Want cosmic horror in a 20s setting? This hits the spot. Want a prototypical good ending that closes all loose ends and fully illuminates the setting? That's not how you cosmic horror correctly. If you want a fun game that has compelling visuals and the vibe of cosmic horror, here you go. If not, well, go play Baldurs Gate or something. The only problem is some framerate issues and occasional graphical problems, but it's still a great experience overall with a deep lore that leaves just enough lacking for that ephemeral feeling.
This DLC is the most worth it to me, and a must-buy if you love the base game. The moon and Mars missions require a good understanding of the island economy and trade. The Mars colonies have satisfying benefits that make all of the work seem worthwhile. The faction boost location really opens up Utopia plays where you no longer have to worry about Conservatives complaining about social programs or Religious complaining about gay marriage or vaccines or whatever. It does sideline some of the game mechanics, but you have to be so advanced to pull the missions off that you're close to endgame, anyway. It's a nice send-off that you earn the ability to no longer have to worry as much about factions or cash or what-have-you. It really makes it feel like you've graduated from some colonial backwater to an advanced technological utopia, which is really satisfying.
I've played the original Tropico, Tropico 5 with DLCs, and a lot of other city builders over the last three decades. Something about Tropico 6 just hits a happy nerve that makes me want to play it for hours. Of the DLC, I will say that New Frontiers is the most fun since it adds big goals that require a robust island economy to pull off. The festival and the sky one are okay, but the wall street one can make the trade game more fun. I use the Lobbyistico features the least. I didn't bother with Spitter because I hate social media IRL and don't want to deal with in a game. I'm hardly a pro gamer or a critic, but I find myself playing Tropico 6 like I used to play DungeonKeeper, Sicily 2000, and Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom. Some free tips: -The Colleseum is extremely powerful as it reduces the complexity of meeting happiness needs. -Votes are based more heavily on factions than on happiness, so make sure you watch your faction relations. I do social engineering (propaganda, reducing faction pops), but keep the big facs happy if you like a less evil playthrough. -Keep an eye out for imports as well as exports. Especially with the Wall Street add-ons, you can get some good import deals that you can sell through at a profit or use in industry. If your island lacks a resource that you need for industry, find it on the high seas through piracy. It is possible to sustain a factory or two through piracy. -Professional military is nice, but you really need the high school edu wonder to have enough education to pull it off. It can be a good way to employ high school folks if you have a large population of them. -I prefer to cluster my military near my palace, and will often relocate my palace to do this. This guards against surprise raids/revolts. You may also set your troops to guard buildings so they win together rather than die in solo fights. Towers can slow down attackers in key areas until the cavalry arrives.
The core game is very fun. In short, if you like managerial builder games with an evil/spooky theme, then you'll like Dungeons 3. However, the surprise for me was the co-op. I play with my wife, and we have an absolute blast. She's more of a combat, League of Legends player, while I'm more of the city-builder type. So early on, we split responsibilities with her taking care of the overworld, hero incursions, and underground exploration, while I focused more on building, recruitment, and research. This made the game a lot faster and less hectic, since now I could focus on base building rather than constantly having to split my attention between the dungeon and the overworld. She does a lot better with the overworld combat than I would because she can micromanage units to keep them alive longer. I tend to just zerg rush because I'm too busy thinking about the dungeon. We regularly smash the mission times because it's just more efficient to have someone focused full-time on the overworld. The combat and mission design is deep enough to keep her interested, while I tweak the dungeon design to make it more efficient as well as plan out the research that we need. I hope that they further develop the co-op feature in future games.
woke in an unknown life with simple needs and simple means. I lived. I died. I lived again. Through it all, some esoteric calling pulled me forward. Then an end. Happiness found in work and a simple life. But I could not rest. Not when hints of power sprinkled across my hours like snow on bleak obsidian. I read. I painted. I grew a following. I adopted a lover. All of these experiences wound across my psyche, fighting against the dread and infamy. Still, some thing whispers of power unseen. Perhaps tonight, I will discover the covered path left to me by entities unknown. Or perhaps, I will succumb to the vagaries of my own visions, unable to recognize the rest of the world any longer. But if it all comes to an end, something will wake me up again tomorrow. Weaker. But wiser.
