Populous, Black & White, Godus: The old genre of god simulations returns to the scene with Fata Deum in the year 2022.
Fata Deum immediately brings back memories of a very old game genre. In the spirit of god simulations like Populous or Black&White, you are supposed to guide the fate of your believers as a god, and convert unbelievers to your faith.
The game was funded via crowdfunding and is scheduled for release on Steam later in 2022. We were able to try out a demo of Fata Deum and present the upcoming building strategy game to you now.
Get a visual impression first? The trailer shows where the divine rabbit runs:
From little to big God
Before you can work the really big miracles, you first have to rely on believers in Fata Deum At the beginning, your goblin, which follows your mouse pointer, is still hovering over largely godless lands. The small villagers of the colourful game world believe in Mother Nature, these heathens!
It would be a laugh if you couldn’t convince them of your divine power. So you hover your imp over them and gain access to a context menu. A little divine love or fear can turn even the most rational doubter into a believer.
If you’re into retro and Heroes of Might and Magic anyway, Songs of Conquest might be your cup of tea. In the test above you can find out how well the nostalgic building game already works in Early Access.
War and Peace
If you have collected enough believers, you can influence their dreams at night, for example to force the construction of certain buildings, provided you have enough worldly resources such as wood. You can also plant in the minds of settlers the idea of plundering another settlement or even starting a full-blown war. Take this, false god from across the island!
By the way, the map of Fata Deum from the demo is pleasantly large and can be zoomed in and out continuously, as the pictures above show. A tactical map view is added, which makes it easier to keep track of your own and your opponents’ progress.
Exciting new construction games are also available on Steam far off the beaten track. Take a look at these innovations:
Building games with a scurry factor: The best Settlers alternatives on Steam
What kind of god are you?
From time to time your disciples address prayers to youwhich you can either accept or reject. For example, you may be asked to perform a miracle on someone or to erect a new watchtower. The more prayers you fulfil, the faster you will rise in your god level, which will make new miracles available.
For all positive miracles (spreading love for a good mood, inspiring for more productivity, …) there are also negative variants to choose from. You can also send disagreeable heretics to the afterlife with a divine lightning strike or otherwise make their bustling lives hell. This is meant literally, because sooner or later an apocalyptic meteor shower will also be part of your toolbox.
Fata Deum thus thinks a little around the corner as a building game, since you cannot give certain orders directly, but can only influence them through your miracles. Nevertheless, you can expand your settlements into large cities, wage war and take care of your little citizens. Or pester them until they crawl in the dust in front of you.
What do we like so far? What remains unclear?
What do we like so far?
- Enjoyable learning curve: In the demo, our tasks grew at a speed where we effortlessly kept up with the learning. A not unimportant aspect for a building game that does many things differently than usual genre representatives.
- Promising gameplay: The mechanics around miracles and prayers are neatly interlocked with settlement building in Fata Deum. This indirect way of influencing gameplay promises variety for genre veterans.
- Nice graphic presentation: The game world with mountains and valleys looks varied, the cute comic style cheerful. Perhaps not to everyone’s taste, but quite coherently implemented.
What remains unclear?
- How well do mid- and late-game wonders fit into the picture so far? Since the demo already ends after about an hour, we can’t make a prediction about that yet.
- Too much micromanagement? We apparently have to select the citizens individually again and again and respond to wishes. This could mean too much micromanagement later in the game.
- Will the sounds be improved? The voices of the believers sometimes seem out of place and overdone. It remains to be seen whether this will change by the time of the release.
Editorial conclusion
What I loved Black & White as a kid – mostly for wreaking havoc and mischief with my divine monster. It was perhaps belated compensation after the not-so-liberal Catholic communion classes. For whatever reason, the genre of godsims still has a place in my heart.
That’s probably where my expectation of Fata Deum comes from. Because somehow I miss trudging through the game world as a powerful being myself. Since the demo unfortunately ends after six in-game days, I didn’t get to enjoy the really powerful wonders.
I still have to mention one point of criticism: The sound design got on my nerves after just a few minutes. The voices of the scurrying creatures sound completely exaggerated, one cheer about one of my wonders is interrupted in the middle by the next whoop. But Fata Deum hasn’t been released yet.
At any rate, not every demo manages to do that for me: I still had a great desire to continue playing Fata Deum, simply because the game mechanics mesh so well. Now I just have to be patient until the construction game is released on Steam in the course of 2022. Then hopefully with a better-sounding cheer.
