Early access titles are always tricky for me to review. Sure, it’s an excellent way to see if a game has enough potential to keep on your radar. Still, it’s also risky because there is a solid chance the game never progresses past the point it is now – as has been the case with countless Early Access titles.
Now that my mini rant is over let’s get into why you’re here: The Wandering Village. The Wandering Village is an Early Access city builder. But what sets it apart from over city builders we all know love and have spent far too many hours in, The Wandering Village is a city builder set on top of the Onbu. Onbu is an enormous mythical beast that wanders around while you set up shop on its back. It’s all very “fantasy novel” in its setup.
The Onbu is more than just a fancy dressing for the game – it’s the crux of it. While you’re spending your time building your settlement, feeding your people and growing your ranks, The Onbu is constantly wandering forwards. As a direct result of Onbu’s journey, the seasons and area will change, and you will have to be able to adapt to these new conditions or perish and die.
Onbu is also more than just a faceless beast; instead, his existence is symbiotic to your own. Onbu needs to be nurtured, cared for and guided. If you find yourself forgetting about him or ignoring him for too long, Onbu will die, and so will everyone on top of him. A clear and striking allegory of the relationship between man and Earth.
In terms of gameplay, The Wandering Village is just like any other city-builder out there. Start from the bottom and build your way up. From farms to stone masons and even herbalists – The Wandering Village has a pretty good collection of buildings available to you. This part of the game never felt lacking when combined with the research labs’ research trees. There is also a fantastic mechanic where certain buildings can only be placed and a particular type of terrain – and while I wish this system was built upon more than grass or dirt, it has potential.
The Wandering Village has just arrived in Early Access to Steam, and if everything goes according to plan, the developers plan to release the game a year from now officially. In its current state, The Wandering Village is pretty polished but lacking. While I don’t think The Wandering Village is a bad game, I don’t think it’s a great one either… yet.
I’ll be checking back every few months to see how the game expands and grows as the official release date approaches. The promise and potential are there; I just hope it doesn’t get forgotten and perish much like my Onbu when I forgot to feed it.
