Reus

Genre: Strategy, Indie, Simulation

Developer: Abbey Games

Publisher: Abbey Games

System: Windows

First there was nothing, then there was me; a lonely planet flying through the cosmos. This was a time of peace and serenity. It was a time when I could stay up ‘til two in the morning blaring Simon and Garfunkel’s I am a Rock without pissing off the neighbors. An interesting side note: when you are a planet it’s always two in the morning somewhere.

On the second step of the tutorial a massive blue crab arose from my shell to skitter upon my surface with the slow, lumbering grace of a tired elephant. With his mighty claws he pounded a sea into my rocky carapace. I should probably see a doctor about that. With him came a man made of trees who looked way too happy to be doing his job. And he pressed his hands into my armor and brought forth all manner of trees and grass and shrubs and it tickled.

And in the forest settled a small tribe of people and they hungered. So tree man provided them with berries and other fruits so that their hunger would be sated. But it wasn’t enough. The people asked for more and so the lumbering crab blessed the land with animals to be hunted for sport and food and fashion. And the people were content for a time.

On the third step of the tutorial a giant of stone ripped himself from my skin and built up mighty mountains, striking a pose that looked as though it had been stolen from Megaman. The mountains changed the climate of the land around them creating vast deserts where another tribe of people made their home. Meanwhile, the forest people grew powerful and corrupt and in their greed set out to destroy the people of the sands.

The man of stone could not bear to see his desert friends killed by the forestidians and with a mighty smash caused the earth to shake beneath the forest. Many lay dead in the aftermath. The war parties disbanded and returned to the village to help repair. The giants became weary and on the fourth step of the tutorial the lumbering crab, the tree man, and the stone giant fell asleep and I rested and the people disappeared.

Happy Thoughts: I like the style of this game both in terms of art and in the idea of these titans that sort of act as gods. It’s an interesting take on creationism.

Sad Thoughts: The world spinning aspect of the game can occasionally make me feel ill. That is not fun.

The Bottom Line: If you like the idea of creating a world and trying to find a balance where the various people don’t war against each other, but still manage to be prosperous then this may be a good game for you. For how cheap this game is, I would consider picking it up. Of course, I have no idea where this game goes after the little bit I played so…good luck!