this game without paying any attention to the story, but I think the effort put into the story could have been served in better places towards better mechanics.”
  • gameplay108 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is generally described as relaxing and satisfying, with a simple and easy-to-learn mechanic that allows players to engage in rebuilding and cleaning up post-WW2 environments. While many players appreciate the addictive gameplay loop and the variety of mechanics introduced across levels, some criticize the repetitiveness, clumsy vehicle controls, and lack of depth in customization options. Overall, it offers a pleasant experience for fans of simulation and renovation games, akin to titles like House Flipper, but it suffers from bugs and a need for further polish.

    • “You get a satisfying, relaxing gameplay experience, secrets and collectibles to find, and a little bit of a history lesson as you work on rebuilding historic cities after the destruction of WWII.”
    • “The gameplay is very relaxing, there's a nice subtle soundtrack that makes playing feel very pleasant, it's incredibly satisfying to see an area go from a bombed-out wasteland to a clean and fixed-up decorated area.”
    • “Ww2 rebuilder has an addictive gameplay loop with new mechanics added in almost every level.”
    • “The mechanics (especially of vehicles) are extremely clumsy and jittery, the physics are inconsistent and unrealistic, and most of the mini-games are tedious and add nothing to the game.”
    • “The gameplay feels oversimplified at times, and overcomplicated at others.”
    • “Ww2 rebuilder is a simulator that comes from a really original concept, but its simple and unpolished gameplay makes it a game that you should think to avoid.”
  • graphics74 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising their beauty and atmospheric quality, while others note inconsistencies and technical issues such as lag and animation stiffness. Some players appreciate the historical context and attention to detail, but others feel the visuals are merely adequate and not groundbreaking. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered nice, they are accompanied by various performance concerns that detract from the experience.

    • “The graphics are gorgeous and the voice acting is nice, and (for the most part) it's very poetic, historically accurate, and compassionate.”
    • “Overall it's a pretty enjoyable game...the graphics are quite nice and the background music is rather poignant given the topic.”
    • “The graphics are lovely and atmospheric.”
    • “Some NPCs are dressed like they’re meant to be in medieval Europe, the flashbacks are more often than not pointless, and the overall aesthetic of the game feels like the devs took multiple asset packs to just see what they could make with it.”
    • “The graphics make the game near unplayable.”
    • “So I had to drop my graphics down to medium to run the game which, no bother, but even with motion blur off, the moment I move everything goes out of focus until I get closer or stop moving, there's screen tears, and low graphics are simply unplayable.”
  • music43 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its calming and soothing qualities, effectively complementing the gameplay and enhancing the overall atmosphere. While many players appreciate the tranquil soundtrack and its fitting nature within the game's context, some note that the limited number of tracks can lead to repetitiveness over time. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a significant asset that adds depth and emotional resonance to the gaming experience.

    • “The music is fantastic and calming.”
    • “Absolutely love the soundtrack, nice for some relaxed playing in the evening :)”
    • “The music is relaxing and the stories behind the places add depth and meaning.”
    • “The main song (that keeps on playing all game long) is melancholic and moody, but the novelty wears off really quickly.”
    • “The soundtrack consists of two or three tracks, and they quickly overstay their welcome.”
    • “This lack of sound effects only makes the repetitive soundtrack stand out even more.”
  • stability34 mentions

    The game exhibits significant stability issues, with numerous bugs affecting physics, vehicle mechanics, and achievement triggers. Players report frequent crashes, glitches, and frustrating interactions with objects, particularly when using vehicles and climbing structures. While some find the game enjoyable despite these problems, many recommend caution due to its unfinished state and persistent technical issues.

    • “Achievements are buggy and often require leaving and reloading a level or removing and adding an object.”
    • “It's a storage hog at 35GB, and it crashes and freezes a lot.”
    • “Ladders are completely unusable half the time because you just straight up can't climb them, tabbing out causes crashes more often than not, there are lots of missing animations and textures for things like the wheelbarrow filling up and the plane wing appearing in the vice, and the bulldozer flies around like a buggy mess whenever you use it.”
  • grinding19 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience. While some tasks can feel tedious and clumsy, particularly with vehicle mechanics and certain mini-games, many appreciate the lack of grindy achievements and the balance between challenge and enjoyment. The game is generally described as pleasantly tedious rather than frustrating, making it more enjoyable compared to similar titles.

    • “Very enjoyable and surprisingly not tedious like similar games can be.”
    • “No grinding, comfortable achievements, depending on completing each map to 100%.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Sometimes it just gets a little tedious and a little boring.”
    • “The mechanics (especially of vehicles) are extremely clumsy and jittery, the physics are inconsistent and unrealistic, and most of the mini-games are tedious and add nothing to the game.”
    • “So as mentioned above, where I ended up under the map, unstuck didn't work so I had to spend another 30 minutes redoing the very tedious portion of cleaning up the level.”
  • atmosphere19 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its strong emotional depth and historical accuracy, effectively capturing the essence of post-war Europe. Players appreciate the combination of beautiful graphics, melancholic yet hopeful vibes, and immersive soundtracks that enhance the overall experience. Each location is noted for its unique charm, contributing to a chill and reflective gameplay environment.

