I don't like survival simulators much — they seem pointless and grindy to me (I don't like Factorio for example). This one is epic — it combines base building, people management (think Majesty or The Sims), resource management and crafting, good bit of automation (only when required), on demand direct control mechanics, procedure-generated world and veeery nice stories that emerge around all the characters in the game. Losing a character or a pet makes me sad as it would have been when reading the book — I'm rarely as such compassionate to game characters (randomly generated characters!). I'm doing my first run and am now in the mid-late game (first spaceship techs and mechanoids) and still I'm not bored while playing — usually I feel like I'm grinding in a couple of days of play. I'm start to lack overall goals in the game though — I guess I need to increase difficulty (which works like a charm here) or start playing from scratch in a different scenario.
Disclamer: I used to play Outpost 2 back in 90s-2000s and don't own this GoG version of it. The game is quite good albeit definitely not for everyone. You build base and struggle with nature cataclysms, computer rivals and timer. Base building is similar to most other strategies but buildings require not only power to operate but people as well. This means you also have to manage and grow population, their morale and health. It is not so straightforward for RTS but is not very complex comparing to most other city-building games. The combat itself is not very deep — AFAIR there are 3 tiers of tank body and dozen of weapon types to choose from them. Some arms are quite unique and fun comparing to other RTS games, like sticky foam which immobilizes groups of enemy tanks in web-like substance, or EMP that disables enemy tanks completely but for a shorter time. The combat and the game itself are not fast-paced for sure. The combination between RTS and base building is very nice and well done. I'm not sure if any of them would be very captivating on their single own but combination was good and solid. Imagine, you try to grow your population 5 more people but have to struggle AI at the same time and/or run from lava. The story behind is also really good. The point that is not for everyone for sure — even when you fight the AI the top priority is usually to build and grow your base large enough to move on. Some maps even will not have opponent, you'll have just to build your base and flee to avoid lava/virus. This also makes pace of the game quite slow comparing to most other titles. If you are ok with that and you like old RTS games you'll like this one too. If you are more into active fights and destruction you will not find them here.
Increase population, explore and improve your lands and tame animals, research new tech, cast god's favors, occasionally fight auto-combat style battles and complete gods' quests. Game does all this really great and if you are into such kind of games you might enjoy it much. But that's basically all you have. By the time you start building pyramids the game becomes quite boring. If I played on a higher difficulty it could be more interesting though (I played on the easiest tutorial mode) as I think I enjoyed the game for the first few hours.
The main point to keep in mind: this is a casual game. Treating it as such it is quite nice although have a few minor bugs. It has no real plot or deepness, just a small game to fit in 5 min breaks during a day. Also feels very much like a port of mobile game. I was able to grab it for 1EUR and for that price it is really good. If you like turn-based casual tactics games and you are able to catch a sale I'd suggest a definite buy.
