In a world where settlement survival and management games are rather popular, Floodland was one that truly seemed to capture my eye when I first saw the trailer for it. It had been quite a while since I had picked up one of these and this seemed to be a wonderful way to see how the genre has evolved. However, while the story of Floodland is a great cautionary tale, the gameplay leaves much to be desired. Despite my criticisms, there is a chance that this could be the very game that novices in the settlement-survival and management genres could get into as a dark and derelict jumping-off point.

Coming from the developers of Weedcraft Inc. and the Oh..Sir! Series, as well as the publishers of Road 96, this game appeared to have quite a pedigree to ensure success in the settlement-survival and management arena. However, it would appear to be that this game (at least at launch) is a bit of a mediocre experience. Despite that statement, Floodland is a well-functioning game. All of the survivors act as they are intended and the user interface is something that is simple with only a dash of confusion from time to time. Sadly, being well-functioning doesn’t mean that it is a well-rounded game.

As stated previously, Floodland truly shines with its opening story, which is ironic considering how bleak the background of this game is. Essentially, the world has fallen apart through something simply known as “The Event” which appears to have been a build-up due to a mix of social strife, ecological catastrophes, and a general failure of both people and leaders to face these problems. While things have been tough seemingly throughout the world, you are part of a small group that has decided to work together in order to bring peace and sanity back to humanity. 

While the story puts your group as a beacon of light in the darkness, what kind of beacon you are will determine how your initial strategy will be going into a game. There are four backstories to choose from; Good Neighbors, Oakhill Survivors, Fire Brigade, and Berkut-3. Each of these backstories has a unique Worldview and two Clan Traits. While the Worldview seems to have a determination about your backstory and what your group seeks out, it doesn’t have too much of a bearing on the overall game.

The Clan Traits can do quite a bit to determine how you can maximize productivity and resources in the game. For gamers like me who want to invest heavily into the story elements of any game, the backstories and leaders that are associated with them are something that is truly fascinating to read over. Reading these made me ultimately decide which faction I decided to try in my first attempt at the game. I imagine that this will not be the case for many players who decide to pick up this title.

Floodland‘s art style truly reflects the grunginess of the world that the group is living in. Everything looks properly abandoned and rundown to the point where I often felt shocked when the game told me that I can find food or supplies in a certain area of the map. It seemed to me like the developers were trying to aim for a less stylish apocalyptic look like Fallout.

Instead, they seemed to be looking for something more closely to The Last of Us‘ visual style. However, this art style helped to speed up my abandonment of this game as my interest in the game began to waver after getting past the half-hour mark. This isn’t entirely the art style’s fault, but it paired too well with the boring gameplay that came along with it.

That is not to say that the gameplay is bad. It seems to be relatively close to other settlement-survival and management games. However there is nothing about the gameplay that makes it stand out amongst the competition. The things that you are able to do in the game with your people and the types of buildings you can make can most likely be found in every game of this genre over the last decade.

Overall, I believe that Floodland is a good jumping off point for those who are looking to try out this genre, but I doubt that it will appeal to those who have played a few games similar to this. If you would like to check out a different type of game to get your apocalyptic vibes from, check out my review of The Entropy Centre right here.

A PC Review Copy of Floodland was provided by Ravenscourt for this review.

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Floodland

29.99

6

Score

6.0/10

Pros

• Interesting Story
• Simple UI

Cons

• Boring Gameplay
• Uninteresting Art Style
• Some Elements Seem to Not Matter