Developer: Lapovich Team
Publisher: 1C Entertainment
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Kapital: Sparks of Revolution – Review
Managing your own population and keeping them happy is a formula that we recently saw popping up with various survival games like Frostpunk and Endzone. This time, however, your goal is not to survive in harsh conditions but to rebuild a town that was ravaged by a military conflict. How will you lead the town? Are you a Communist, a Capitalist, or somewhere in between? Resources will be limited and many people will come over to live on your promised land. Just remember, you can’t keep everyone happy.
Story
War has swept over the continent like a giant wave, crushing everything in its path. After the dust has settled, it is time to clear out the debris, heal the scars of war, and hope for a better tomorrow. With this short introduction, we get thrown into our own town that was completely destroyed by conflict. Set in an unknown era (probably around the early 20th century), you are the mayor that needs to lead the people to a better future. The town develops as you wish, so basically you are the one writing the story. Because of this, it is in your hands how fast everything will progress, and your decisions will be essential for the future of your town. Will you make your town good for the working class following a Communist regime or will the rich get the last word with a Capitalist-focused landscape?
Graphics
Graphically, the game dons an old-school 2D setting that reminds us of the RTS games from the 90s. You have the ability to rotate the buildings in one way, but your camera stays locked in the current position. This fixed camera angle could give some issues later on when you want to optimize your space used and want to build between buildings. When you strike up a conversation with one of the leaders of a faction, their portraits will be displayed in a hand-drawn fashion. Don’t expect much attention to detail, as most animations are rather simple and building or destroying structures isn’t even animated. The user interface is easy to use and it’s equally as easy to follow up on the status of your people. The UI displays information at all times, and everything is within an arm’s reach.
Sound
There is nothing spectacular going on in the sound department, especially when it comes to the overall soundtrack. During your days managing the town, there won’t be any music playing to enjoy your stay, you only have the birds singing and the random sounds of nature. The game would have felt better with some period-correct music playing in the background, and maybe have the interactions voice acted.
Gameplay
Kapital: Sparks of Revolution is a management game where you must rebuild a town that has been ravaged by a recent war. Buildings have been destroyed, and the only thing left standing is a palace and a station. You start by repairing the palace, and you take your seat, managing the town from there. During your reign, you are guided by three spokespeople, each from their faction: the Nobles, the Bourgeois and the Workers. You’ll have to rebuild the town and try your best to keep every faction happy, but this is easier said than done. The Nobles are wealthy but require exquisite care, which proves to be impossible at the beginning. The Bourgeois is the middle class, they are leaning more towards the Noble in demands but are the ones bringing in the money. Then you have the Working class, these are the peasants that do all hard manual labor, and they are also the people that always feel left out and speak the hardest language.
At its core, the game is pretty simple to learn. You’ll have to build buildings to gather resources and ensure that you have enough produced and stockpiled to keep your people happy. Inhabitants will need homes, a place to work, and somewhere to let off some steam; but mixing the masses won’t be a good idea. The game is centered on three-time slots: work, free, and rest. You will need to plan accordingly to these time slots, as after working hours there won’t be anything produced but this is the time where people can relax a bit and increase their happiness.
Just like all management games, it starts really easy with the people being happy about everything, but the faster your town grows, the faster all sorts of people will become unhappy. If you want to progress, you will need to issue new laws and legislation. Keep in mind that these are semi-locked and the game will only allow for progress every few in-game hours. This means that once again careful planning is essential. You eventually might find yourself torn between choosing to grant your people better healthcare or more security with the construction of a police station.
Overall the playing experience goes pretty smoothly, as everything you need to know is displayed right in front of you. You will make your way through the menus with just a few simple clicks. As the game starts out easy and only gets complicated the further you progress, it means that the game is also quite beginner-friendly.
Conclusion
Kapital: Sparks of Revolution is a nice title for management game enthusiasts. Thanks to its easy and clear-to-understand objectives it is accessible to pretty much anyone. The difficulty only ramps up the further you progress, so you can take it slow if you like. The graphics look old-school and with its simple animations and 2D graphics, it will run on just about anything. The only real letdown is the absence of some background music, so you’ll have to do with the sounds of nature. Having to interact with each spokesperson gives each faction a face and will make hard decisions even harder to make. As a whole, this one is certainly worth checking out if you’re a fan of the genre.
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