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- Conifer Games
- Conifer Games
- Conifer Games
- Conifer Games
Jon Shafer's At the Gates
Released On: Jan 23, 2019
63
5.5
All Platforms
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 28 Critic Reviews
63
14% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
61% Mixed
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
14% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 28 Critic Reviews
63
14% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
61% Mixed
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
14% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
At the Gates has a ton going for it, and this is easily the most addicted I've gotten to a game that I am reviewing. Although the replay value might not be as vast as some of the bigger 4X games on the market, it has enough of a unique and condensed feel that by the time you're getting ready to make moves to win, it hasn't overstayed its welcome by 20 hours.
At The Gates feels a bit like a flawed gem. It’s far from perfect, but full of intricacies, and it offers a wonderful new take on the 4X genre. Having spent almost 50 hours with the game, every minute has been rewarding. In fact, it’s easily the most refreshing strategy game I have played in years.
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.
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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.
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PC
A challenging strategy title, and it introduces many great systems to make it stand out from the crowd. The seasonal, clan, and discipline systems all combine to make each game feel drastically different from the last. While some could argue that this leads to certain games being unfairly difficult, At The Gates still delivers as a sound roguelike strategy game.
Jon Shafer's At the Gates is a unique 4X, with tons of fresh ideas, but many of them remain incomplete.
Ultimately, Jon Shafer’s At the Gates is a deep, interesting and gorgeous barbarian-‘em-up for about three-quarters of its runtime, with the quality of the experience varying hugely from there. With time invested to learn the game’s systems, there’s fun to be had in taking the various unlockable tribes to victory. It’s definitely rough around the edges, and there are a few features I’d happily trim, but if you enjoyed Jon’s previous work then the spark that kept me awake all night when Civ V launched is definitely still alive. I hope future updates can fill in a few of the gaps.
A surprisingly bland strategy game missing the spark of Civilization. Its economy system is initially quite interesting, but after a while it gets tedious. And that’s all the game has to offer.
In spite of having unique mechanics and a fresh take on the 4X and roguelike genres, Jon Shafer's At The Gates falls woefully short of delivering on both counts with frustrating RNG, mechanics, unintuitive design, and bugs.
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.
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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.
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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:
