They Are Billions Review Summary

Unique RTS hybrid experience: The game blends RTS, tower defense, and city-building mechanics effectively, creating a fresh and engaging experience. This hybrid approach appeals to fans of multiple genres and offers strategic depth.

Accessible yet deep gameplay: The game strikes a balance between simplicity and depth, making it accessible to beginners while offering enough strategic complexity to satisfy experienced RTS players. The intuitive interface and gradual learning curve contribute to this appeal.

High replayability with mods and maps: The game offers extensive replayability through Workshop maps, random map generation, and community challenges. Mod support and varied starting conditions keep the experience fresh and engaging.

Innovative and strategic mechanics: The game introduces unique mechanics, such as a no-saving system, dual-card diplomacy, and layered defenses, which reward thoughtful planning and add strategic depth. These elements set it apart from traditional RTS games.

Diverse unit and mission variety: The game offers a wide range of units, mission types, and playstyles, ensuring that no two playthroughs feel the same. This variety encourages experimentation and adds to the game's strategic depth.

No save/load functionality: Players consistently report frustration due to the absence of manual or periodic save systems, leading to lost progress after hours of gameplay. The lack of checkpoints or mid-mission saves forces tedious replays and exacerbates difficulty.

Tedious and poorly designed hero missions: Hero missions are criticized for being repetitive, time-consuming, and poorly integrated into the campaign. Players describe them as filler content with unclear objectives, pixel-hunting mechanics, and a mismatch with the core RTS gameplay.

Frustrating and punishing gameplay mechanics: The game’s low fault tolerance means minor mistakes (e.g., a single zombie) can ruin entire runs, leading to hours of lost progress. Players highlight the lack of mid-game adjustments and unforgiving mechanics as major frustrations.

Unforgiving and poorly balanced difficulty: The game’s difficulty scaling is inconsistent, with sudden spikes and reliance on luck (e.g., map conditions). Even on lower settings, players face extreme challenges, while higher difficulties feel unplayable due to poor balancing and lack of mid-level adjustments.

Zombie mechanics feel unfair and unpredictable: Zombies spawn unexpectedly, exploit edge cases (e.g., hidden entrances), and can quickly overwhelm players. Poor communication of wave directions and unrealistic stealth mechanics add to the frustration.

Diverse Campaign Structure: The game features a rich campaign mode with multiple mission types (RTS, tower-defense, hero), adjustable difficulty (50%-800%), and non-linear storytelling. Players highlight the variety but note issues like difficulty spikes and lack of mid-mission saves.

Zombie Horde Defense Mechanics: Defending against unpredictable zombie waves is central, with layered defenses (towers, barriers) and noise mechanics affecting zombie behavior. Players note the risk of single-point failures.

Colony Building and Management: Base-building and resource management (food, electricity, population) are critical, with players balancing expansion, defense, and survival. Poor pathfinding for units is a common complaint.

Irreversible Research Choices: The tech/research tree locks players into decisions until mission completion, adding strategic depth but frustration if choices are suboptimal. Players compare it to *XCOM*-style progression.

Survival Mode Challenges: Survival mode offers high-stakes gameplay with fog of war, random maps, and escalating difficulty (up to 900%). Players highlight its replayability but note the steep learning curve.

Performance optimization concerns: While the game runs smoothly on low-end hardware, players report performance issues during large enemy attacks, colonies, or with overheating hardware. Optimization is a recurring theme.

Save system corruption issues: Players report frequent save file corruption or loss, with the save/load system described as broken. Workarounds involve disabling cloud saves and manual file manipulation.

Visual and unit bugs: Players encounter color bugs, walls/gates glitching when layered, and units getting stuck in corners. These issues affect gameplay immersion and mechanics.

Game crashes and freezes: The game crashes or freezes at specific points, disrupting gameplay. Some players note smooth performance aside from these unit-specific bugs.

Launcher and multi-monitor issues: The game launcher fails to initialize properly, and multi-monitor setups cause screen management glitches, including the game not launching on the main monitor.

Not for casual or time-constrained players: The game is frequently described as unsuitable for players who prefer relaxing or time-efficient experiences. It demands significant time investment and patience, with many reviewers cautioning against purchase unless the player is a die-hard RTS fan.

Ideal for hardcore RTS fans: The game is repeatedly recommended for fans of real-time strategy (RTS), base-building, and defense games, particularly those who enjoy high difficulty and punishing gameplay. It appeals to enthusiasts of classics like Age of Empires II and Stronghold.

Buy only on sale: Multiple reviews suggest purchasing the game at a discounted price rather than full price, citing flaws, difficulty, and value concerns. The consensus is that $30 is only justified for those who enjoy extreme challenges.

Survival mode is the highlight: Survival mode is praised as the most rewarding and enjoyable part of the game, with some reviewers recommending it over the campaign. It is often cited as the sole reason to buy the game.

Needs difficulty adjustments: Many players suggest adding save/load options, rebalancing the tech tree, and reducing the punishing nature of the game for casual players. Adjustable difficulty settings are a common request to improve accessibility.

Content insufficient for price: Many players feel the game lacks content relative to its price (29 CAD), leading to perceptions of poor value.

Co-op mode missing: The lack of co-op gameplay is a common complaint, as players expected or desired multiplayer collaboration features.

Allegations of fake reviews: There are claims that some reviews may be bought or generated by bots, which undermines trust in the game's reception and credibility.

Requests for future updates: Players provide feedback and suggestions for future updates, indicating engagement but also unmet expectations in the current version.

Early access concerns: Players highlight issues or changes related to the game's early access phase, suggesting instability or unmet expectations during development.