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Winter is coming in Villagers, a city builder with distinct old-school vibes

Villagers

If the mass chain-of-supply complexities in the likes of Cities: Skylines and Anno 2205 are a bit too fiddly for the care-free gaming hours you have planned, then Bumblebee’s Villagers could be the answer you’re looking for. 

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Taking inspiration from the classic city-builders of the early 2000s, it’s a streamlined, traditional  experience focused on gathering the core resources required to make a successful town, and help it survive through those chilly winter months. Making use of 25 different buildings and the villager jobs they provide, you’ll keep your population busy as they work towards the greater good. 

While the endless free play mode is what will keep you busy long-term, the key concepts of the game are introduced through a story campaign that blends together the real-time building elements with a dialogue-heavy visual novel. A cast of sixteen characters tell the story of your protagonist and how they guide a community of people through the harsh, war-torn lands of medieval europe. Prepare for plague, hunger, inhospitable swamp lands, and a man convinced he can predict the weather by tasting his finger.

And as you work tirelessly to build your timber-and-stone empire, do remember to keep an eye on the villagers themselves. Not only are they happy to do your bidding, but they’ll age, create families, and eventually kick the bucket. The whole circle of life is represented here, except the whole ‘making babies and giving birth bit’. Villagers believes in the child-via-stork approach, so it’s all SFW.

Villagers is due to release later March 25th on Steam.