Foundation

If it were more intuitive, i'd probably like it. As it stands, you'll get messages about a workplace being unusable, but no info why. You'll see a message that some serf cannot use a path. Why? No indication. The modular buildings are also confusing. Once you start to figure them out, they become less so, but you have to figure out each kind individually. That is neither laid back or relaxing to me.

Even with 4 military companies on permanent patrol duty to two smalI residential plots, light fortified, with rustic castle watchtowers, only 4 houses upgrade to medium density so I can´t evolve further because villagers keep leaving for lack of housing. Some issues with the market tent also but those are mostly just anoying. Fun game if it was not bugged I supose. I will try to play it again sometime. Hope devs fix it.

This game is extremely frustrating. There are a lot of things in the game that don't work as expected or as you're told. This makes doing any kind of logistical planning damn near impossible unless you somehow understand the underlying systems and how they're different than advertised. Why don't systems work as you're told? Who knows. Trading. You can mark an item to be sold once you reach a certain threshold. So basically keep 10 and sell any excess. Do you actually sell the excess when you have them marked? Not always. You can very easily go in the negative because you don't sell the items you expect to sell but at the same time you do buy the items you expect to buy. Why does this happen? Who knows. Taxes. You set the taxes and it tells you how much revenue you'll supposedly make every month. Do you actually make that amount every period? Nope. I'm supposed to be making 70 gold a month, but when I check the budget sheet, I'm actually making 15. Why? Who knows. Quests. Example. There's a quest to provide food diversity. It very clearly states that you have to find a second source of food for your villagers. Cool, I already have 3. Produce at least 1 refined food. Cool, I already have 1. Does the quest complete? Nope, it still says I haven't filled the refined food need for my serfs. Why? Who knows.

Regardless of what any review (hell, even this one) says, you WILL enjoy and appreciate this game under two circumstances: - You have a unique itch for a city building game with minimal restraints for creativity and originality with system building - You are willing to give yourself time to first learn the certain gameplay loops of the resource management system and you are willing to go step by step, not skipping a beat If you check both conditions, then buy it. This game scratched my unique itch that I was talking about. There are many city building sims with all kinda combinations of creativity, heavy resource management, and automation; but this is the sweet spot for me that it allows me to expand in my own terms. The game isn't pushing you to do anything, the goal is whatever you want it to be. You can build unique and memorable districts & streets, create customizable castles & manors (which is an underrated feature of the game), maximize trade routes with your fellow (yet invisible) neighboring towns, farm out resources in well designed districts, or just watch as your organic and unique city grows. The game still has a long way to go in terms of QoL updates and fixing stuff, but it runs very smoothly for me, and as far as I can say, right now the game has enough content to give you your money's worth.

Two words: Logistical Nightmare. I seriously don't understand how people play this to the endgame, much less make beautiful cities that sprawl across the map. I keep restarting because I run into a point where my people are screaming, furious that they can't access things like refined food or basic goods, meanwhile I have markets posted on every corner practically bursting with the very things my commoners need (yes I made sure the markets were close to the houses of the people who needed resources, yes those markets were stocked, yes I made sure that they were offering multiple of each resource type). Or I'll have stockpile workers sitting on their hands, refusing to grab resources from the full logging camps and iron mines nearby for god knows whatever reason (yes I set the storage to accept those resources, yes there was literally nothing in the storage so there was plenty of space). What got me to finally make this review is I tried restarting one more time and my builders were sitting around with the status "Waiting for Work" while I had a large plot of land designated for housing a stone's throw away from them (yes I had plenty of wood to make houses, yes the plot was one contiguous mass so there was certainly enough space), meanwhile there wasn't a single house built and everyone was angry because they were homeless. I just keep bashing my head into the wall because every issue slowly grows in a way that you can never fix, no matter how much you over-produce, no matter how much you try to build a network of storage across your entire city, filling it with ugly plots of dirt filled with piles of resources. And every step of the way the game looks you in the eye and says "This is your fault" as people continue to get fed up and leave. Look at how many hours I've played this game. I know how all of the systems are supposed to work, they just don't. I've seriously lost track of how many times I keep coming back to it and started over from the beginning because I keep thinking "Oh but the art style is so cute and I'm craving a cozy city management game right now." I'm done. I'm removing this game from my library so I don't make the same mistake of giving it another shot. Do not purchase this game.

Truly a fun game. The way cities can be organically built without grids really is a milestone for PC gaming. This is one of the only games where it is implemented properly and looks good doing it. It has also come so far from the old style and mechanics. Honestly I would highly recommend this for anyone who loves games like banished, manor lords, and cities skylines.

No enemies, no raids, no natural disasters, no hunger, fires, epidemies, you name it. Thus no challenge, no replayability.

Unfortunately, I just don't find this fun. Trade feels imbalanced, and while the idea of villagers building within a designated area is cool at first, it just becomes a nightmare where seemingly no one has access to what they need. Can't make a section industrial and another section residential because if the houses are too far from the industrial parts, they'll complain that there's not enough housing. I'd rather travel time be a factor than having people without homes because they won't build something too far from their workplace.

I've played a huge variety of city-building games over the years, from classic grid-based builders to complex economic and survival city sims, and I can honestly say that Foundation stands above the rest. What immediately sets it apart is the freedom. Instead of forcing you into rigid grids, Foundation lets your town grow naturally, creating villages that feel organic and alive. Watching roads form based on where your villagers actually walk is incredibly satisfying, and because every settlement develops differently, no two towns ever feel the same. The gameplay strikes the perfect balance between being relaxing and engaging. Managing resources, expanding your settlement, and keeping your villagers happy all feel meaningful without becoming overwhelming. It's the kind of game where you tell yourself, "I'll just place one more building," only to realise hours have flown by. What really keeps me coming back, though, is how fresh every playthrough feels. Unlike many city builders that become repetitive once you've mastered their mechanics, Foundation's organic building system and endless creative possibilities make each new settlement a unique experience. If you're a fan of city builders—whether you're a veteran of the genre or just getting started—I couldn't recommend Foundation more highly. After playing countless city-building games over the years, this isn't just one of my favourites; for me, it's simply the best.

Definitely my favourite city builder game. I also really like frostpunk and surviving mars. 1) The game is beautiful! There is a bazillion possibilities how to customize, beautify your city. And thats not just for fun, beautification is part of reaching certain game goals. 2) The game is quite komplex but starting in a very easy and selfexplaining way. 3) There is not so much pressure like in frostpunk. You simply enjoy building and see your city grow. 4) Music, Ambient aso is fantastic! 5) And all the small Animations! The sheeps, the horses, I love it! This game is very relaxing, beautiful and challangeing at the same time. Once started, I cant stop playing it.. This is my second review ever, but i think its worth it! So if you like Frostpunkt and surviving Mars i think you might love this one!