• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Reus [Steam] Unleash a giant to awe humanity

T

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
K8PQ06J.png

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Info Box |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Steam
Desura
GOG
GMG (Coupon: GMG20-LLASD-D8WBQ, includes Steam key for $7,20)
$8,99 - 10% off during release window until 23rd of May

Win Only

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Whats this game? |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Official blurb:
In Reus, you control powerful giants that help you shape the planet to your will. You can create mountains and oceans, forests and more. Enrich your planet with plants, minerals and animal life. There is only one thing on the planet that you do not control: mankind, with all their virtues and and all their vices. You can shape their world, but not their will. Provide for them and they may thrive. Give them too much and their greed may get the upper hand. * Control four mighty giants, each with their unique abilities * Terra-form the planet to your will, experiment with different terrain types * A complex system of upgrades and synergies allows for endless styles of play * Observe humanity, let your giants praise or punish them * Enjoy an interesting art style and a strong soundtrack * Enrich the planet with over 100 plants, animals and minerals * Unlock new content by helping humanity achieve numerous developments.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Impressions |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pictures speak more than a thousand words:
screen1.jpg

wTTjpS3.png

poWt9Kq.png
Click to expand...

Bootaaaaaaaaaaaay:
It doesn't seem quite so much a god game as it does a puzzler - the challenge seems to be in placing resources within limited boundaries to achieve the needed effect. The giants each have a basic terraforming ability - one creates oceans, one creates forests, one creates mountains and one (unlocked later) creates swamps. A mountain will create a desert and can be used to fill an ocean, but placing an ocean near a desert will cause it to turn into a forest. Similarly, forests need to be next to oceans otherwise they turn into deserts. By progressing through the game the giants gain more abilities, such as the ability to fill a single tile with rare minerals, or plants, or animals. Doing so encourages people to settle on the land and start a village.

To grow the village you need to provide resources within the village's limited boundary. The villagers will attempt to build projects which require specific resource goals and it's your task to juggle the resource tiles to get the desired effect. Also, resource tiles have synergy effects whereby placing a specific tile next to another will produce certain bonuses - two quartz tiles next to each other generate more wealth than two which are separated, while an animal tile will produce more food if next to a crop tile. This is pretty much the crux of the gameplay, you have to increase the prosperity of your village(s) and meet their needs through strategically placing resources. The final tutorial goes into combat between warring villages and the greed/awe system, whereby a resource-laden village becomes greedy and unproductive, but this is offset by awe, which is generated by certain resources and synergies.
Click to expand...

My own impressions:
It seems to be a mixture between a god game,a puzzle game and some 4X elements thrown in (research, expansion, war). Not directly a puzzle game, but how you need to make sure that your village prospers with limited amount of space and within the scope of that, there seem to be tons of possibilities for different plants, animals, minerals, which all have a different symbiosis to something to enhance the effect, giving it a bit of a 4X touch as well. Example: Blueberries give you 4 food, but if you upgrade them to strawberries you get 8 food and if the strawberries are next to another patch of blueberries, they get an additional 2 food on top. All this helps developing your villages, which in turn is needed to advance the powers of your giants. Its really slick and charming and considering the surprising amount of variation and possibilities (100 plants), I can see myself playing this for a while. Its also suuuper cool to just watch people doing their thing. They really managed to give this game a special touch.
Click to expand...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Key features |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  • Control four mighty giants, each with their unique abilities
  • Terra-form the planet to your will, experiment with different terrain types
  • A complex system of upgrades and synergies allows for endless styles of play
  • Observe humanity, let your giants praise or punish them
  • Enjoy an interesting art style and a strong soundtrack
  • Enrich the planet with over 100 plants, animals and minerals
  • Unlock new content by helping humanity achieve numerous developments

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Other stuff |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indie Game thread series, currently May:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=551216

In the same thread, we are currently prototype-testing a program to rate Indie games and write impressions that can be read out and analysed with that program. For more information, see this post:http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=57495778&postcount=364 Currently in need of some more testers, therefore another shoutout here. Feel free to ask me anything about it via PM or in the may Indie thread.
 
Also, I need to find out what the game title refers to.
 
TimmiT said:
It's a Dutch developed game. Reus in Dutch translates to Giant.
Click to expand...

Ahhh, thank you kindly.

