The city-building simulation City of Atlantis shines in the trailer with beautiful graphics and a great setting. But there is a huge catch.
“Hope is cruel. Hope reminds me of what almost was,” is how thriller writer Harlan Coben so aptly describes it in one of his novels. Admittedly, the quote doesn”t exactly spread fluffy good humour, but it is unfortunately sometimes true. I”m pretty sure he wasn”t referring to disappointing video games, but you never know.
But what is actually the problem with the construction game City of Atlantis? At first glance, nothing. It looks almost spectacularly beautiful, serves an extremely exciting setting and is due for release soon. Peace, happiness, pancakes.
But the catch is complicated and doesn”t even have anything to do with the game itself. That is actually exciting and promising!
Table of Contents
What is City of Atlantis about?
City of Atlantis gives me back a setting that I thought I had already lost: the mythological lost city of Atlantis. Why no one since 2001”s Ruler of Atlantis: Poseidon has really dared to take on this fantastic template for a building game is as much a mystery to me as the myth of Atlantis itself.
And now imagine that Atlantis suddenly emerges from the depths of the sea and makes you its ruler! A dream, isn”t it? Check out how good this first trailer looks:
In City of Atlantis you expand the mythological city, plan a clever city network, farm with your income and make decisions about your various communities. Of course, the game also includes the cultivation of food and livestock, as well as educational opportunities for your inhabitants in the areas of agriculture, hygiene, architecture, technology, military, medicine, politics, trade, philosophy and art.
There will also be a military element, including fleet battles and ground troops. So what is still missing from the classic construction formula? That”s right, politics and natural disasters. Everything is included. So much for the classic build-up fare, but that doesn”t have to be a bad thing.
A big but
The hook of Atlantis is well hidden. For it may not be apparent on the Steam page, but the publisher PlayWay has a hand in the build-up game. Some of you may already be groaning in annoyance at the name, but others may never have heard of the unusual publisher. In our big report on PlayWay you will find answers to many questions, but let”s summarise.
PlayWay currently has numerous games from small developers under its wing. Among them are many simulators, but also a bag full of construction games. The best known are probably the two games Builders of Egypt and Builders of Greece, which aim to follow in the footsteps of the building classics Pharaoh and Zeus. Incidentally, the Steam description of City of Atlantis also hides a slipped-through “Builders of Atlantis” – presumably an older working title. Need a refresher? Here you can see what”s behind Builders of Egypt:
The publisher has been flooding the web with graphically impressive render trailers for games like Viking City Builder, Mythos Slavic Builder, Aztec Empire, Chinese Empire and many, many more. Unfortunately, convincing evidence of the success of the PlayWay construction game wave is still a long time coming and the simulations that have already appeared under the banner receive mixed reviews. While there are gems like the Car Mechanic Simulator, the Junkyard Simulator, for example, rather shines with mediocrity.
So it”s not impossible that City of Atlantis could be a good game, but it”s also unclear whether the construction game will ever be released or whether it won”t join the endless queue of potential Steam corpses.
What do we like so far? What”s left open?
What do we like so far?
- Suspenseful Setting: The city of Atlantis offers almost endless possibilities for good storytelling and unique mechanics.
- Fancy graphics: City of Atlantis shines in its trailer with great lighting and effects.
- Balanced mix: With economy, politics, environmental influences and military, all boxes are ticked for a successful classic building game. Whether they actually form a good balance, however, is of course another matter.
What remains open?
- What will it really be like? So far, City of Atlantis sounds a bit like a game concept that you just write on a napkin. Of course, this rough summary says nothing about quality, long-term motivation, game modes and game fun.
- Can this ever be released? The main question is whether City of Atlantis will ever be released. After all, updates of other PlayWay building games have been years in coming in some cases, instead they just keep announcing more and more games.
So far, City of Atlantis doesn”t have a release date either. But let”s keep our fingers crossed that our hope doesn”t fizzle out.
Editor”s Verdict
I never meant to be so cynical. Construction games are actually my safe haven, all is still right with the world here. But every time a new building game pops up on Steam, the first thing I do is check to see if PlayWay is involved. Because by now it”s not even directly recognisable on the Steam page. Perhaps because they are well aware of their reputation.
But as a huge fan of the Atlantis saga and the Atlantis addon for Zeus, one of the best building games of all time, I just want so badly for this game to be something. Come on PlayWay. For me?
