Do you have an itch for creative development? Do you take great pleasure in masterminding a metropolises from the ground up? If you’d love to explore the wide open world of city building in an easy to play format, then Banished is the game for you. Released in 2014, this indie city-building game offers real-time strategy and town-planning action that is both easy to pick up and a joy to master.
Developed by the small, independent studio of Shining Rock Software, it was critically acclaimed as one of the “Best Strategy Games” of 2014. Strategists and city-building fans everywhere can’t help but be drawn in by its expansive, open-ended simulation and creative potential. With its easy to understand mechanics and intuitive structure, it’s an enjoyable journey into creative city planning.
Delightful Open-World Playing Experience
Banished is a unique take on the trading and city-building genre. You assume the role of a colony of exiled travelers looking to build sustainable, long-term habitable settlements. To ensure the survival of your colony, the main challenges you’ll face include finding nourishment, clothing and shelter for your citizens. With the immersive and expansive natural environment at your disposal, you’ll need to carefully consider how best to develop key resources, resources like housing, food and clothing, to help nurture your settlement.
Players will also need to use resources strategically while maintaining their colony’s essential needs. It’s a real-time simulation that forces you to be more sustainable in your city planning. Banished encourages creativity in developing strategic structures and satisfying the basic needs of your citizens. New buildings must be researched and created, with some taking more labor than others. You’ll have many different needs to take into account—which can lead to both successful and disastrous outcomes.
A Flexible Approach to City Building
Banished also offers an incredible level of flexibility and potential with its unique level of challenge. As the leader of a fledgling civilization, it’s up to you to decide which buildings and resources to create and where best to place them. You could find yourself constructing new roads to connect resources in meaningful ways. You could also implement sustainable practices like reforestation, developing wind farms, or creating hydroponic agriculture.
Based on your decisions, the same citizens you started the game with, will have a limited amount of time to improve their dwellings or gain the necessary resources to survive another winter. As a result, you need to move fast to generate new resources for sustainable long-term living. With emphasis on being smart with your resources, this game has the potential to be both incredibly satisfying and reactive to the decisions you make.
Design Challenges to Excite Seasoned Players
Despite its design reflecting a traditional city-building video game, Banished has engaged a loyal audience of veteran players. With each game, there’s the opportunity to challenge yourself. How can you sustain a healthy population despite an often limited resource pool? Or, can you successfully predict problems in order to prepare for any bad outcomes? All of these and more of these exciting challenges make this game stand out from the pack.
Banished also offers plenty of access for modders and the modding community. Players have used the game’s file structure to create changes like new buildings, crops, and new terrain to encourage modification. Significantly increasing in development since its release, Banished offers a fresh and varied experience for any city-building fan.
Explore the Open-Ended Fun of Banished Now
Start your journey crafting a city in Banished right now. Get creative with your decisions as you strive to maintain a persistent population against increasing odds. As long as you’re equipped with creative thinking and effective strategic planning, you’re ready to take on Banished. Why not download the game today and join the excited Banished fan-base?