BANISHED

 ON A WARM SUMMER DAY SOMEWHERE NEAR A RIVER

It is the eleventh autumn since you and a handful of other people decided to settle down here in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but wilderness surrounded you. A few rocks, a river to the south and a whole lot of trees everywhere you looked. You still remember how afraid you were at first; whether you were able to build your first houses and gather some firewood in order to survive the first winter...

But you have come a long way. When you now let your eyes wander around you can see fishing huts, foresters and stonecutters at work, there is even a small field with some corn growing, carefully watered by two farmers, and behind the small hills to the north you know that old Katarin is gathering some mushrooms for you and your fellow citizens. She just turned 74 and something tells you she'll probably not make it through the bitter cold of the next winter, that's coming closer every day. Still, even she is happy. When she looks into the eyes of the children playing, studying and growing up, she feels calm and continues to collect mushrooms and onions with a smile. Soon here gravestone will be the first to be placed next to the church and here gentle smile will not be forgotten by the generations to come. She knows, you know, it was a good life... a life worth living...


It is simple stories like this that make Banished stand out among other building simulation games. The game has no military part, no threat to be afraid of except survival. The game does not emphasize resource gathering and management in the classical sense; here it is the people that are you main resource. But people are not that easy to manage because you can only tell them what job they are supposed to be doing. Soon you will notice that they have a bit of a will of their own. To me, the most fascinating aspect of Banished is that this game is both profoundly simple yet highly complex at the same time. Even 30+ hours in the game you will still learn important new things. While the beginning is deeply focused on taking care of everything with a handful of people and immerses you on a level I have never experienced in any similar game so far, as your population grows and everything exceeds your wildest predictions, the focus shifts to an equally challenging and entertaining level of macro management.

The graphics are perfect for this type of game as they show the realism needed but also inherit a sense of dreaminess. Watching the beautiful landscape change over the seasons will most certainly immerse you even further into the story, the story you are writing by yourself. If the graphics alone are not enough the colorful soundtrack does the rest. - Perfectly executed!

Banished allegedly was created by a single, -obviously - highly skilled and talented person and is available on Steam for a very, very good price. This game got me hooked completely during the last days and sleep deprivation is already knocking at my door. If you are also a fan of great titles like Anno, The Settlers, The Guild, Civilization, SimCity and so on, you have to check this game out! Trust me, you will not regret it!

Play more! Harvest more!