Old World

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I was left sorely disappointed by Civilization 6 and it's agonisingly slow gameplay where units take forever to move across the map, it's ugly art style and its DLC mechanics that still felt like I was wasting my time engaging with them. I needed to find another 4X that would scratch that itch. As a fan of Warhammer 40K: Gladius I wanted a bit more meat on the bone. Old World is the game I was looking for. Set in an underrated period of history, that is no less compelling than later medieval eras, Old World is a 4X that somehow streamlines all of my issues with the Civilization franchise while still being deep enough to allow me to roleplay a little, something 4X games aren't usually concerned with (nor forgiving if you choose to play that way). Out of all the games I've played on Steam, this must be the fastest to load into the main menu. It's actually hilarious. Especially when you compare it to something like Crusader Kings 3 where that game 'initializes' for a couple minutes, even on my decent PC. The tutorials are comprehensive and very well designed, separated into two groups of lessons, perfectly titled: "Learn to Play" and "Learn by Playing". Seriously, kudos to the devs. I'm constantly surprised by how many games fail to introduce their games to the player properly, so when I see a good tutorial in a game it immediately sets the tone for what's to come. If the devs put care and attention into a tutorial, it automatically tells me they've paid attention to everything else that follows. One subtle thing that impressed me was how in the 4th tutorial it briefly states how the game has thousands of events, and that from the 4th tutorial onwards they'll start appearing. It's that methodical approach to teaching new players the game without overwhelming them, nor holding their hand, that you have to appreciate. (as well as the fact that you can save, unlike the annoying Civ 6 tutorials...) One of my favourite things about this game is the 'Order' mechanic. Your leader starts off with a set amount, and they are used for everything from moving army units to workers building farms to politics. This is the solution to Civ 6's lethargic gameplay, especially the movement of units across the map. Rather than having units that can only move two tiles at a time, you can use your Orders to just rush a unit straight into the action at the cost of city management that turn. Genius. The DLC all look awesome, and as users on Steam mention a lot, they look entirely optional to me (though I'll be getting them all eventually). The fundamental base of the game is already great and full of depth, unlike many modern strategy games (cough Paradox cough)... The UI looks deceptively simple at first glance, but is well designed with clear information and logical placement of menus. It's unconventional as well, with the 'next turn' button on the bottom left. The game has nested tooltips too, which is always welcome. My criticisms of the game are few, but worth mentioning: Every unit in the game moves at the speed of light, like they're The Flash. It's really distracting and weirdly makes the game feel 'cheap'. Like I'm watching a placeholder animation. I really hope the devs can do something about this someday. I just want units to move a little slower across the map, even better if the game could provide various speed options. And although there is a ton of detail in the game, ironically what's missing is descriptive text. I'm sure most gamers won't care about such things, but personally I like to read justification for every button I'm clicking in a historical strategy game. So rather than just click buttons for technology or buildings or soldiers that describe nothing but stats, I'd like to read a little prose in the window explaining why I'm doing what I'm doing. i.e - clicking a tech for 'Trapping' or 'Hoplites' should describe the historical context for them and why they were so important. It would just further envelop me in the RPG aspect of the game. Although having said that, it's really cool that characters in the game have a small button that leads to Wikipedia, much like how Crusader Kings 2 used to have the same feature. Anyway, it's a great game, highly recommended.