I’m guilty of opening too many browser tabs and recently rediscovered pages for Reus that I’d opened in February, intending to write a highlight about the game. Now on the brink of June, I’ve discovered that the game has already been released without my noticing! I’m going to go ahead and detail the game anyway.
Reus, developed by Abbey Games, gives you control of four gods of nature with power to create mountains, swamps, oceans, and forests on a small planetoid. As you reshape the planet, tribes will settle in resource-rich areas and develop objectives for their civilization. You can support their goals by using the gods’ powers to alter aspects of ecosystems, converting blueberry bushes into apple trees to provide a food bonus for their granary, for example.
The player cannot control the human towns or their goals directly, but must interact with them solely by shaping the environment. Ecosystems present synergies between plants and animals. Placing certain flora in proximity to others will augment their yield and provide more resources for the nearby settlers. As their surroundings become bountiful and their civilizations grow, the humans will offer up ambassadors to the gods which can be adopted to enhance their powers. If towns become too prosperous, they may wage war against one another or rebel against the gods themselves, prompting smiting from above to keep them in check.
You can grab Reus on Steam, GoG, or others for $10. I will be picking it up when I have a chance, although I already have a significant backlog of unplayed games from 2012 waiting for me to finish my own game.