I hate to say it, but in the crowded field of city builders, Ostriv is a toss up with a slight thumbs up. But, there are four unforgivable sins that Ostriv commits.
1) No roads. It's cute that the little people make their own paths, but a lack of roads is just stupid. It prevents you from making the town you want as you have to guess at lines matching up. Straight streets are next to impossible unless you have a good eye. And what's the purpose of no roads? It doesn't make sense and no road uniqueness is NOT a good idea at any level, regardless of reason.
2) No random map generator. This is 2026. Banished came out a dozen years ago with a random map generator with toggles to set to make your life hell or easy. Nothing like that exists in Ostriv. You play it's game of 9 maps, with only two having the three main resources of stone, limestone, and iron ore. Thus, if you want to play on one of the other maps, you have to iimport it. Which leads to number three.
3) While the idea of a trading centered game is unique in city builders, it falls flat in Ostriv. You have to import stuff which means you have to make money to play the game. This is constant and requires serious observation skills. While some may enjoy this constant monitoring, it means once again you have to play Ostriv's game instead of the game you want to play. Fixing this is as easy as allowing a toggle in the beginning of how much money you start with.
4) While I appreciate the early tutorial hints, they really are more than that-they are absolutes. You have to build 9 houses followed by a sandpit, thatcher, cartwright, smithy, farm, town hall, and trading post. You have no choice, you have to build the buildings in that order because the tolerances for screwing up are so tight. Don't build 9 houses, than people leave. Don't build a cartwright right away, your carts break down. This is unforgiving for a new player and could easily be solved by having a toggle in the map generator for how many supplies you start with.
These sins overshadow a great game waiting to be unleashed. Graphically, I can't think of a prettier city builder. The uniqueness of placing your houses with yards never gets old. Yards are good as your little people use it for gardens to help feed themselves, which is very helpful. The AI for the sims is really good as well.
So, I give Ostriv a tepid thumbs up as it does keep me interested, even after 100 plus hours. But, I'm not the guy who Ostriv needs to appeal to. Instead, it's the average city builder who is going to pass up Ostriv and return the game because it is so unforgiving, especially starting out. All of this could be solved with a beginning random map and toggleable difficulty settings.
