As I write this Cliff Empire review it is still in early access so please keep that in mind. I have played a ton of city builder/empire building style games the past year. However, the fact that this one here as a more sci-fi approach to it did capture my attention. So, if you want a city builder that has a more “unique” setting, this could be the game for you.
How do Download Cliff Empire
You can download the game from Steam. To start, click on the Download button below the review. And if you like post-apocalyptic city-builders check out also what we think about Frostpunk from 11 bit studios.
The Game Review
The story of the game is that mankind has had to feel the planet after a nuclear war left a toxic level of gas. Now though, scientists who knew this disaster was going to happen set up these cliffs high in the mountains so mankind can flourish once again. Building and taking care of these cities is what you are here for.
One of the things that I really liked about Cliff Empire is how the game starts you off. You pick a spot on the cliff where your storage depot will be. This is where the stuff from the space station in orbit will be sent. Pretty much everything you do spreads outwards from this point.
The game is very clever in the early part of the game with what it has you doing. You have to go about things in a very deliberate way in the early part of the game. You need power, residential areas, food, water, and a portal for sending things back to the people still living in space stations. Once you get the basics set up, it is no that you can really let your creativity and city-building skills flourish.
As you would expect, there are plenty of resources for you to mine and get in the game and this process is slow. Actually, how long it takes to get and build stuff is probably my biggest complaint about the game. To be fair it could be me just being impatient. Thankfully, there is always trade or some kind of issue for you to be dealing with for one of your cities.
I loved getting into the city-building aspect of the game and you can get pretty creative with your setup. There are well over 100 different kinds of buildings for you to make use of. You also have other things to consider such as the power supply you will use. Will you go for a green energy source or just use one that is harmful so you do not have to spend as much money?
You can also build universities which you can use to expand further and improve the way your cities are. While Cliff Empire does a great job in the early game holding your hand, some of the later game mechanics do require a little trial and error. I am not saying this is a bad thing, but some things like dealing with disasters (you can turn this off) I had no clue how to deal with.
While it is in early access, I do think that Cliff Empire has a lot going for it. I like the premise and think if they could add a proper campaign, it would be pretty awesome. It has a lot of depth to it and I like the way the game takes you through what you need to do early in the game. If you like city building games, be sure to take a closer look at this one here.
