Banished Review

Banished Review

     This game has no story, except for the one you create. Banished is a city builder where the townspeople are your most valuable resource. They are seeking new life, after being exiled, in a new land. You guide them to survive. New Townspeople are born, and the old ones die.

     There are no locked buildings or skill trees; everything is open to be built if you have the resources saved up. With 20 different jobs, it’s easy to get everyone working. You can also trade your excess resources for new livestock and seeds, but this may also bring about disease.

     The first village I created started well enough, but I managed to build too fast and outpace my population, giving me too many jobs and few townsfolk to fill them. So pacing is an important part of this game. Don’t worry, you can adjust the speed of time passing if you’d like.

     Also, every time you start a new village, the map changes. I believe this gives the game replay value. Whether you stopped playing yesterday or a month ago, you can dive in and start anew.

     Visually the game is pleasing, especially watching the smoke from chimneys being swept away, seeing footprints in the snow, and even seeing the seasons change.

     I feel that this city builder makes seeing the town grow more personal; you know what everyone does, what they need, and see their families grow. I like to make little stories. When seeing the miner marry the gatherer, I imagined them passing glances on their way to work every morning. I really enjoyed this game as it can be soothing and stressful at the same time. So yes, I recommend anyone to pick it up if they can.