On another note, a comment by the developer on the nature of the game:

One thing I have to say about Reus is that it's emergent. The better you do, the more new mechanics and options come available to you. This is fun if you're the exploring and challenging type, but when you're looking for a bit more railroaded or guided experience, Reus can really seem to 'stall'.
For example, you can unlock higher level abilities if you play well, and then you'll have to chose about what your strategy is going to be. Am I going to gamble on this village to get better Plants? Does that work with my other builds? Or am I going to play it safe with a new Forest village. The game goes really deep if you got the hang of it, but it's a steep curve. In the end, the game really depends on your playstyle, and that doesn't fit everyone. :(

But it is true that there could be a bit more 'big' abilities, like weather or something. It's something I couldn't fit in anymore in time, and it's certainly one of the design issues I will explore if we decide to make an expansion or the like.
Click to expand...
 
I saw this on Steam, looks pretty interesting. Can't afford it at the moment, but I popped it into my wishlist.
 
Huff said:
This games pretty fab.

Really hits that god game itch
Click to expand...

Yep, definitely. It looks soooo good too. Need to make a nice looking gif for it somehow.
 
Lissar said:
I saw this on Steam, looks pretty interesting. Can't afford it at the moment, but I popped it into my wishlist.
Click to expand...

DeviousAngel said:
Looks very interesting. Will keep my eye on this.
Click to expand...

Gexecuter said:
looks great, i will check it out once i finish my crappy backlog or some part of it.
Click to expand...

I hope this game doesnt fall prey to the steam backlogathon, it really deserves some purchases right now, especially if the dev is currently considering adding more features in an expansion if it might be viable.
 
It just so happens that I have to write an indie piece about this title, along with two other indie games, this weekend.

Hope it's as good as you say :)
 
Dawg said:
It just so happens that I have to write an indie piece about this title, along with two other indie games, this weekend.

Hope it's as good as you say :)
Click to expand...

I only played it for 1-2 hours so far, and apparently the "big issue" some people have with the game is that its not very streamlined. You get a tutorial, you get a few ideas/developments to strife for and then try achieving those. Its one of these games that reward exploration and curiosity instead of a need to "finish" it. People that just want to get through it, will probably not find much enjoyment in doing the same 3 things over again to win the game.

But thats not even the point here, you can upgrade your giants by experimenting and the more you experiment/the farther you get with your villages, the more possibilities,plants and synergies you unlock, basically providing emergent gameplay possibilities depending on how you decide to play or how good you are at the game atm. And considering its the type of game that rewards you for playing around with the mechanics, it has surprisingly many options. For the first 1-2 hours I played, yeah its definitely great and worth a shoutout in its own thread. I really hope more people decide to pick it up before it goes on sale, so that the dev gets the money he deserves.
 
Just saw it on stream and watched the trailer. Looked way too fun to pass this up. Downloading it right now.

Just so happened that I saw this thread at the same time. The game looks beautiful from the trailer and pics.

Almost done. :D
 
everyday math said:
Just saw it on stream and watched the trailer. Looked way too fun to pass this up. Downloading it right now.

Just so happened that I saw this thread at the same time. The game looks beautiful from the trailer and pics.

Almost done. :D
Click to expand...

Make sure to post some impressions later :) I'll be off to bed soon, but you guys should bump this thread a little since it helps the devs ;)
 
Caerith said:
And it rhymes with Deus, which in Latin translates to Cyborg.
Click to expand...

Cyborg? Pretty sure Deus means "God" :p

But yeah, I thought of Deus as well when reading the game title and the game being about huge beings taking care of humanity.
 
exmachina64 said:
Just finished downloading. I'll try to post my impressions later.



Correct.
Click to expand...

Your username is so fitting for this conversation ;p

Oh yeah, one criticism I have with the game:
It probably was literally impossible to make the font even smaller, but I hope/expect the dev is addressing that in a patch.
 
Man, I wish there was a demo for this. I seriously wanna try it, but I don't know if I'll like it from just the trailer.
 
RPS posted an impressions article a few days ago:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/05/08/reus-preview/#more-152342

The summary has me a little concerned:

More on Reus soon: I must spend more time with it before coming to any judgement. It really does look magnificent, and the sheer, awesome presence of the gods is such a treat, but I worry that its bread and butter mechanics might feel more a chore than celebratory omnipotence. We’ll see what later escalations bring, though. For now, I’m oddly happy to just sit there in freeplay mode, spinning the vast globe around as my giants grumpily haul their impossible bulk around the perfectly circular planetary crust. It’d be my ideal screensaver, I think.
Click to expand...

More impressions pls.
 
XANDER CAGE said:
Everyone seems to forget that cyborgs were responsible for Pompeii.
Click to expand...

