Banished
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Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Banished
A nice change of pace for city-builders, but it loses momentum once the immediate urgency of survival goes away.
New city-builder Banished is the most fun you'll have simulating famine all year.
I liked playing Banished. It was complex, but never fiddly, difficult, but rarely cruel, though it would benefit from a little more transparency. But as soon as I had a handle on it, as soon as I'd started to see through some of the fog of its complexity, I wanted to grasp for something bigger, something greater. Banished is satisfying, but never spectacular. That's not quite enough for me.
Banished is a clever network of interlocking systems and mechanics that accomplish a lot with very little.
Banished is like the quiet kid in school: unassuming, down-to-earth but also filled with hidden depths. If you're looking for a no-nonsense city builder that demands you keep a handle on important things like food, warmth and how much beer your citizens have. Once you've figured out the basic mechanics, Banished's appeal can dip slightly but there remains something weirdly engrossing about watching the seasons pass.
Banished is not impressive solely because it was made by one man—it is impressive, period.
