Developer: Codebyfire, Auroch Digital
Publisher: Auroch Digital
Platform: Switch, PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One
Tested on: Switch
The Colonists – Review
The Colonists is a cute little game that started out on PC in 2018. This year, after many updates and tweaks, the devs decided to conquer new terrain much like the adorable robots of the game itself do, by releasing the game on consoles. With this move, they’ll have a much larger fanbase, and we suspect many players will be more than happy with this addition to the colony simulator genre too since it offers a lot to adore.
Story
Set in a far-away future, humans have started developing highly advanced robots that are able to take over the harder work for them. These robots are designed to be as smart and emotionally complex as the average human, so maybe it shouldn’t surprise us they aren’t exactly happy with their lot in life. A small group of them sneaks off to commandeer a rocket and take to space, looking for a different planet to settle down on and make their own settlement. If they’ll succeed and how they’ll go about it is left up to you. There’s not much story here aside from this small snippet of lore delivered through text at the start of the game.
Graphics
The Colonists is a real feast for the eyes. The camera controls are plentiful and allow you to admire your budding colony from all angles and distances, something you’ll find yourself doing a lot. This is because the designs here are great, from the endearing little robot characters to the quite detailed and quaint-looking buildings you set up. The environments are pretty dynamic and change with the seasons, despite being more on the static side in terms of people moving around. The UI might take a little time to get used to in terms of controls, but we won’t deny it looks good as well.
Sound
Since the game seems to favor a light-hearted and relaxed atmosphere, the music falls in line with this as well. It came as a bit of a surprise how soothing it could be, though it didn’t particularly stand out either. The game comes with all the expected sound effects for colony sims, from chopping trees to stacking stones when building your houses. The robots make a range of adorable noises too.
Gameplay
As with any classic colony simulator, The Colonists will have you focusing on resource management first and foremost. Everything within your settlement needs supplies to run, and as soon as your rocket touches down and your robotic friends have unloaded your starting rations, you can begin constructing buildings that will generate those supplies. Natural resources such as wood and stone can be found on the map. Just pop down a lumberjack hut and you’re good to go. You’ll need robots to do the labor though, so you’ll find yourself building residences for them to live in. To work, they have to be fed. Farms and fishing are a good way to go. Other buildings will be needed as you go, and soon you’ll have an entire town.
Before long you can expand your territory with watchtowers and other military settlements. Everything will also need to be manually connected through the use of roads and paths, which can be horribly finicky to work with since they have some limitations on how they are placed and the console controls don’t help. As you progress through the game, upgrades for your buildings will unlock, and with a workshop, you can start researching advanced technology to gain even more possibilities. All of this takes some time, but the game allows you to cruise through it at different speeds, meaning it’s all up to you how fast things progress.
What’s also up to you is how you deal with other settlers when you finally encounter them. Whether you want to take the diplomatic route to keep things peaceful or head straight into war, the campaign actually separates into missions and branches off so you can easily explore different paths in playthroughs. There’s also a challenge mode that tasks you with a specific pre-set goal instead, a goal that is usually harder to reach and forces you to do some strategic planning. Because with the way resources work in The Colonists, it’s actually possible to play yourself into a ‘dead end’ where you’re unable to produce enough supplies or build new buildings and you get stuck in the slow lane. If you want to avoid this, want to practice, or just want to have fun without worrying about details, sandbox mode allows you to build your settlement freely and without thinking about resources.
Conclusion
The Colonists is a real gem in the colony simulator genre. While staying true to the familiar elements, it introduces enough innovative gameplay to keep things engaging, and the lovely design won’t hurt the eyes either. The controls might take a bit to get used to on consoles at first, but when you do, you’ll have hours of fun with this one.
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