The Colonists (Xbox One) Review
Release Date: May 4, 2021
Publisher/Developer: Auroch Digital, CodeByFire
Platform: Xbox One (reviewed), PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, previously on Steam
Price: $23.99
The Colonists follows a clan of robots in the distant future who have gained sentience (and strangely a need for food and water) that decide to break free and launch to find a new home amidst the galaxy. Landing in new terrain, they must mine for resources, develop new technology and buildings to expand their colony and develop a thriving society.
The Colonists has been out for a few years on PC, showing a Steam release in 2018, but the title is coming to consoles now with an Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch release. The Colonists pulls it’s inspiration from classic city building resource games like The Settlers and delivers classic gameplay indicative of that era. It definitely scratches the oldschool itch with a lot of modern ease updates, but brings withit some of the small difficulties inherent in those titles that would occasionally get in my way.
Each area starts with a rocketship landing on a remote planet. The rocket creates a minimal amount of the absolute base materials, and also has a 3D printer that creates more ‘bots as the need arises. Much like I used to play SimCity, you’re left to do whatever you want, though most levels have end goals. Finishing them in a set amount of time nets you medals and rewards, but there’s nothing inherently bad about taking your time, either. Your end goal may need particular resources only available if you develop the proper technology and buildings, which themselves have their own chains.
Many classic games thrived on this formula, and The Colonists feels like a slicked-up version of those games. While it would obviously work easiest with a mouse, the controller setup is very intuitive and doesn’t take much to learn. It’s nice to get a new take on that formula, but the old rhythm takes some getting used to. You can build roadways between your buildings, but if you don’t set them far enough apart particular buildings wouldn’t fit in between, and certain land designs make that acreage precious. I also ran across times where the system would auto-create land for forestry or farming that would line up perfectly to get in my way, or I’d discover a whole new area but the only way to get there is by creating a new path right through my settlement area because I built too close to a mountain.
These are the kind of issues you’ll get over as you get used to the genre, but it made for some early game frustrations. Also, the resource chains can be obtuse. I was on par for getting a gold medal, only to find that my Level 2 housing didn’t need water anymore, they needed apple juice. Which needed research and a press. And before that an orchard. Which needed room but I was out of that. I needed another tower to expand my territory. But I was out of resources. As you can see, missing out on that one little bit of knowledge held me back from progress, and if I had realized that I’d have been done a half hour earlier. Luckily, most of my maps have had an infinite necessary resource somewhere on the map, though they were occasionally difficult to get to. I also dealt with the frustration of, say, building a mine to find out it was the wrong kind of mine, a surface mine versus a shaft mine. Nobody told me what was wrong, the robots just refused to mine until I got it right.
Players who love this kind of game are used to these kind of restrictions, and probably have more of an eagle eye to catch these issues. The Colonists truly fits right into that niche, and has it’s own tweaks to make it unique: you can “free roam” and build as you desire, work toward goals, or play another variant where another colony exists and plays akin to StarCraft and the like, fighting for resources against AI opponents.
In the end, The Colonists is exactly what classic resource game players expect. It harkens back to a wonderful genre that hasn’t had many outings on consoles, and does a good job of porting mainly mouse-based gameplay to a controller. Players new to the genre may have difficulty getting used to some of the staple issues inherent, but The Colonists easily builds a fun strategy title with a variety of ways to play.
Pros:
-Classic gameplay with modern twists
-Wonderful controller integration
-Variety of ways to play, including a versus battle
Cons:
-Classic gameplay issues still prevail
-Tight quarters + large buildings + road rules = cramped quarters and a lot of rebuilding
-Tiny icons show needed supplies, but don’t alert you clearly if short
Special thanks to Auroch Digital, CodeByFire for providing a code for review!