X
- Conifer Games
- Conifer Games
- Conifer Games
- Conifer Games
Jon Shafer's At the Gates
Released On: Jan 23, 2019
5.5
All Platforms
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 15 User Ratings
5.5
47% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
20% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
33% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 15 User Ratings
5.5
47% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
20% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
33% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Jon Shafer’s At the Gates is a great 4X game that is promising and will keep you coming back for more. It’s beautiful, it has deep engaging systems and it’s flexible enough for players to experiment and optimize their playstyle and builds. Hopefully, At the Gates minor flaws can be worked out with post-launch support or by the time the next installment comes along.
Report
PC
More than a year since its official release this is still a provocatively unfinished game. But to Jon Shafer's credit, it is still very addictive. The heart of the gameplay is not warfare or politics but resource management and survival. Do not come into this expecting a 4x experience. The initial challenge comes mainly from managing your production chain well enough during summer so that your clans don't starve during winter. Eventually, you have to figure out how to transition from an unsustainable foraging based economy to a farming based economy. You have to carefully find a balance between making sure your clans have enough food right now and investing enough in production of non-food based resources so that you can escape your nomadic lifestyle later. If you're too short sighted, you'll deplete a lot of resources and might find that your opponents have already claimed all the best land. If you're planning too much ahead, your clans will starve.
Once you've settled and established a kingdom, you can start shifting your focus towards warfare. It is perhaps for the best that the "early game" takes so long, because the late game is very unsatisfying. Combat is boring, the AI is rudimentary, diplomacy is barely existent and you can't even properly vanquish your foes! You can take their settlement, but you can't use it for anything and control will eventually revert to the original owner, even though they're defeated. Similarly, you can capture enemy buildings, but they will be all but useless to you, because there's a penalty for owning captured clans (and you can't do anything about it). These things make the game world feel static and limited and removes all incentives for conquest. I also find it very disappointing that there is no game customisation or map settings to play around with at all – just a 'new game' button.
I really can't recommend the game as a product, because it's not what it claims to be. But if you like economic sims and don't care for the other advertised features, then it is still a fun game. Just don't expect to find a reason to keep playing, once you've stabilised your economy.
Report
PC
At the Gates has enormous potential, but sadly as of May 2019 it is very glitchy (though playable). There have been no updates for the past three months though it was released only 4 months ago. This suggests the developers have moved on and the game will remain deeply flawed. My hope is help is on the way to make this game the outstanding game it could be.
Report
PC
After waiting years for the my kickstarter of the game I would have expect the game to be good. The graphics are bad for a mid 90's game. The game play is shallow and boring. Unbalance and broken.
Report
PC
Summary At the Gates is an indie strategy game from Jon Shafer, designer of Civilization 5. You are a dark age lord building a kingdom to replace the crumbling Roman Empire. Manage your clans, explore the landscape around you, harvest its resources, and build a mighty economic and military machine.
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Jan 23, 2019
Developer:
- Conifer Games
Publisher: Conifer Games
Genres: