➤ DotAGE, the review of a minimalist management software 🕹

The review of DotAGE, a seemingly light management strategy, which reveals its cards as you play.

Life is hard even for pips. Who are the nuggets? The inhabitants of a pixel art world who allowed themselves to be convinced by a forgetful old man to emigrate to a distant island, in search of salvation from the imminent apocalypse. Here they founded a new village and began to live off the available resources, such as berries and wild animals, and then developed a more complex civilization based on agriculture, livestock and artisanal production, all under the command of a terrible prophecy that the old man He doesn't remember it very well, but it is a harbinger of cataclysms, disasters or gifts for our little citizens, who meanwhile discover the vices and virtues of social life.

La DotAGE Review Therefore, it will clarify whether or not it is worth saving them from the apocalypse.

Omens

DotAGE, the review of a minimalist management software — Each season is characterized differently and offers its difficulties.

You immediately realize that DotAGE is not a first job, because behind the apparent simplicity hides a layered gameplay that flourishes after several hours, always keeping the player's attention high with the gradual introduction of new game systems, linked to the memories of the elders. Then it would have been enough to take a look at the author's rich portfolio, Michele Pirovano, to realize that we are dealing with the work of an expert mind. But sometimes it is convenient to understand the nature of things for oneself, to link judgment to a bit of healthy naivety, always a harbinger of astonishment.

But what are we talking about? DotAGE is a city builder to turni in which a town must be built and grow, taking care of the well-being of its citizens who, fundamentally, must eat, reproduce and try to be as peaceful as possible, defying the adversities of nature and destiny. Each turn it is possible to assign a pip to a different activity among those available, such as collecting food, extracting resources, mating, producing something or fighting the apocalypse. When you are satisfied, you can move on to the next round where you can redistribute resources as needed.

single carrier of misfortune It is the old man himself who, unfortunately, cannot be fed to the fish, but must be listened to and supported, because it is he who announces the arrival of omens, that is, events linked to the seasons, to the health of the nuggets and destiny itself, asking for action to be taken. Basically you have to be able to balance the danger, for example by building swimming pools to counteract the summer heat or creating social activities to combat fear, a harbinger of ruin and the birth of antisocial behavior that in the long run can be harmful to the entire community.

Gameplay

As we said, DotAGE is a game that is slowly revealing itself. At first everything is apparently simple and linear: there are few buildings that can be built, there are also few points and the limited resources that nature offers are enough to make them survive. However, as the turns pass, new buildings are unlocked (through some trees linked to the inevitable scientific research), needs for food and raw materials increase, more virtuous production cycles are created, but we are also forced to struggle with the village's shortcomings, perhaps due to the player's underestimation of some aspects. In this sense, the first matches are a bit risky, in the sense that they can happen. unpredictable situations They literally force you to start from scratch. It is not difficult to run out of food, with the depletion of fruit bushes and the poor production of the first buildings linked to growth, just as it is not unusual to suffer some omen without being able to do anything, because it cannot be done immediately. We have buildings to counteract it.

For example, a pips health event literally halved the population, leaving us in trouble and forcing us to restart the game. Experience serves, therefore, to anticipate problems and manage all possible situations in advance, but there is no doubt thatentrance to the game It feels a bit slow and some things happen too suddenly, to the point where less motivated players may feel rejected. In any case, once you have overcome this small obstacle, you will be able to see the city of our friendly pixelated creatures flourish, with increasingly richer and more complex buildings, plenty of food and a greater number of choices to make around every corner. Furthermore, the appearance of pips characters, linked to the events of the game, creates a more multifaceted society in which each inhabitant can be the bearer of interesting behaviors, which create a great variety. The bottom line is that when DotAGE kicks in, it becomes a much larger and more complex title than you would expect from initial impressions. Plus you realize that many hours have passed since you started playing... really many. Which is always a good sign for a product like this.

Of course, don't expect miracles from it. technical point of view, because there are none. Pirovano in this sense was really smart, making the most of the resources at his disposal to create something simple, but at the same time elegant, focusing on what some might consider weaknesses to give DotAGE a peculiar and, in its own way, unique visual style. . . They deserve separate praise music, which are rearrangements of the Montpellier Code, that is, authentic medieval music that accompanies the action in a discreet way, but giving the experience a notable stylistic coherence.

Conclusions

Tested version PC with Windows digital delivery Steam Holygamerz.com 8.5 Readers (4) 8.1 your vote

DotAGE is the classic game that if you give it a chance, it will captivate you for hours and hours without letting you escape. Seemingly simple and minimalist, it becomes increasingly complex and articulate as it progresses, surprising on several occasions. It has some moments in which it seems hostile to the player, perhaps forcing you to restart the game due to unforeseeable situations, but with experience you get used to it and begin to think preemptively about what to do, trying to anticipate possible scenarios. . In short, it is a highly recommended title, to which you dedicate the typical ten minutes a day, which then become an hour, two hours, three hours and so on, until the sun rises.