Hillforts

Hillforts is a classic roguelike deck-building game. I have really enjoyed the experience so far. I played around 10 to 11 hours of the demo and got completely hooked. The art style is lovely and simple, and the music is exactly what you would expect from a roguelike soundtrack. It stays enjoyable without becoming repetitive. Now that the full release is here, I am quite satisfied overall. That said, there are still a few things I think could be improved or expanded upon in future updates. *Games need to be longer: The Gunpowder Era is a literal blast to play, but it is over almost instantly once your first cannon starts tearing through the AI opponent. I know you can deliberately play more defensively to extend a match, but I would love to see a game mode with increased health so you can consistently reach the later eras. Most of my games end around the Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age. *The unlock system is great, but I feel like most of the requirements are fairly easy to complete within the first two or three hours. The final unlocks that require progressing through the Conquest levels are the only ones that provide a real challenge. *The AI definitely needs some work: I have had games where the AI somehow has upgraded Spearmen by turn two and completely steamrolls me within minutes. Other games have the AI sitting on a single unit for five rounds despite also only having two technologies. I understand this is largely due to the random nature of the game, but the AI's performance feels far too inconsistent. *More achievements, please: I do not have them all yet, but with so many unique factions, it feels like a missed opportunity not to have more faction-specific achievements. *I would also love a faction-exclusive mode. For example, letting the Aztecs use only Aztec units such as Jaguar Warriors, or letting Viking factions use only Viking units. This would probably require additional unit types, but I think it would make each faction feel much more unique and thematic. Overall, Hillforts is a solid game that definitely keeps you entertained. There are so many fun unit combinations to experiment with that I can easily see myself spending many more hours playing. At the same time, I think the game has plenty of room to grow through additional factions, game modes, unit types, and other content updates. I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this game.

worse rng than mordheim

Fun rougleike strategy game, good variety in builds and does a good job of managing build variety. Would reccomend

The mechanics are easy to get into, but the developer has added enough of their own little touches to keep the game feeling fresh. I loved how you're able to experiment with different tactics and unlock new civilizations along the way. Overall game is relaxing and fun.

I played a bunch of the demo and enjoyed it a lot. This game is the perfect blend of simple and tactical, which makes it easy to pick up and play for a few minutes or stay for hours. The full release is even better with the different nation bonuses.

Although simple in design, it is a quite addictive game. Each match, even with the same civilization, is different because of the roguelite effect: you gain random cards each turn, and when you combine cards, you get to pick from tons of updates. Everything makes the matches unique and the game replayable and after each defeat, you want to rematch. Also, the game is real and historical; you can learn a lot about civilizations and their warriors. You guess why a unit has such an effect—sometimes it is logically based on the history of the unit, and sometimes you are left guessing. There are many things to update - better balance, opponent difficulty. But for its small price and for a single-dev game, it is ten out of ten.

I like the concept, but it's not quite there yet for me. Civilizations don't feel nearly unique enough. They basically just get one or two free standard upgrade cards. I can see that this took a lot of inspiration from AoE2, so I would love to see the developer attach unique units to the civs to differentiate play styles.

Disappointing after the demo.