Aven Colony (PC) Review

By Nyhm 25.07.2017

Review for Aven Colony on PC

It's clear as day that the popular city building genre of games has no intentions of taking a backseat any time soon. Aven Colony is just one example of this statement. With several life-sim games already on the market, it attempts to stand out amongst the rest by giving players a new kind of experience. Can Aven Colony shine through the previous competition? Just how much is needed to offer a truly unique realm of ideas and gameplay?

From the outside, Aven Colony seems like just another recognised city building game. The controls are familiar and very easy to get used to. The storyline is admittedly bland from the beginning, but that's expected to some degree when just getting started. As Aven Colony's commanding Governor, it is your job to secure your colony with jobs, food, and Nanites, which is one of the game's resources that allows you to expand your arsenal of buildings and defence units. The responsibilities don't end there, as citizens have a happiness meter that can make or break your run as Governor by the implementation of a political structure that represents an election. Rewards can be bought when these elections are won, which greatly assist in keeping the colony thriving.

Delving deeper into Aven Colony reveals some exceptionally fun and surprising gameplay. There is the opportunity to uncover alien artefacts, and the enemies are increasingly difficult to handle as time goes on. There is no lack of imagination with what you'll be faced with in this futuristic game! Even some of the crops are extra-terrestrial and have awesome little icons to show what they may look like in reality. There's constantly something to be done in Aven Colony, but that isn't necessarily a good thing.

Screenshot for Aven Colony on PC

What begins as a moderately peaceful land can quickly turn the other foot. The storyline is linear and gives guidelines on what you need to work on in order to grow your colony to the best it can be. This leaves a huge gap for being able to play freely and it can often feel like you're playing to a rulebook rather than openly controlling your story. Between weather that freezes crop production, a consistent flow of enemies to worry about, citizens being unhappy, toxic gas leaks, the threat of lightning debilitating your buildings, and the fact that you'll constantly be repairing these buildings, there is a major sense of panic fairly early on. This is definitely a game that needs a lot of planning and strategy to get through, which unfortunately takes away from the storyline itself. There is clearly an issue with balance and having to manage way more than the average city building game.

With that being said, this is a game that provides hours of entertainment. Those panic-filled moments are turned into a sense of pride and accomplishment once they have been successfully dealt with. As the game progresses, you will explore and unlock more interesting enemies, crops, and buildings. There is an element of surprise with each new discovery, as it should be!

One of the more notable factors of Aven Colony is the voice acting. There are several different characters in this game and the voice acting is unexpectedly impressive. From the beginning, you're greeted by a guide who explains the issues at hand. The introduction does an amazing job at explaining the situation and gives a feeling of excitement based purely on connotation. It's not common to find a game in which the voice acting alone draws you in from the very first moment.

Screenshot for Aven Colony on PC

Cubed3 Rating

7/10
Rated 7 out of 10

Very Good - Bronze Award

Rated 7 out of 10

Aven Colony is a challenging game that keeps you on your toes. It is a far cry from a 'bad' game, and deserves the recognition of being imaginative. The developers at Mothership have a product to be proud of, even when the gameplay does get a little bit hectic. Aven Colony is overall a very enjoyable game with a beautiful soundtrack, amazing voice acting, and a constantly evolving world. If you enjoy city building games, it is everything you'd expect.

Developer

Mothership

Publisher

Team17

Genre

Simulation

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  7/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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