Scorchlands

Game took Puzzle route instead of strategy-town-builder and shot it's own knee. Each time you progress to new tier there is feeling that you haven't really achieved anything and soon game will just end without any extra modes or challenges. Each tier is almost fully separate from others, so it feels more like 8 or so projects slapped together rather than one interconnected game. It lacks depth, lacks freedom and lacks cozyness. Just quickly reach new essence and connect lazer to base by spending 1 hour, now move on to next essence and lazes. Where is fun? Is it a good puzzle? Not really - Blue Prince is good puzzle. Is it a good story? Nah, mostly birds blubbering about something you forget in 5 secs. Is it a good war game - nah, very basic 'surround enemy with your units and they dissapear' without inventory management, skill trees or heroes. It feels like pre-alpha of actual game that needs 3-5 years of extra development with mechanics that are finger-deep. Maybe it deserves 'neutral' review, but we don't have one.

Its a fun game that satisfies my urge to make a base on a hexagonal grid, I've also never experienced a game where everything is supply and demand-based either (that is to say, no storage). Despite everything though, I was really cutting it close at the end, I do wonder what I could have done better or how on earth anyone could complete this with only 8 colonies (or whatever the achievement number is).