The Settlers: New Allies Review – PC

Summary
The Settlers is a video game series created by Volker Wretich that was originally released on Commodore Amiga in 1993. Creative director Christian Hagedorn describes The Settles: New Allies as a balance between construction and conflict through the lens of modern gaming. I go back to what Christian Hagedorn said about the gameplay and I think he is dead on. It really is an incredibly well-executed balance between building and combat. Multiplayer really makes this game worth $59.99; the campaign is just a long introduction to the factions IMO! If you’re not huge into PVP the campaign might not be enough to justify spending the money to buy this title. On the other side, the game is never the same when you’re queuing online with the homies. I am about this life all day I can't wait to git gud!
Good
  • Excellent graphics and aesthetics
  • Unlimited replayability
  • Just the right balance of gameplay
  • PVP ready
Bad
  • Not sold on the claim territory mechanic
  • How do I start a new game from the prologue
  • Did experience light crashing
  • Survey resources before farming them ugh
8.2
Great
Gameplay - 9
Graphics - 7
Audio - 7
Replayability - 10
Controls - 8

Since this IP goes so far back let’s dive a little into its history. The Settlers is a video game series created by Volker Wretich that was originally released on Commodore Amiga in 1993. It continued development through the years with multiple titles like Microsoft Windows: The Settlers II (1996), The Settlers III (1998), The Settlers IV (2001), and The Settlers: Heritage of Kings (2004), until about 2014. In 2016 an action adventure game based on The Settlers IP Champions of Anteria emerged which was the last title before New Allies.

Creative director Christian Hagedorn describes The Settles: New Allies as a balance between construction and conflict through the lens of modern gaming. The Settlers: New Allies is a Real Time Strategy City Builder developed by Ubisoft Düsseldorf and published by Ubisoft. A reboot featuring a narrative-driven campaign and an online multiplayer skirmish mode with up to 8 players and 3 different factions at launch. It was released on February 18th, 2023, for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows, and Amazon Luna at the price of $59.99 or on Ubisoft+ for $14.99 a month.

As a hardcore Warcraft III ladder player back in the day it’s a breath of fresh air to find a modern game like this with such a deep history. Built in the proprietary Snowdrop engine the game has all the latest and greatest cross-progression and cross-play technology. The Settlers: New Allies graphics are perfect for this type of game leaving out the demanding cost of PC resources. Under a 20GB installation with a recommended GTX 970 or above graphics card to run this on max settings. Keep in mind this game was released on consoles so you can enjoy playing it with a controller too, I know… I know… My hardcore RTS gamers are cringing but it’s actually not bad.

I go back to what Christian Hagedorn said about the gameplay and I think he is dead on. It really is an incredibly well-executed balance between building and combat. The building system is complex enough to keep you engaged and take pride in your layout but still keep your focus on the enemies roaming the map. Stylistically combat is similar with a smaller variety of units and abilities that offer a less demanding micro without the loss of fun. Even in multiplayer the pace of the game is much slower than in a hardcore RTS. It feels really good, on the real in the first stage of the campaign I built half the map before even following the story.

I am not 100% sold on the claiming territory mechanic, I think having to defend overextended buildings is a tall task in itself. It feels a bit like training wheels, having to use engineers to make every tile buildable, it’s kind of rough. I will say this though, it definitely makes the pace of the game more chilled which I like. Resources are easy to manage with the boost system they have in place, your workers love to push double time for fish. It’s nice to have a mechanic like this to lean on if you’re short in the production of a certain resource. It’s not a huge deal but can be annoying at times some resources need to be surveyed before you farm them which adds more micro and time. Luckily, AI powered civilian units will tote all your resources around the roads you build to help balance this out. Overall, there really are tons of options for playstyle from a rush down to a slow resource-securing creep.

The Settlers: New Allies comes with a very extensive hands-on tutorial which is essential for these types of titles. But if you’re an RTS or city builder veteran you should have no issues figuring out these simple systems on your own. Make a note to save frequently at the time of this review there is no way to restart a new campaign from the beginning. This is a bummer if your spouse wants to play also, they won’t be able to do the prologue again. I was lucky to have a save right at the beginning of the first mission so I could go back. Even though the story itself isn’t too in-depth it’s nice to have some narrative to follow along with your 10-plus-hour campaign.

Multiplayer really makes this game worth $59.99; the campaign is just a long introduction to the factions IMO! You essentially have unlimited replayability in several different modes. You can queue with up to 4 friends vs casual or hardcore AI or with up to 4 friends vs other players online. Both modes can be played in a 1v1, 2v2, or 4v4 on up to 13 different maps which offer different win conditions. 5 different guilds of research including crafting, protection, citizens, administration, and engineering ensure a variety of paths to victory. This game is all about PVP, I’m with it and hoping to see some online tournaments in the near future!

I didn’t play the beta, but this version of the game is definitely polished. There is a shop with online purchases but no sweat it’s all cosmetics. If you’re not huge into PVP the campaign might not be enough to justify spending the money to buy this title. On the other side, the game is never the same when you’re queuing online with the homies. I am about this life all day I can’t wait to git gud!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLSIELJ0qKo6

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S,  Nintendo Switch, amazon Luna

Written by
Gaming since Nintendo! Entrepreneur, gamer, wine lover, America! Come join the fun on the GL Discord!

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