#Terra nil review upgrade
#Terra nil review series

It isn’t exactly long at half a dozen hours, although there’s a bit of replay value if you’re hoping to reintroduce all species to their respective biomes.

#Terra nil review series

Even after the credits roll, leaving the planet’s restoration curiously incomplete, Terra Nil serves up a series of extra scenarios where the challenge is heightened.ĭespite the challenge it can present to efficiently terraform the game’s handful of areas, Terra Nil is a pretty relaxing game and was helpful for winding down after a couple of long days. While I’d purposely call down tornadoes to level my cities in other builders, purposely and efficiently recycling every sign I ever existed to leave a rewilded biosphere behind feels particularly unique. I feel like Terra Nil smartly subverted what I expected from it as a city-builder, as it continues to layer systems onto those already introduced and hardwired into the genre. Although the mission can be sprawling and quite involved, it holds off ever overwhelming you with too much to wrap your head around at once. The way Terra Nil also delivers its levels as these grand, multi-phase missions of reinvigoration is cleverly devised. The most basic part of the core loop reminds me of Cloud Gardens, a similarly zen game about planting fantastical gardens in the sky, and how its slow grind ultimately gives way to lush, beautiful sights. RELATED: The Plucky Squire Preview – A Clever And Colourful Caper

#Terra nil review upgrade

For each tile you convert, you’re awarded points–the game’s only form of currency which is used to place and upgrade buildings. To do this, you place turbines to generate the energy that power the toxin scrubbers which in turn irrigate the soil, it’s a step-by-step journey to creating a lush, emerald paradise. At first, the primary objective is terraforming an arid, tired landscape into a diverse, ecologically sound utopia of sorts. Terra Nil doesn’t assume for a second that city-builders are in vogue, and it does introduce its mechanics in phases before culminating in multi-goal stages that require you to meet varying conditions to cultivate growth. A lot of “games for change” candidates deal with how we hurt each other, but this is perhaps the best example of how passively damaging we can be. But the other inference is, the planet can’t heal on its own–it needs our help. This is the game’s singular message, that if we left it all behind and vanished, our home would be better off without us. This literal handover from the player to nature feels like the idea that’s driven home, and the one constant contribution of mankind, throughout Terra Nil. There’s no “story” to speak of, not that that’s much of a surprise.Īfter a laborious effort at restoration, you’ll often disembark. An introductory set of tools allow you to introduce wind power and irrigation, creating a fertile landscape for flora and fauna to return.

Of course, the game still plays mechanically like any builder title before it.

CLICK TO LEARN MORE.Ĭontrary to the aim of other city builders, like Sim City where the aim is to build up, Terra Nil’s focus is in leaving an evergreen, ultimately sustainable world behind.