Government is just trying to cover it up again, tss.

Mesoian said:
Man, I wish there was a demo for this. I seriously wanna try it, but I don't know if I'll like it from just the trailer.
Click to expand...

rhfb said:
Same here. Saw a nice review video that made it look like controller support wouldn't be coming, but Steamplay would be nice!
Click to expand...

What are your concerns? Maybe we can help a bit if you tell us what you want/dont want in such a game or what you fear might be an issue for you.
 
Great concept. Might buy it with my newly earned trading cards money, but I was already planning to get Borderlands 2.

Excuse my possible ignorance, but what's "Bootaaaaaaaaaaaay"?
 
epmode said:
RPS posted an impressions article a few days ago:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/05/08/reus-preview/#more-152342

The summary has me a little concerned:



More impressions pls.
Click to expand...

Well, as I said, you shouldnt expect to play this game just to finish it, since you probably wont find much here then. Its a slow game with tons of detail graphically and mechanically that enchants the player. The reviewer was probably referring to the giants moving "slowly" to the other end of the planet there, which takes a while yeah, but I assume that you can get the hang of it relatively fast so that you know where you need to send your giants before you actually need them there.

I'll post more about that when I played some more tomorrow though, since that is hard to judge from 1-2 hours of playtime.

Tenrius said:
Great concept. Might buy it with my newly earned trading cards money, but I was already planning to get Borderlands 2.

Excuse my possible ignorance, but what's "Bootaaaaaaaaaaaay"?
Click to expand...

A scream of appreciation to the first brave soul I knew trying the game and convincing me to buy it :p
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=57899064&postcount=457
 
Mesoian said:
Man, I wish there was a demo for this. I seriously wanna try it, but I don't know if I'll like it from just the trailer.
Click to expand...

Same here. Saw a nice review video that made it look like controller support wouldn't be coming, but Steamplay would be nice!
 
Seems like a really great game to accompany Don't Starve. I get their differences in gameplay but its so great that there are two independently developed sandbox type games with beautiful art. I'll probably pick this up tommorow to give the developer a bit more support.

I should also play more Don't Starve.
 
RealityExists said:
Seems like a really great game to accompany Don't Starve. I get their differences in gameplay but its so great that there are two independently developed sandbox type games with beautiful art. I'll probably pick this up tommorow to give the developer a bit more support.

I should also play more Don't Starve.
Click to expand...

I own DS for a long time now and still didnt get around to trying it. So many good Indies to play every month.
 
I hate when people use "rogue like" because it's not really rogue like, but people will think it is.

You start each game from the beginning and try to meet goals, try new combos, and get high scores. Looks like this may take some thought to figure out
 
Toma said:
What are your concerns? Maybe we can help a bit if you tell us what you want/dont want in such a game or what you fear might be an issue for you.
Click to expand...

Let's see.

I was super excited about From Dust, and that game was fun until it got to the point where you needed to be pinpoint accurate with how you're managing things like fire, water, steam, tribes, the hard levels never felt fair, they just felt like chores of tedium. Teraforming the world felt cool at first, but became increasingly slower as the levels got more complex, which often kills the pacing of the game and brings everything to a grinding halt.

I have Civ 5. I don't...understand it. I get the mechanics of it all, I understand needing to advance certain things and build up structures and dilligences in different areas to take on the world in your own unique way, but ultimately, once I've explored 50% of any map and find 5 or 6 other civs, I get overwhelmed and feel like i'm just going through the motions trying to build up defenses in one way or another until it all comes crashing down around my ears. It's complicated, ridiculously slow.

I really liked the idea of Sim City until I saw how small the world gets. The systems surrounding how the people worked and how you can manage utilities across cities seemed cool (until we found out they don't actually work...).

I don't know. Games like this, I like to get a little hands on before I commit

Edit: I did like Don't Starve, I didn't like how long it took for you to reach the next echelon of game. I guess I get a little impatient.
 
Off to bed now. I sort of expect the thread to drop a bit without my bumping/answering. Would someone please do me a favor and bump this thread in a few hours to give it some more gaf exposure if it disappeared into obscurity? Much appreciated :)

Edit: Too tired now, but I'll think about your concerns tomorrow if no one else answered them, Mesoian.
 
Toma said:
I own DS for a long time now and still didnt get around to trying it. So many good Indies to play every month.
Click to expand...

I've only played it for like an hour or so but like this game seems to have their are so many possibilities for discovery.

Don't Starve added the end game with adventure mode. Is it known if there is any end goal with this? Or is keeping the planet and its villagers alive all there is?

edit: sorry, I was writing this as my exact question was asked.
 
