In 2014 Crytivo Games kickstarted Universim and two years later it is still in beta development with early access aimed for next year. So why am I making news of this today? I only discovered it last month and besides its cute potential I am also curious who else hasn’t heard of it and want to approach the subject of long term developed Kickstarter games.
Straight to the point, I’m not a fan of Kickstarters preferring to support games once they launch though I have backed a few with the bare minimum just to help MMOs as a whole succeed. Perhaps I am old school but I feel if a studio doesn’t have the finances to make a game, they shouldn’t so gaming communities don’t become too disgruntled should goals not be met. What I am a fan of though is this game. It’s just so darn adorable!
So, when I started playing I didn’t have expectations, however once I discovered how long it’s been in development with public support those expectations rose a little. Universims is currently available for Kickstarter backers only until early access mode next year. There is also a standalone Universim Demo mode which I am playing.
WHAT IS UNIVERSIM?
Universim is simulated building, god game where you get to make planets your own and build it with your Nuggets – this game looks like the Flintstones and Spores had a baby.
A KIWI BIRDS EYE VIEW
Along with playing it for the past few weeks I also tuned in on October 29th for the Pumpkin Patch overview to see if there were any differences with what is current compared to the Demo. There were quite a few continuing to encourage curiosity.
Universim demo mode is very basic so the pace is staggered for research vs building and assigning tasks in the beginning. My priority was making sure my nuggets had food before winter, more than two water wells before summer along with trying to grow things that take less water while gauging how fast the world revolves.
Building from the beginning between grassland, desert and mountains so I can make use of prime farmland I have started new planets no less than forty times because you cannot save planets in demo mode and, yes, the nuggets really are the cutest, even when they make hut shaking babies but it’s the little details that really draw you in. Little details such as the camera cracks when you are scanning and accidentally hit a mountain, or the artwork on the retail outlets along with all the nuggets hair. Season changes are prominent but it’s the clouds and all their moods fluttering across the land and even though I lost all my village except the cemetery I Universim tornadoes are epic! So much so I just sat there and watched it then realized everyone died, I’m such a bad nugget caretaker.
Not a huge fan of nuggets being able to build their own huts where they like, as my brain plots in advance then gets a spanner thrown in it when a nugget hut gets in the way but this can also be looked at as strategy. I would also prefer more strategy with research as opposed to the way they randomly appear currently in demo mode. Consequences always make gaming more fun.
All these things aside in today’s market Universim has a lot more competition as a god game in 2017. If early access is next year there may be more by the time it launches so it’s natural for anyone who enjoys building simulators to wish this was already live and preparing to launch on mobile and switch instead of heading into early access when technically it’s already in early access. Building simulators are becoming more and more appealing (especially if they have yet to consider mods made by the community which is the case here) if you can take it with you in your bag or pocket.
Universim’s little details have left lasting impressions on me so even with its current questionable development phases I look forward to early access where I might jump in and really put meat on these demo mode bones especially if readers would like me to as I would really like to see if you can build a full planet and if Crytivo Games include space age elements.
Until then what are your thoughts on Kickstarters and have you heard of Universim? What would you prefer-to build a city or a planet? Demo mode is available to all and definitely worth a try though remember you aren’t playing the most up to date version of the game.