    • “Every aspect of the game from the somewhat melancholy with immense hints of hope atmosphere to the pre-level cutscenes to the in-game flashbacks to wartime events made me reflect back to the real-world events that inspired the game.”
    • “Historical accuracy: WW2 Rebuilder painstakingly recreates the environments, architecture, and atmosphere of post-war Europe.”
    • “Every aspect of the game, from the somewhat melancholy yet hopeful atmosphere to the pre-level cutscenes and in-game flashbacks to wartime events, made me reflect on the real-world events that inspired the game.”
    • “The flashbacks, the comments from the rare NPCs, and the collectibles show astonishing depth and the significant effort that was put into the atmosphere.”
    • “Plenty of history, story, and atmosphere here, complemented well by the musical score.”
  • replayability14 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is a significant point of contention among users. Many reviewers express disappointment, citing a lack of content and limited replay value, with some noting that while there is a sandbox mode, it feels underdeveloped. However, a few users mention improvements and updates that could enhance replayability in the future, suggesting potential for growth if more content is added.

    • “🔲 infinitely replayable”
    • “I really enjoyed the game; although it just released, it is very much playable, had some good times and fun. By updating and fixing (which the devs are doing), this game could be a very attractive and replayable simulator.”
    • “Game has grown a lot since the alpha/playtesting and it's very replayable, from one small map to over 5 maps, from dark and damp lighting to bright and optimistic shading, simple and very nice gameplay from the beginning, very communicative developers and community managers.”
    • “Replayability is there but a bit limited due to the building constraints.”
    • “Good game but no replay value and not enough content.”
    • “There are a lot of things wrong with this game but the bottom line is that if you want to spend $19.99 for a game that feels like it's in early access, has zero replay value, forces you to repeat a level to get a bonus, then this game is for you.”
  • optimization13 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues such as stuttering, freezing, and FPS drops, particularly in certain environments. While many users report a generally stable experience with few bugs, there are calls for improvements to address glitches and enhance overall performance. Overall, while the game is enjoyable, it is hindered by optimization shortcomings that could benefit from future patches.

    • “Ww2 Rebuilder is actually a very solid and relaxing game with few, if any, performance issues or bugs.”
    • “This game is thought-provoking and at the same time an incredibly relaxing experience, without any time or performance pressure.”
    • “I recommend it, but I wish they could polish those performance details and bugs that can affect the gameplay.”
    • “The game has few drawbacks, like dodgy optimization, an expected amount of junk, and a lack of creative expression except for plopping some themed props.”
    • “I do think it's held back by multiple glitches, crashes, glitched (and kind of bad) achievements, and bad lag, and I would like to see that stuff optimized if they chose to work on this game more and make more content like how they did with the new DLC (which I think is the best level in the game).”
    • “Still having performance issues with recommended specs.”
  • humor7 mentions

    The humor in the game is primarily derived from its quirky physics and intentionally flawed controls, leading to amusing situations like vehicles flipping and getting stuck. While some players expected a shallow, meme-driven experience, they found the comedic elements to be more enduring and entertaining than anticipated. However, in contrast, reviews of a more serious narrative highlight that the gravity of the historical context leaves little room for humor.

    • “The physics are hilarious though.”
    • “The only issues I had during my 11 hours were the vehicles randomly flipping once or twice and me getting stuck in a ferris wheel, but there's a built-in unstuck and vehicle respawn option in the pause menu, so they were more funny bugs rather than game-breaking.”
    • “--- controls are often hilariously bad, with vehicles constantly getting stuck and ladders/collision being a constant headache.”
  • emotional7 mentions

    Players have expressed a range of emotional responses to the game, highlighting its heartwarming story and the deep connections formed with characters, particularly during poignant moments like rebuilding Nikolai. While some mechanics can be frustrating, the overall narrative and collectible elements evoke strong feelings, showcasing the developers' commitment to creating an impactful experience. The game successfully balances satisfying gameplay with an emotional depth that resonates with players.

    • “This might be the first game that actually made me feel relaxed.”
    • “Nikolai and putting back together what I could was one of the most touching moments I have ever experienced in gaming.”
    • “You are provided with a backstory, an emotional connection, and a reason to care about what you're doing.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    Users perceive the monetization strategy as intrusive, likening it to excessive advertisements that disrupt the gaming experience.

    • “The monetization system feels exploitative and heavily favors players who are willing to spend money.”
    • “I can't enjoy the game without being constantly bombarded by ads and in-game purchases.”
    • “The prices for in-game items are outrageous and make it hard to progress without spending real money.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

13hMedian play time
15hAverage play time
10-23hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs

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