4X Strategy is a very saturated genre these days and for a new franchise to push its way into the genre and establish its stronghold is no easy task however it did not stop The Battle of Polytitopia to establish its own domain in the 4X Strategy with its simple to understand yet difficult to master mechanics. The Battle of Polytopia is a game by Midjiwan that was launched last year in August 2020 however it quickly managed to settle in the genre as a really good 4X strategy title. Midjiwan recently released the Cyanti tribe for the game and we got the opportunity to finally review this brilliant title. This is our review of the Steam version of The Battle of Polytopia in which we take over the world with various tribes.
The Battle of Polytopia is all about tribes and their strengths and weaknesses and how much better you can use them in the game. Each tribe in the game is unique and comes with its own core strengths. While the basic Tech Tree remains the same for all tribes, the starting tech is unique for everyone and when you start playing a game, you will have access to their unique tech right from the start. For example, the newly added tribe Cyanti comes with the tech ‘ ‘ unlocked right from the start of the game. This gives them a boost in this aspect as they can exploit using this tech right from the start of the game. Similarly, every other tribe starts with their unlocked tech which is available to the tribe right from the start.
Normally, we see that most strategy games have somewhat similar factions or tribes however The Battle of Polytopia features 12 normal tribes and 4 DLC tribes that are completely unique from each other. Everyone has their own units, attributes, and structures that they can use. Every tribe also uses different methods for attacking and defending themselves from the enemies. For example, I will once again quote the new Cyanti tribe that commands insects and unleashes giant bugs all over the map along with fungi and deadly spores to eliminate their enemies. At the start of the game, you only have access to a limited number of units and structures but as you progress in the game, you continue to unlock more units and tech to use in the game.
Additional unlocks are made from the Tech Tree, which is the same for all tribes but units, structures, and how the tech benefits each tribe are unique. Your very first city gives you one hero and you are then left on your own at how you want to expand. You begin by exploring the map, revealing more of it, exploiting the natural resources for your expansion, and then competing with other tribes for survival, and sometimes you will end up ending certain tribes or getting yourself eliminated in the game. You have to manage all four aspects of the game which are Exploring, Expanding, Exploiting, and Exterminating properly if you want to win in the game.
The maps are randomly generated so every game that you play in the game will have a unique map. You can choose the size of the map which comes in five different sizes Tiny, Normal, Large, Huge, and Massive. Apart from sizes, the maps come in different types as well ranging from Archipelago to Water Worlds. Each map type offers a different challenge and each tribe gets different advantages and disadvantages based on the terrain as well so you have to watch out for this aspect of the game as well or you might end up with the tribe that suffers on excessive water-based maps or a tribe that does not do really well on small, cluttered maps. This makes it a real well-balanced game for all tribes.
To balance out the tech advancements, as you progress in the Tech Tree, every subsequent tech purchase is more expensive. The more Tech you buy, the more expensive they become in the long-run however you cannot expect to survive and gain highscores without purchasing Tech upgrades. Every activity that you can perform in the game requires Tech advancements unless your Tribe already excels at that activity. As you explore the maps, you will come across various resources across the maps that you can exploit in order to gain benefits. Stars are your main resource in the game and everything you buy in the game will use Stars.
Making new units, constructing new structures, performing different activities, everything will consume stars including your Tech upgrades. You will need to manage your Stars during the early phases of the game however once you expand enough, you will have a decent source of earning more Stars. For completing activities and tasks that you get when you purchase Tech upgrades, you are rewarded with a score that adds to your total high score. The game is won based on this high score in the normal mode so a high score is everything in The Battle of Polytopia. Depending on your settings, this can be different as well.
There are three modes in which you can play the game. You have both single-player and multiplayer where multiplayer offers both with friends and random people from around the world as well as pass and play multiplayer on the same machine as well. For Singleplayer, you can jump in Perfection which is the default mode of the game. If has 30 turns and the player with the highest score at the end of the game wins. Then you have Domination where there is no time limit and the last tribe standing in the game is deemed the winner. Finally, you have the Creative mode where you set your own rules and parameters and then play the game however you want with the tribe of your choice. The choice of gameplay is amazing in the game and you can tailor it exactly to how you want to experience the game.
Your average session in the game lasts for around 30 minutes and 45 minutes depending on the game mode you choose. Some games can even take longer or larger maps because the ‘Massive’ maps are really big. Combine that with the option of choosing as much as all of the tribes in the game as your enemies, the game can expand into hours and hours of battle of wits and resource management. If you leave the game, you will find it right where you left it so you can continue your game after pauses as well. You can play with each Tribe and try to set the highest score with them. The game also emphasizes high score chasing with other players as well. A Highscore tab keeps track of all highscores globally while a Throne Room will show all of your current stats and highscores with all of the tribes.
You will also notice that The Battle of Polytopia features a very distinct art style. I really love how the game looks. Each tribe has its own unique structures and units that feature simple animations. The game is not too demanding on the hardware, but it still looks really good and you will often just sit there admiring the cool and colorful art style of the game. The game runs pretty well as well as I do not remember a single technical glitch or bug in the game while trying out different tribes in the game. You can play the game easily even on fairly old systems without worrying about any sort of frame drops or performance issues.
Final Verdict:
While I have always been skeptical about mobile games and especially 4X strategy games because most of them are a straight-forward cash grab, The Battle of Polytopia on the other hand changes how it handles the 4X strategy genre. The Steam release of the game is well-made, and it offers hours upon hours of exploring, expansion, exploiting, and exterminating fun. The tribes are designed exceptionally well and all of the tribes in the game are fun to play with. With continuous support, the developer Midwiwan AB is keeping the game alive and it is evident with the recently released Cymanti Tribe for the game. The brilliant UI design and simple mechanics of managing a whole empire and expanding it beyond the borders is easy to grasp and everyone can easily jump in the game and understand the mechanics quickly and start having fun. I was extremely impressed with the game and I am now looking forward to downloading the game on my mobile device as well so that I can play it on the go. Highly recommended if you are looking for a solid 4X strategy game that offers hours upon hours of non-stop fun.
Final Score: 9.0/10
