January 18, 2016

Today in my Steam Library: Stonehearth

2016-01-18_00001

I got this game for Christmas but am only now finding the time to be able to play. It’s an adorable strategy game that plays like Dwarf Fortress. You start with some minions, assign them jobs, and attempt to survive in a fantasy setting. You can play in normal mode where your village will be attacked or you can play in peaceful sandbox mode where you won’t have to worry about invasions but you still have to worry about basic survival.

Unfortunately the tutorial lasts for only about 5 steps, but the game is pretty intuitive if you just press all the buttons and fumble your way around. I started out by assigning one villager as a farmer, another as a carpenter and a third as a soldier. Then I had them gather basic materials like wood and stone, while the farmer started a carrot farm, soon followed by corn. The carpenter crafted items that were required by the housing, such as tables and chairs for the dinning hall. The soldier went on patrol but seemed fascinated with only the farm area of their town and before long two zombies ran in and killed 3 out of my 7 citizens. A tutorial for combat would be nice, it was the only portion I had issues figuring out.

2016-01-18_00004

It is an early access game, so you should keep that in mind as you play through but I really had a great time watching the adorable little minions do their thing. There are some issues with creating your own buildings, but I never ran into them personally. My minions leveled up a few times and I was happily building away when along came another invasion, this time three zombies. I decided to stop playing right there and switch to peaceful mode until I could figure out the combat portion of the game.

All in all, a nice relaxing way to spend an evening.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

 

Nomadic Gamer