Players expressed disappointment due to the game's perceived lack of content, depth, and quality of life features. Specific issues included an unfinished state at release, high price, and problems with Chinese language display and font flickering. The game's difficulty and economic imbalance were also cited as causes for dissatisfaction.
Satisfaction stemmed from the game's quality, particularly after fixes, and its value for money. Players enjoyed the sandbox nature, the workshop capabilities, and the concise design. The game's genre, mechanics, and good Chinese localization also contributed to positive experiences.
Excitement was driven by the game's overall quality, its status as a favorite RTS, and the anticipation of future content. The alternative history setting and the potential for player-driven narratives, such as twisting history and acquiring a nuke, also generated significant enthusiasm.
Joy was consistently reported due to the game's fun and enjoyable nature, particularly for strategy enthusiasts. Players appreciated the simple operations and ease of learning, finding the game to be a high-quality turn-based experience.
Frustration arose from significant technical issues, including a non-functional online mode, game-breaking bugs, and a problematic user interface. Initial problems with DLCs, missing Chinese characters, and map limitations also contributed to player frustration.
Verdict
Mixed
Summary
Positive 70% · Negative 30%. Score: 30 / 100
Positives:
Players find the game highly enjoyable and easy to pick up, especially for a strategy game. It offers a deep and well-thought-out grand strategy experience, standing out among turn-based titles.
The game provides extensive freedom for players to choose any country and pursue diverse geopolitical strategies. This includes the ability to play as unique or unexpected factions, fostering creative gameplay.
The game's workshop feature is highly valued, allowing players to create and share custom maps, scenarios, and even generate timelapses for video content, enhancing community engagement.
Players appreciate the simplicity of operations and the intuitive control scheme. This makes the game accessible and easy to manage despite its strategic depth.
Players expressed significant excitement leading up to the game's release, looking forward to manipulating historical events and achieving specific in-game goals like acquiring a Nuke.
Negatives:
The user interface is consistently criticized for being poorly designed, unreadable, and requiring excessive clicks for basic actions. This significantly hinders the player experience.
Players feel the game is incomplete and lacks essential features, depth, and content, suggesting it was released prematurely. Many core mechanics and quality-of-life features are missing or poorly implemented.
A critical bug causes armies to move erratically across the world instead of to their intended destinations, making the game unplayable for some users.
The online multiplayer mode is reported to be non-functional, preventing players from engaging in multiplayer experiences.
The game lacks proper tutorials or explanations for its mechanics, leaving players confused about how to play and what certain elements mean.
Gameplay:
Players note that the game features a simplified user interface and a basic, flat map, distinguishing it from more complex Paradox titles like Hearts of Iron. This simplicity is a recurring theme in the feedback.
Despite its simplicity, some players appreciate the game as a classic strategy experience. This suggests that the core strategic elements are enjoyable for a segment of the audience.
Performance:
Players are experiencing frequent crashes, especially during critical moments like boss fights or area transitions. This severely disrupts gameplay and leads to frustration, often resulting in lost progress.
The game suffers from significant performance issues, including low and inconsistent frame rates, even on high-end hardware. This makes the game feel sluggish and unresponsive, detracting from the overall experience.
Many players report a variety of bugs, such as characters getting stuck, quests not progressing, and visual glitches. These issues, while not always game-breaking, accumulate to create a less polished experience.
Some players feel the game's difficulty is unbalanced, with certain encounters being overly punishing or unfair. This can lead to frustration and a sense of unfairness rather than challenge.
The game's narrative and character development are criticized for being unengaging and generic. Players find it difficult to connect with the story or its inhabitants, diminishing immersion.
Recommendations:
Players highly recommend the game, especially for fans of grand strategy. The overall sentiment is very positive, suggesting a strong appeal within its genre.
Miscellaneous:
Players are looking forward to future content updates, specifically more scenarios and historical maps. There's also a desire for missing characters to be added, indicating a need for content completeness.
A specific bug in the online mode has been identified and players hope for a quick resolution. This suggests a critical issue impacting multiplayer experience.
Players are requesting an option to change the world map projection to spherical. This indicates a desire for more customization and potentially a more realistic or preferred visual style.