Aquatico

Aquatico is one of the most interesting city building style games I have had the pleasure to play in quite some time. I have spent a considerable amount of time with the demo build of the game that is currently available on steam and I can tell already that this is a game for me. If you enjoy deep city building games then you will be in for a real treat with this one. It pretty much ticks all of the boxes for what a person could want in a game of this style.

Under The Sea

One of the most interesting things about Aquatico is the premise of the game. Usually, in games where humanity has used all of Earth's resources and the plant is pretty much a wasteland, humanity will take to the skies to find a new home. This game is different as instead of going up, we are going down! Humanity is establishing a new world at the bottom of the ocean and as you would expect, this brings with it many dangers.

Life If Better Down Where It Is Wetter!

Even though what we have here with Aquatico is a game that is set on the ocean floor. Pretty much everything that you can do in a city building game is here. You will have to build your various settlements, buildings, and so on so that your people have places to work, learn, play, sleep, eat, and so on. You can still grow crops, advance technologies, and pretty much everything else you can do in a city building game. The big difference being that you are doing it in domes under the sea! The crazy thing is, I know that what I am doing is a similar thing I have done in other games before, but the under the sea setting makes this seem so fresh and unique.

Keeping It All Moving!

Life under the sea is far more than singing crabs and princesses! In Aquatico there are many dangers and things that you have to contend with to make sure that your people are safe, happy, and productive. To start with, it is freezing cold so you need to make sure that you are always getting oil so you can keep people warm. You need to always be finding this plastic stuff so you can make new things. People are always coming to your new home so you need to have a steady intake of supplies to look after people. You never have a moment to sit still in this game and that is something I found very engaging.

The Dangers Of The Sea

As you would expect there are many things in Aquatico that can throw a spanner in the works. From your equipment breaking down, people becoming unhappy, a lack of food, and so on. However, there are also some unique elements at play here too thanks to the underwater setting. If you keep disturbing things, you may end up feeling the wrath of mother nature and have sharks or whales attack your settlement. If you fail to keep your people warm, they will start to freeze to death! I found stuff like this really did give the game its own personality.

Pros:

• The setting and premise of this game is really cool
• I like the whole underwater look of the game
• It feels like there is always something that needs your attention
• Despite the under the sea setting, it offers everything you would want in a city building game

Cons:

• At its core, it is another city building game so that may put some people off
• I do hope that there is a bit more story in the final version of the game