Minds of Nations

Honestly this is philosophical nonsense that detaches itself from political reality in favor of a shallow take on "spiritual enlightenment". I'm being very harsh, and I don't think the dev(s) are bad people or particularly unintelligent, but I need to call out how utterly abstract this game is. It doesn't ground itself in any way. It instead focuses on abstract souls and Krishnaism to try and formulate a game to simulate geopolitics. This is fantastically obtuse. Then, on top of that, the game is a buggy mess with little optimization and a similarly terrible multiplayer mode. Oh, did I mention the game was turned from a free "MMO" into $20 abandonware? 2/10, many interesting concepts that together completely fail to make for a fun experience.

No tutorials, no explanation for effects, nothing that helps a new player. The game used to be free and that was fair for the quality of this game, but without any warning they made it paid. Not recommended.

the game is not worth a single pound, let alone its current price. There is no replayabilty There is no community There is no gameplay (other than staring at poorly designed graphics and waiting for a bar to fill) There is no roleplay (the base gameplay loop is so boring that no one plays long enough in multiplayer for roleplay to properly start) There is no ending (other than "the end" and thats it) There is no developer transparency There are no updates coming There is no future to the game. This was most likely a scam from the start.

Before we begin, it's important to understand that this creation is primarily a Krishnaite propaganda piece, which affects all aspects of the game. I have been involved with this ambitious project since the very early FREE beta test. I was struck by its ambition and depth. I overlooked its shortcomings and awaited updates. Now the game is released and paid, but it hasn't become more playable. Instead, there are poor AI-generated artworks, a huge number of links to some religious/cult materials, and constant pop-ups about reincarnation. Let's start: - Optimization - the game attempts to simulate the life of society and various spiritual processes. It sounds powerful, but in reality, it boils down to a couple of dozen simple formulas (addition + multiplication). However, the lags prevent playing at ANY speed starting from the middle of the game. - Crashes occur for no apparent reason. - Saving - does not work. Only the autosave is functional, and there is no way to influence this. - Balance - is non-existent. I will elaborate on this later. - AI - degenerates with cheats. From resource bonuses to direct teleportation to any edge of the map. They are completely incapable of playing on their own. To be fair, the game positions itself as an MMO - which means you should play with people. - Sound - is terrible. There are few melodies, and all are poor. - Visuals - there are many maps. They are well-drawn, sometimes even beautiful. Everything else is generated by early AI. - Controls - initially seem fine, but numerous stupid quirks (instant landing allows teleporting units over water through archipelagos) and bugs (the inability to land on enemy territory disables capturing islands, sudden orders that no one gave, frequently broken pathfinding for units) ruin the experience. The game's ambitions: - A complex system of state institutions - a set of names that provide random unrelated bonuses. - A complex system of religion - a set of names that provide random unrelated bonuses. - Social structure and culture? Correct - a set of names that provide random unrelated bonuses. - Reincarnation - a set of leaders with bonuses. Once a leader dies (retires), they can no longer be chosen. They do not reincarnate. LOL. - The game offers numerous choices on any issue (the mentioned religion, state, society, as well as core functions like colonization and diplomacy). More than half of the options copy each other, differing only in name. Another third consists of inferior options that are just inexplicable (seriously - you can spend 150 food to subjugate a province in 50 years, or you can spend 350 food to subjugate it in 70 years. You will just waste more time and food. No, there are no situations where this could be useful. No, the improved options are not unlocked by anything; they are available from the start.) - Research - is generally well done, but unfortunately, it serves no function other than unlocking new types of troops. All other bonuses literally do not work. You can smelt steel from the very beginning of the game without researching that technology. No need for any tricks or exploits - you just can. - Buildings - are instant (lol) and wonders. A set of names and neuro-arts that provide decent bonuses. Defensive structures simply do not work. - Troops, armies, and fleets - land units and battles are good, while naval battles work strangely. Both fleets and land troops suffer from unbalanced units: the starting siege tower is the best in the game, and there is no point in researching new ones. It has a huge attack (which other siege weapons lack), it breaches walls as well as other siege weapons, and it is the cheapest. It has no downsides. Many troops lack logical requirements - light cavalry archers require only money. Medium ones require money, horses, and equipment. Heavy ones require money and horses. The stats of heavy cavalry are higher than those of medium, but they are easier and more efficient to produce. The fleet - boarding does not work, and transports win in ramming even against numerically superior warships. Perhaps the situation is corrected by gunboats, but they are a ridiculous late game that you can't reach due to optimization issues and crashes. - Diplomacy - is rudimentary. Copy answers from state you whant to befrend and thats it. - Population and sustenance system - surprisingly well done. At first, it seems strange (resources that should theoretically provide food do not, fertile land in each province does, and resources only bring variety), but you get used to it over time. - Industry and resources - is a loud statement, but it is done decently. - Trade - is entirely based on diplomacy, which does not work well. - Stories - propaganda pages with bonuses. In the first hours (if you decide to try it), you will understand almost nothing, and the instructions and tutorials are of little help. They are more focused on luring players to various external sites than on teaching the game. Most explanations clarify religious concepts. What relates to gameplay often simply does not work (after fully investing in the military branch, I received exactly 1 bonus related to troops - the initially prescribed bonus for closing the branch. All questions about the structure of the army provided bonuses for anything but army bonuses. But in explanations I was told that it will prowide me with benefits.). And the sweetest part - as you may have guessed, all choices lead to random consequences. This means there is no point in leveling up anything specific - everything always depends on randomness. And this kills the balance. You can not adapt. You can create an excellent and logical setup for a state with all its bonuses for peaceful coexistence and trade, but everyone is already offended, and the entire continent kicks you for having the wrong patent law. Or you can keep getting discounts on other meaningless development issues and end up with nothing. Most expirience achieved in singleplayer, cause multipalyer lasts literally months. Verdict - do not try it.

They charge $30 for something that was free, is buggy, looks and plays like an online browser school project game? Abysmal

Has genAI ♥♥♥♥ for the pics. The game itself is bad but if they cant even bother to make art for it (at least try to disimulate xD) then you know its going to be a ♥♥♥♥ forever.

I got this when it was free, but the UI is ♥♥♥♥, and the gameplay is half-assed. The nation building is pointless, every option basically does the same thing and their is no actual tangible effects from your choices. And you can barely make any choices, since you have to wait for 3 different resources to gain to spend on making choices about the structure of your nation. The game is more obsessed with its weird religious, reincarnation philosophy then actual nation building and grand strategy gameplay.

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Was free, was mid, now 20 dollars, is trash. simple as.

Interesting concept, was an intriguing free game. But definitely doesn't worth a $20 now.