I put a lot of time into games centered around building something, whether it be survival crafting games like Grounded and Core Keeper, colony builders like Rimworld and Dwarf Fortress, or city builders like the niche game of my childhood, Metropolismania. There's just something really satisfying about starting out with next to nothing and watching the base or city you're building grow into something big, an itch that only these kinds of games can scratch. During the most recent Next Fest, I tried a demo for a game that sort of straddles the line between survival crafter and survival sim and was immediately hooked on it, and quickly put it on my wishlist. That demo was for Romestead, and I was incredibly excited to try out the full game, and now that I have, there is plenty for me to say about it.
Story
Romestead is set after Rome falls to hordes of the undead. The gods are missing, the city is destroyed, and survivors are scattered. You are one such survivor, and your goal first goal is survival: Exploring and finding resources, crafting useful equipment, making offerings to the gods to restore them to their former glory, all the while facing off against all manner of enemies inspired by Roman mythology.
Visuals and Music
The audio of this game does its job well enough, but isn't anything particularly mindblowing at this point in time. The sound effects are clear in what they're meant to portray and the music is unobtrusive and dramatic when it needs to be, so overall I'd say I like it.
The visual style of the game is another story entirely. It's a top-down game with a pixel art style, but it's really impressive how good it looks while having such a simple style. The plants sway in the wind, when you break an object there are suitable particle effects that leave debris on the ground, such as woodchips from felling trees and pebbles from mining ores, which are moved when you walk through them (and are incredibly optimized, not slowing the game down at all in my experience!). Fields of tall grass flatten as you walk through them or if you slice at them, smoke rises from the chimneys of blacksmith furnaces and a gentle glow surrounds the furnace itself, the occasional firefly can be seen at night, and all of these things fit a single, coherent style. The look of the game is simple, but it's incedibly well executed with an excellent attention to detail.
Gameplay
There is a ton to say about the gameplay. Romestead straddles the line between a colony sim and a survival crafting game, and has a lot of the trappings of both. You'll spend a lot of your time out exploring; you'll fight enemies, gather resources, and craft gear, all the things you would expect from just a game, but with a few distinct aspects, and with a huge emphasis on building settlements.
Combat
The game's combat is very similar to a top-down action RPG. You attack your enemies and do your best to avoid being attacked too much. There's a plethora of weapon options, including the tried and true sword and shield, spears, bows, crossbows, hammers, thrown javelins, daggers, magic scrolls, and more. I've found myself to be partial to the hammers, though I do keep a bow on me so I have some distance available. You have a dash for dodging enemies, and if you use a one-handed weapon with a shield, you can also block. It's relatively straightforward, but can be challenging at times, especially if you stray too far from home, or get swarmed by a large horde of enemies (which can happen quite often at night when the dead walk).
There are more than just your standard enemies to contend with, however. You'll have quests through the game to defeat powerful bosses. They all have their own attack patterns, and often multiple phases, and can be a challenge to take down, requiring you to plan accordingly. I've found them to be fun to face off against, and when I finally manage to beat one, I have definitely found the rewards to be worthwhile, as they'll often contain brand new gear and materials.
Gathering and Crafting
Gathering is fairly straightforward, and for the most part involves breaking apart rocks containing stone or ore, cutting down trees, collecting plants throughout the world, and obtaining the items that enemies drop. One thing that makes Romestead a bit different from other games of the type is the fact that larger materials, like rocks, ore chunks, and logs, cannot be placed in the inventory. They can be picked up and carried individually in your hands (meaning they'll be occupied and unable to attack), or they can be hauled in a wooden cart (and these carts can be linked together like train cars). While this can leave you vulnerable to attack to an extend, these items can also be thrown at enemies, giving you yet another combat option!
Materials can be offered at shrines to help restore the powers of the gods. This can earn you bonuses like buffs to experience and stats, upgrades to buildings, and new buildings entirely. Some offerings are also required to be made for quests to progress in the game, so you'll definitely be at the shrine frequently.
Crafting is done from the inventory, or at certain crafting stations like the crafting bench or campfire. You don't have a lot of options for things you can make on your own, as the vast majority of items are crafted by your townspeople, which brings us to one of my favorite aspects of the game....
Settlements
Rome has fallen, but that doesn't mean all you can do is try and survive where it once was. You can rebuild, establishing your own settlements throughout the world and recruiting survivors to join your town who can assist you with various tasks. Buildings are built using the larger materials you need to haul, and once you have a Town core and some other buildings built, you can ask people you encounter in the world to join your town.
Most of these buildings serve very useful purposes. There's a lumberyard whose resident will gather wood for you, a quarry to gather stone and ore, a farm to grow plants from seeds you provide them, places that can craft items you can't make on your own like the leatherworker and blacksmith, and much, much more. Like you, townsfolk aren't invincible, so you also have the option to build defenses like walls and catapults to keep them safe. The things you'll get from certain buildings (as well as what farmers can plant) depend on the biome a town is in, so you'll be building several of them as you go..
An occupied building can be assigned various jobs based on that building, whether it be gathering, producing items, or assisting with construction of more buildings. But people aren't able to work for nothing, and have needs to fulfill. They are most efficient when they're happy and well fed, so it's important for you to keep a good supply of food and make sure they're safe as well. You can also give them gifts to make them even happier. As you advance you'll be able to unlock logisitics options to link buildings so items are moved between them without you having to do so yourself, and can even build trade routes to move supplies between towns.
Conclusion
I've only scratched the surface here, but I'll wrap things up by saying this: Romestead has completely blown me away. I already really love the kind of game it is, but it's one of the best examples of such games I have ever played. I actually enjoy the combat when it's usually my least favorite part of a survival crafter, the visuals are an incredible example of what pixel art is capable of being, and the settlement building is something I've sunk so much time into and yet still want to put in tons more. If you like survival craftersor colony sims to any degree, I implore you to give Romestead a try, it's one of the best out there for both genre despite still being in early access, and I'm really excited to see where it goes from here.
VERDICT: Essential
Reviewed on PC
Review Copy was Provided
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