Gord (PC) Preview

I don’t make it a secret that I hate when we have a week of demos on Steam. I’m busy enough as it is, I don’t need time constraints on something that is already limited such as a demo. Covenant.dev and Team17’s Gord is a dark and twisted medieval sort of colony sim, and the number of emails I’ve had about it since its announcement would rival the spam you get from Humble Bundle when you sign up. Releasing next month on the 8th, arguably I should have had this preview done long ago. However, demo weeks on Steam are hectic at the best of times.

Storywise it seems simple. The king of this dark low-fantasy realm is seeking to expand his crusade north from Calanthia and up through the Lysatian forest. You have to set up a Gord (a medieval Slavonic settlement) and collect resources to keep the colony alive. You’ll build, collect, and expand, the usual MO for these types of things. In premise, there is nothing too far-fetched or trying too hard to world-build when it doesn’t have to, it is all straightforward. I like that, at least from the enjoyment of getting straight into the action. Though the in-game tutorial does sometimes like to go around the reeds a little.

Assigned a snotty little man to watch over your Gord before heading out on the king’s grander quest, you have to please his emissary, Edwyn. So once you’ve built one thing, as usual, you’ll be asked to build another so he can wash his feet in wine or whatever. The one notable example of going around the hedge to get to the point was the sanity mechanic. Gord has you commanding your settlers as you gather resources and build, though over time the dark and hostile forest plays a toll on the settlers and their mental health.

The campaign is broken up into segments with each (for lack of a better term) level being the wider objective. For example, building the Gord is the tutorial level that you start at. A strange mix of three different visual styles is utilized here, with all three playing into how the story is told. You have those really nice still frames with a voice-over like The Witcher 3’s load screens, the more typical fully animated 3D cutscenes, and you have sections in gameplay between Boghdan (you, I think) and Edwyn fully voiced too. There is a lot of “no, listen to me talk for a moment,” which I dislike.

Gameplay-wise you are following the Frostpunk method of overseeing people assigned to the jobs you put them on. Of course, this just means a lot of directing traffic. It might sound reductive but put simply that is what it is. This makes it great fodder gameplay for listening to podcasts/audiobooks. Even with all the volumes (aside from music) in-game at max, the VO does seem rather low in the mix making it difficult to listen to a podcast and enjoy the simple but pleasant gameplay loop as you watch your settlers deplete the surrounding resources.

While I do find Gord to be interesting and enjoyable, it is also a game you need to have the time and energy for. Playing and writing about it in a short amount of time isn’t exactly the best experience, as I’d argue it is a tamer style of game. Despite the action and engagement, it is a slower, calmer, and all-around sedate loop with a story that is trying to convey a need to move along. In reality, it is a little more leisurely than it might intend. Putting it simply, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat trying to keep everyone alive during my playtime.

Ultimately, I’m interested to return in August when Gord releases, but I’m also hopeful some minor things are fixed. Being a demo I don’t expect the highest level of polish, but I did encounter a handful of things like placeholder text showing errors, and if you dismiss someone from the Meadery or elsewhere they’ll go stand in a group outside the palisade.

It is a strange game to preview, as I’m neither completely disinterested nor am I counting the minutes until release. More of a curiosity than anything else, I don’t fully know if I enjoy it or if it is interesting to see what it actually does with the full release.

A PC preview copy of Gord was provided by Team17 for this preview.