Genre: Civilization city-builder
Developer: Crytivo
Publisher: Crytivo
Release Date: January 22nd, 2024
Edited by AlexKnight2005
The Universim is a God game from Crytivo that has one of the cutest logos I have seen recently. It was initially a Kickstarter project for them that launched back on April 23, 2014. It has gone through a lot of changes and recently left Early Access on Steam, having its full 1.0 launch. It is an incredible feat because I have seen so many games from Kickstarter that launch into Early Access and never leave it or even fail to get funded. That lends a good deal of credit to the developers’ love for the game and their belief in it.
So God games function similarly to city builders, but you have less control over your citizens’ actions. They are also a lot slower-paced than city builders and have similar camera controls from a top-down perspective. However, besides placing buildings and doing research, they branch apart after that. God games focus more on divine intervention when needed with various god-like abilities. There are many of them, and we will discuss a few later on in the review.
Let us start things off with what got me about the game from the get-go, and that was the graphics and audio. The graphics were absolutely amazing for me. The models for the citizens, or nuggets as the game calls them, are featureless blobs for the most part but in an adorable way. They are a body with clothes on, floating hands, and a head full of hair. That’s okay, though, because the amount of detail they pack into these little nuggets with their clothing, hair, and tools they hold are absolutely fantastic in detailing.
The environmental details are better than the nugget model details for me, but they are similarly pleasing and detailed, except for the water. I love how they did the water effects. Like looking at a body of water, it seems slightly reflective and shimmers mostly like it would when you’re looking down at it from above. There is a slight movement to them that is also perfect for it. The audio overall was crisp and perfect for the game, even the howling of the wolves. What really got me, though, was the Narrator. I genuinely feel this is what makes the game as immersive as it is.
The way the Narrator speaks to you and converses about events in the game feels very much like it would in a nature documentary. The only thing that would take this to the next level is if they got David Attenborough himself to record the lines. However, the person they had to record the lines is very good otherwise. I do not mean this to be a slight to the person who did the work because it is fantastic. Anyway, enough of that; let’s move on to the core of the game, which is the god powers, research, and buildings.
The buildings are all unclocked from the research tree, and there is a lot. The research tree works like most games where you must research one thing before unlocking another. For example, you must have Material Refinement in another part of the tree for Funerary Practices. The research tree is also not wholly linear and branches out well like a tree. It is also divided into four levels, from the Stone Age to the Space Age. The last thing with the research tree is the Discovery Points.
You earn through various activities in the game and are needed to begin researching some of the things in the tree. The gods’ powers are divided into four groups: Wrath, influence, protector, and creation. The influence you have is unlocked from the get-go, and the rest are unlocked through quests. They range from the ability to pick something up and throw it to pretending you’re a lightning-throwing toga-wearing angry god, as one of the powers describes itself. There is even one that allows you to skip seasons if you want.
However, you can use these powers willy-nilly. You need creator power points each time you use one. They are earned through your nuggets worshiping of you or you sacrificing them. Other than that, it is your standard God Game and a great one at that for what it is. So yes, I can definitely recommend this game to those who love this type of game. The $30 price is well worth it, as the game has many hours of content. It also has a lot of replayability. Now, to the people who have never played a game like this, I can only say this: give it a shot. You never know. You may find your new favorite game. It may even lead you to make your own game and bring joy to the world.
Pros:
- Great Graphics
- Amazing Narration
- Lots of content
- Lots of replayability
Cons:
- Can be tedious at times
BoxCatHero gives The Universim a Drastik Measure of 8.5 out of 10.0 (85)
