Terroir (PC) Review

Not everyone is a snobbish, know-it-all, wine lover, therefore, a good game revolving around wine making would be one that would slowly welcome you in. Terroir is not one of those. There is a tutorial, but even after "completing" it, understanding the basics is still somewhat hard. The quotes are there because the tutorial is nothing more than a bunch of paragraphs that must be read, when an interactive, step-by-step walkthrough would be much better for a title such as this.

What is this? It's a tile-based strategy, or "Tycoon" game when you are in control of your very own vineyard business. Starting with a small or big budget (depending on the difficulty chosen), you select empty tiles adjacent to the starting one, and chose what kind of grapes will be cultivated there, and, after doing so, tend the plants, making sure that they produce the right kind of wine, and with the best quality possible.

Terroir is pretty accurate when it comes to the techniques used for making various sorts of wine, making this a great choice for those who like a little bit of learning combined with their gaming. Furthermore, the calming tunes and minimalist, low-poly art style, mean that this is the perfect Tycoon game to relax with. If only the same could be said about the gameplay.

The first problem is, of course, the lack of proper guidance. The second one is how it all feels like repetitive work instead of an enjoyable "toy" for killing some time. The third flaw? The lack of depth. No matter the grape chosen, all one does is, plant, trim, and so on, with not much happening in between. The final issue is that it lacks polish. From the extremely, and annoyingly unpredictable, weather, to the insanely broken economy, this could be designed much, much better.