[h1]IN A WORD: [b]MAYBE[/b] [/h1]
[h1]IN SHORT:[/h1][quote=]
[b]WHAT TO EXPECT:[/b] Management oriented strategy simulator. Hardcore indie game. Dystopian setting. Mature themes. Survivor meets street gang dynamics. Pen and paper, play-by-mail style gameplay. Basic turn-limited combat. Slow-paced, methodical tempo. Needs a better tutorial and/or help screens. Visually clean but limited. Decent mandolin soundtrack. GUI needs some tweaks. No Steam overlay. Patience and imagination required. Singleplayer only. Subtly addictive.
[b]ACHIEVEMENTS:[/b] NONE.
[b]STATUS:[/b] SEEMS COMPLETE. NEEDS SOME WORK.
[b]WHEN TO BUY:[/b] IF WILLING TO TAKE A CHANCE.[/quote]
[i]More info below....[/i]
[h1]THE LOWDOWN:[/h1]Westminster Darkly is a game of management and local governance set in a dysptopian world after a cataclysmic event begins a new dark age. The action takes place on an overhead map of central London (UK), where the population has devolved into gangs intent on survival and the subjugation of their rivals.
Gameplay involves exploring the map, finding settlements and interacting with them. Management of these locations and their populations is paramount such as feeding the populace and maintaining control. Militia can be raised to defend areas, or invade neighbours.
NPCs are individuals that have come to prominence and are used to conduct actions during a turn. Turns progress in weekly increments. NPCs can undertake actions from taxation, infrastructure improvements, population control and trading. They can lead armed groups to explore and patrol surrounding territory, to defend locations, or attack and seize control of enemy areas. They can conduct trade, diplomacy or subterfuge with other factions.
Resources such as: faction reputation, population groups, refugees, militia, prisoners, monetary funds, food, disharmony and morale, are the currency of success allowing locations to thrive. Roving across the map are non-aligned parties which can be dealt with peaceably or aggressively. Sometimes random events spring up providing much needed additional resources or unwanted attention.
Combat *** has been overhauled graphically. It its now rendered in 2D with proper unit graphics. Not the counters of before ***. Battles are fairly rudimentary affairs involving the movement and placement of units and the issuing of tactical or attack orders. They are fought between rival gang units consisting of no more than six types of street gang-themed units. The victors can imprison or execute enemy NPCs; ransom them later, use them as forced labour or sell on the slave market. The aim of the game is to unify the local area or to die trying.
[h1]THE GOOD:[/h1]
+ Conceptually interesting.
+ Promising depth of strategy and management options.
+ Solid strategy mechanics. Well designed and implemented.
+ Unique UK urban street setting.
+ Well-crafted, basic soundtrack creates an apt ambience.
+ Possesses an appealling atmosphere.
+ Interesting subject matter with mature themes.
+ Low end specs PCs should not have much of a problem running this game.
[h1]THE BAD:[/h1]
- Difficult early learning curve. Its easy to mess-up continously when learning the game.
- Needs a better tutorial. Needs alot of help/info screens. Needs more comprehensive tool-tips. Lots of great concepts but no real explanation. * Missed the quick reference guide *
- Very slow progression. Needs better balancing to open up more exciting gameplay.
- GUI with to many features and information hidden away. An overhaul would be nice.
- Not entirely balanced. Will need time, effort and patience to get the best out of.
- Game world appears empty at the beginning.
- Cannot save or exit game during combat.
- No steam overlay integration. F12 brings up a debug screen.
- No achievements.
[h1]AND THE REST:[/h1]
* Basic tactical combat. Is fast to complete and possesses a decent amount of tactical combat options.
* Substantial, well-rendered overhead map of play area. Just needed more features e.g; Mini-map, filters, zoom function.
* Interesting use of time-limited battles. With forced retreat.
* Impactful artwork, well drawn with clean lines.
* Nice use of voice overs. The London accents are good. Just needed more.
* Good range of diplomatic options but potentially not well balanced.
* At times immersive as a package. When not frustrating to play. For the right person could prove addictive.
* Only limited manual saves and one auto-save.
[h1]ANALYSIS:[/h1]
On first appearances WD does not seem to be more than another low-budget indie title. Yet there is a certain 'je ne sais quoi' that sets this apart from other titles I have played in the past.
Despite the limited visuals and audio, the combination of opening cutscenes, dialogue and initial battle provided an enticing invitation into this dark, lawless world. Depth of strategy is imbued via management and governance. The challenge of maintaining order and feeding the populace, while growing the economy to fund upkeep costs and units works well. Combat is a basic affair. A question of movement, positioning and attacking en masse. Limited unit types and minimal unique tactical options do not add enough variety. Loved the limit-turn feature, it streamlined gameplay keeping the focus on empire building.
Limiting options through the role of NPCs provided tough choices added an extra level of strategy. At times the game world did felt empty. The map would have seemed more alive if permanently populated but it did add to the air of mystery. The inclusion of more persistent dynamic events and roving units would have helped. A mini-map could have made navigation easier.
Alot of the time progress felt procrastinated. I was unable to dismiss the feeling that game balance is off. That a disconnect exists between what was possible and what could be achieved, in good time. This seems to touch many aspects of the game from taxation to investment, to unit recruitment and diplomacy. Any gains across the board felt unimpressive. For instance maximising expenditure in investment and diplomacy just isn't worth the outlay. It takes too long. While the maximum tax rate was the only worthwhile option despite the penalties involved.
The GUI needs attention. To many elements are embedded within sub-screens. Hunting for information instead of having it to hand is not fun! A fuller tutorial or permanently accessible in-game help would have lessened the early difficulty curve. It's easy to miss or side step the few lines of instructions given after the first combat is over. Therefore I strongly suggest not to ignore the quick reference guide. It will save a good few hours of restarts. At times if felt as if learning the game's systems was more fun than actually playing the game.
I also have reservations about replayability but will need alot more time to make a fair judgement. A lack of Steam integration is a minor gripe. No steam achievements actually encouraged me to play the game instead of chasing objectives. Oh and don't press F12 for screenshots. It brings up a debug window!
[h1]VERDICT:[/h1]
After 30 hours I found this game to retain alot of potential. It lacks polish and some tweaking would make it even better. If you are interested in something that aims to be a little different. That does not have the look of a soulless AAA title. Delivers a stable, somewhat compelling experience with streamlined tactical combat. Is packaged up in a somewhat unique dystopian setting, mixed with a gang style culture and atmosphere. Reminds me of a nineties pen & paper, play-by-mail game. If that sounds appealing I am fairly certain there is enough here to take a chance and dive in.
** Combat rendering is tons better than the original counters on the main map. **
[quote=]More of my reviews can be found [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/nourl1/recommended/] here[/url]. | Key provided by [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/tbtactics]Turn-Based Tactics[/url]
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