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- Robotronic Games
- Robotronic Games
- Robotronic Games
- Robotronic Games
Gnomoria
Released On: Jun 19, 2012
Metascore
Available after 4 critic reviews
8.5
All Platforms
Less complex than Dwarf Fortress but visually more appealing Gnomoria places itself somewhere between the Settlers, the Anno franchise and Minecraft. Not a bad place to be.
Unless you have a deathly allergy to ASCII interfaces, modding, and money, it is very difficult to recommend Gnomoria, even though it is perfectly functional and enjoyable in the short-term.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 63 User Ratings
8.5
86% Positive
54 Ratings
54 Ratings
6% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
8% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 63 User Ratings
8.5
86% Positive
54 Ratings
54 Ratings
6% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
8% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
If you enjoy city/resource management sims and strategy games, this is one you really should pick up.
I picked this game up 10 days ago and have already clocked up around 120 hours.
First off, a bit of appreciation for the games difficulty settings. The frequency, size and strength of enemy attacks can be varied anywhere from "Off"/(x 0.5) to "Double"/(x 2). You can also further choose to vary what enemies attack you on a type by type basis. don't like spiders? Turn them off. Only want to fight zombies, go for it.
Ok, lets start with your Gnomes. You control a band of gnomes, and the level of stats and attributes is impressive. It almost gives your gnomes a personality. Oh, and they all have names, so get them killed and you may feel guilty. BUT. Your Gnomes are pretty dumb. The AI isn't bad, but it isn't great. They will try to do things they can't, seal themselves in rooms they built, dig themselves into pits. But you only have yourself to blame. Careful use of commands and doing things in order can avoid all this trouble. Give your gnomes smart commands and see your efficiency sore.
The graphics are basic but perfectly adequate, but don't let that put you off. Where this game truly shines is the depth.
The economy is deep and varied, but based on a common and simple set of principles. This combines to give you a huge variety of things to do in your sandbox, but lets you learn the mechanics relatively easily. As a result, no play through is the same, your city/fortress will always look different. From improvements to efficiency made simply by giving your population access to bags, wheelbarrows and buckets to complex production lines where the forge produces metal which is worked by machine shops to be used by the engineers to build the devices you invented. And there are a good variety of industries to get involved in.
The other aspect of this game that shines is the mechanics system. A solid addition to the tech research trees (you gain access to more mechanical do-hickeys as you complete research), you can build machines limited only by your imagination, and I guess to an extent by the tools available. So far, while the game is in beta there are 3 devices, hatches which close holes when powered, mechanical walls which block passages when powered and pumps which move liquid from one place to another.
There are all sorts of switches and power sources you can use from hand cranks to engines and levers to pressure plates, but put them together and you can do some awesome things. Working purely in 2D I have so far made 1 way doors which can be locked from both directions, drawbridges, goblin crushers (a cunning combination of a mechanical wall and a roof...) and pitfalls. Yesterday I ventured into 3D and my machines gained a whole level of complexity. Yes, the game is 3D, didn't I mention that? You can build up or down as well as outwards.
The military side of things has not been forgotten either. And you have options. Will you live in isolation in a walled off and sealed city forgoing trade and immigration? Will you have a small force of elite troops? A larger but less focused military? No military at all but have every citizen able to join the armed militia if the need arises? Will you use traps and mechanics to fight for you? The options are there for you to use.
Lastly, the information. The level of detail behind the scenes is staggering. But the game does it's best to make anything sensible visible to you. This is helped by the flexibility of the UI. everything can be renamed. And everything can be viewed where appropriate. The UI takes a short while to learn, but is pretty intuitive. There are action bars and a right click menu, both letting you do anything. Things are generally in sensible places. And the UI is being worked on all the time. Resizeable windows, extra options and settings on your resources for prioritisation and stock forwarding.
So go for it, your city is in your hands.
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PC
This is a fantastic game. If you enjoy city/management/ strategy games then this is a must have in your library. I like to think of this game like ant ant farm-- you have to build your defenses, gather your supplies and manage how your workers, soldiers and drones behave and react to different situations. I have spent 300 plus hours on this game and I spend more with each update.
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PC
Ever wanted to play dwarf fortress, but turned away by the graphics and user interface.. not to mention the truly daunting complexity. Well, look no further than gnomoria.
It's a steep learning curve, and you're going to get wiped on your first few attempts, even after 300 hours I still feel like I'm learning to play.
Best game ever.
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PC
It's a really original and fun game to play... Until the monsters come. The monsters can be extremely frustrating. I've been trying to succeed with this game a couple of times now and the monsters always seem to end my civilization. They just arrive way too early in the game (even on easy mode) and players new to the game find it hard to fend them off.
If the monsters were a little less hard at the start, this would be a brilliant game. That's why I'm only giving it a 5.
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PC
First off I have played more than 20 hours so I know what I'm talking about. This game is addictive and wonderfully constructed but the real problem is with the combat. The enemies are sooo hard that it makes the game completely un fun. The only strategy you can ever survive with is to wall yourself in which is totally boring and no matter how well prepared you are, you will eventually need resources. I also dislike the fact that your armor can break.. I spent all this time crafting this great silver armor for it to break by getting hit with a copper axe? BS i say. Lastly I have to say that sometimes your gnomes can be absolutely ****. They consistently get caught in corners and stockpiles can be annoying when your gnomes would rather go down 30 flights of stairs in your mine to get one stone than to go 15 blocks away to get the stone from your stockpile. This really is a fun game but the fact is that it is the enemies are so frustrating that its just not worth playing. 5/10
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PC
I don't get where everyone is calling it a "masterpiece", it's a piece of something and you know what I am alluding to.
The game revolves around starting your own community of Gnomes, much in a style similar to Dwarf Fortress, but with better graphics.
Unfortunately the game is marred with so many issues and problems it's almost impossible to find anything remotely resembling a good game here.
To begin with the graphics are overly simplistic. Remember when I compared it to dwarf fortress? It barely achieves anything better then dwarf fortress. Most of the graphics are static, some of the graphics are missing (it is still in production though.)
The controls are awful, confusing and clunky as hell. The game doesn't so much as have tool tips of users to be able to figure out what is going on, even something as simple as trying to move through different levels of the map is a horrible experience.
The game, at times, tends to be overly complex, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the game flat out refuses to teach you anything about the game or how it's played. In games that tend to be more complex, it's a good idea to slowly teach players how to play the game and introduce it. You get none of that with Gnomoria. You literally have to spend hours fumbling around until you figure out on your own how to play the game. The alternative is going on youtube and other websites and STUDYING how to play the game.
Then there is the terrible AI, at the very least they could have programmed the gnomes in Gnomoria to at least be mildly independent, but they are literally ****. They don't sleep when they need to, they don't eat when they need to and will literally kill themselves doing some of the most stupid stunts I have ever seen.
Bottom line is, this is an awful game and a waste of time.
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PC
Summary Gnomoria is a sandbox village management game where you help lead a small group of gnomes, who have set out on their own, to thrive into a bustling kingdom! Anything you see can be broken down and rebuilt elsewhere.
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Jun 19, 2012
Developer:
- Robotronic Games
Publisher: Robotronic Games
Genres: