An addictive city-building game with a Martian twist - Farlanders Quick Review

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT?

Definitely play it. I’ve always enjoyed spending way too much time grinding civilization-building games, and Farlanders isn’t helping that addiction. Though the setting of Mars provides a unique angle, the gameplay is classic city sim with just enough difficulty to be both fun and challenging.

TIME PLAYED

I played Farlanders for four hours. I’ve completed six chapters so far, with each lasting between twenty minutes and an hour

WHAT’S AWESOME

• Gameplay. Farlanders has everything I love about civilization-building games, including resource farming and city structuring. But it also tweaks the tried-and-true formula with additions like terraforming and underground digging.

• Progression. Farlanders required that I pay close attention to every detail of the civilization I was putting together. My patience was rewarded, though, as I watched the pieces fall into place to form the perfect Martian city.

• Campaign. Farlanders’s campaign helped me tremendously by thoroughly showing me the ropes of the game’s mechanics. Each chapter that I needed to complete came with missions that added a little challenge and a whole bucketload of fun to the game.

• Difficulty. I always love a good challenge, but sometimes civilization-building games can be a little too difficult for me. Farlanders felt challenging, but only where it needed to be. The game balances the difficulty expertly throughout its campaign.

• Visuals. Despite Farlanders having a pixel art style, I had no trouble distinguishing buildings from one another. The same goes for mountains, ores, and rocky paths. The attention to detail in the visuals was pleasant to look at, but more importantly, it was helpful in navigating and building my city.

WHAT SUCKS

• Terraforming. Although Farlanders’s terraforming mechanic adds something unique to the game, the randomness associated with it tarnishes the experience. Every few turns, I chose between three terraforming tiles picked at random; I had no control over whether I was offered tiles that would fill a crater with much-needed water or tiles that would destroy an area. That meant that I couldn’t plan ahead. I found myself stuck waiting for certain tiles to appear, and in some cases, I lost precious resources and progress to this frustrating, time-consuming process.

💬 Will you play Farlanders or are you going to skip it? Tell us in the comments below!