Also, I super want controller support. I play from my couch and haven't rigged up a good keyboard and mouse system yet.
 
I just loaded it up, so I haven't actually played it, but the Steam Overlay doesn't work in it. Either that or my Shift-Tab keys aren't working. Which they are. Just something small I've noticed.

Edit: In the game now. Second tutorial. "Press Next to Continue." Pressing "Next" does nothing but make a sound of me pressing "Next. Oh, and you can't unlock other modes unless you play the story/tutorial.

Edit 2: Reloaded it, Overlay now working. "Next" button still not.

Edit 3: Multiple restarts. All buttons work except for "Next." No other game modes available until I beat the tutorial.

Edit 4: Turns out my game was paused. Had no idea. Game never told me how to unpause it. Awful memory leaks too.
 
Mesoian said:
Let's see.

I was super excited about From Dust, and that game was fun until it got to the point where you needed to be pinpoint accurate with how you're managing things like fire, water, steam, tribes, the hard levels never felt fair, they just felt like chores of tedium. Teraforming the world felt cool at first, but became increasingly slower as the levels got more complex, which often kills the pacing of the game and brings everything to a grinding halt.

I have Civ 5. I don't...understand it. I get the mechanics of it all, I understand needing to advance certain things and build up structures and dilligences in different areas to take on the world in your own unique way, but ultimately, once I've explored 50% of any map and find 5 or 6 other civs, I get overwhelmed and feel like i'm just going through the motions trying to build up defenses in one way or another until it all comes crashing down around my ears. It's complicated, ridiculously slow.

I really liked the idea of Sim City until I saw how small the world gets. The systems surrounding how the people worked and how you can manage utilities across cities seemed cool (until we found out they don't actually work...).

I don't know. Games like this, I like to get a little hands on before I commit

Edit: I did like Don't Starve, I didn't like how long it took for you to reach the next echelon of game. I guess I get a little impatient.
Click to expand...
This video helped me understand a lot of what's going on in Civ V.

If you like the idea of Sim City, try Tropico 4? There's a demo, even.

Mesoian said:
Also, I super want controller support. I play from my couch and haven't rigged up a good keyboard and mouse system yet.
Click to expand...
I have a long USB cable running to a USB hub that sits under this which my wired keyboard and mouse are on. I do plug my gamepads into the USB hub from time to time, but it really depends on the game. I like having my options. (That table, by the way, is cheap-cost but pretty steady/durable, its height is adjustable, and the shape of its stand/base means you can pull it all the way up to the couch comfortably. I hate 90% of the crap IKEA puts out, but that table is the best solution for comfy couch PC gaming.)
 
I'm going to pick this up tonight I think. Saw a preview a few weeks ago on RPS and I immediately feel in love with art, also happen to love god games so this seems right up my alley.
 
A friend just gifted this to me out of thin air, so I'll be installing it tomorrow and giving her a rundown. I'll give ya'll one as well.

Caerith said:
This video helped me understand a lot of what's going on in Civ V.

If you like the idea of Sim City, try Tropico 4? There's a demo, even.


I have a long USB cable running to a USB hub that sits under this which my wired keyboard and mouse are on. I do plug my gamepads into the USB hub from time to time, but it really depends on the game. I like having my options. (That table, by the way, is cheap-cost but pretty steady/durable, its height is adjustable, and the shape of its stand/base means you can pull it all the way up to the couch comfortably. I hate 90% of the crap IKEA puts out, but that table is the best solution for comfy couch PC gaming.)
Click to expand...

Everyone needs to have Tropico in their life.
 
Grabbed it on GOG and played through the first two tutorials. Liking what I see here. Just hoping the villages expand their borders over time because I was out of space instantly for the desert village.
 
Reminds me of Black & White from what Im reading so far. Cool stuff OP and thanks for the post on this title!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Steam Machine Was Planned To Be A Lot Cheaper
2 3
102
363
analog_future replied
Unleash The Avatar - Gameplay Trailer | the Bollywood Soulslike Game, or the Hilarious India Aura Farming Game
Trailer 
17
185
Danny22 replied
  • Poll
Did you manage to get a steam controller today?
2
96
1K
Seomel replied
  • Poll
Are You Getting a Steam Machine? (Poll)
2 3 4 5
227
514
yogaflame replied
  • Poll
Are you getting a steam controller tomorrow?
3 4 5 6 7
325
2K
hououinkyouma00 replied
Top Bottom