Reus isn’t quite the god game it appears to be. On the surface, it looks like a 2D take on the likes of Populous and Black and White, and to some extent it is. You’re the spirit of a barren planet, using four elemental giants to make it suitable for human and then manipulating the world to control them and lead them to greatness. The longer it goes on though, the more that feeling fades in favour of the realisation that this is something far closer to a puzzle – an endless series of cogs whirring and clicking at your fingertips in an intricate planet-shaped machine. If a team of watchmakers set out to make Populous, Reus is the god game they would create.
It’s a micromanager’s fever dream in an attractive art style, demanding absolute precision from your divine power, yet allowing no control at all over the humans who will ultimately establish villages and wage war based on their whims rather than your great plan. I built a world, but never felt any connection to it, partially because its games only last 30-120 minutes. (You can keep playing after the timer expires, or in a free-play mode, but don’t make any progress if you do.)
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