Reus

Reus is certainly something different from every other God Game I have ever played. Using symbiosis to expand your world, it becomes an interesting balancing act between keeping your subjects happy and completing their projects. This is definitely worth your money!

The premise of Reus is nice. You build a small world using a few incarnated earth avatars, or reuzen, or giants (in English). You indirectly influence the human population by given soil, plants, and animals life. As you progress the humans build civilizations and may become greedy. The simple element of fertilizing the soil and see things grow reminds me of a very old education simulator. You managed a mountain slope by growing crops by clearing forests. Cutting too many trees lead to flooding. It was a game intended to taught you about eco systems and the delicate balance between nature and civilization. I think that Reus started, similarly, as a school biology project. As the project grew, the devs realized that they could sell the game by adding achievements. This is where things went horribly wrong. Maybe too many students worked on the project? Feeling pride over game mechanics without asking if they all worked together? Who knows, but my experience with Reus is this: You run giants around the globe, waiting for (unnecessary) downtime of skills, in order to meet requirements set by demanding humans. If you satisfy them too much they will start killing their neighbors and/or your giants. The last is really annoying and doesn’t add anything except the need to destroy their settlements. You grind the game over and over again to gain achievements. Each unlocks a new plant, animal, or whatever. In each game you grind a little further, without consistency, such as unlocking a new fish with a desert achievement. The evolutionary “tech tree” is terrible. The game doesn't tell how to get tomatoes, what they will provide, what symbiosis they have and if they are needed for Papaya’s? There is an in-game link to a web-wiki, where you find complicated tech trees that don’t make sense. To top it off, evolution start by using giant aspects. Why does the ocean giant need desert marks (ambassadors) to improve its growth-aspect? A deliberately attempt to troll?

I have read a few of the reviews here and to complain about such things as "I have to remember things" is the most inane thing I have ever read in a game review, also to say it is "S**t and boring" without a full explanation as to why is hardly a game review. Anyway my experience is very different, I have found the game challenging even at the 30 minute mission stages and I have enjoyed learning the combinations and what goes best with what while trying to complete the achievements for the unlocks. Anyone that says its repetitive is describing most games that cover this sort of content, strategy games, RPG's are all the same follow the same recipe no matter what, its the challenge that keeps us coming back for more. I like the graphic style and the music suits the game perfectly, I agree this isn't exactly a god game as such but none the less if you like god games then you will still enjoy Reus.

Just know this is a puzzle game, not another Black & White or something like that.

I've played it for a few hours and Reus to me is a 2D Real Time Strategy game with a twist. Instead of controlling the people who inhabit the world, you control the creation of resources the people need to progress. It's an interesting take on the tired RTS genre but ultimately this wasn't much fun.