[Early Access] Folklands – Cozy, retro inspirirana city-builder igra

• DEVELOPER: Bromantic Games
• IZDAVAČ: Light Up Games
• PLATFORME: PC
• ŽANR: City-builder
• DATUM IZLASKA: 24. ožujka 2025.
• POČETNA CIJENA: 14,79€
• RECENZIRANA VERZIJA: PC

Folklands is a cozy, retro-inspired settlement builder developed by Bromantic Games, a small indie studio run by three brothers. Drawing inspiration from classics like The Settlers, Anno, and Pharaoh, it aims to deliver a relaxing yet engaging experience centered on building and managing a thriving village. Currently in Early Access, the game combines resource management, production chains, and citizen simulation with a charming, minimalist aesthetic.

As much as I want to like the vibe this game is going for, it just ends up feeling boring after a few hours. It’s too cozy for my taste, and I’ll admit it, there’s no real challenge, no deep mechanics to master, and while the maps are randomly generated, they all start to feel the same. The lack of dynamic events or meaningful map interactions doesn’t help either. That said, don’t let my criticisms fool you. The game has its strengths: gorgeous pixel art, a satisfying core loop that pushes you to expand and progress, and a hands-off tutorial that lets you discover things naturally. Somehow, the flaws and strengths balance out, creating an experience that still works despite its shortcomings.

Citizens Thrive Until They Don’t

The core loop revolves around constructing buildings, managing resources, and ensuring the happiness, employment, and safety of your simulated citizens. At its heart, Folklands is about transforming raw materials into goods to sustain and grow your settlement. You start with basic resources like wood and food, harvested from forests or farms, and gradually unlock more complex production chains. For example, wheat from fields can be processed into flour at a mill, then baked into bread at a bakery to feed your citizens.

These chains are satisfying to set up, as they require careful planning to balance supply and demand. Buildings like the forester, which plants trees for woodcutters, add a layer of sustainability to resource gathering. However, the game’s Early Access status means some chains feel limited in scope, with fewer advanced goods than genre veterans might expect.

However, my biggest issue is that the game can softlock you. For example, if you forget to replant trees and end up deforesting everything, since there’s no clear warning about resource depletion, you’ll suddenly hit a dead end. The game essentially breaks: you’re forced to scavenge for scraps, dismantling structures just to get planks, but eventually, everything grinds to a halt.

Once a production chain collapses, citizens freeze, and your progress stalls completely. It gets worse. If you demolish buildings, the area sometimes becomes permanently bugged as citizens refuse to pick up items, leaving resources stranded. These issues aren’t just frustrating; they can brick your save file unless you restart.

Trade and Grow Your Village

Each citizen in Folklands is simulated with individual needs, such as food, housing, and employment. You’ll need to assign workers to specific roles (farmers, transporters) and ensure their happiness to prevent slowdowns or emigration. The settlement overview provides tools to monitor happiness and work-home distances, which is a nice touch for micromanagers. While the simulation isn’t deep, it strikes a good balance for a relaxed experience. Challenges like fire hazards or resource shortages add light adversity, but the game leans heavily into its cozy vibe, with optional disasters.

Trading with neighboring kingdoms (or other players in multiplayer) is a key mechanic. You can establish trade routes to import scarce resources or export surplus goods, which adds a strategic layer to your economy. Diplomacy is underdeveloped in the current build, with interactions feeling basic, but the roadmap promises more depth. I didn’t have a chance to try the multiplayer yet so can’t really talk about it.

Additionally, the procedurally generated maps ensure no two games are identical, encouraging adaptation to terrain and resource availability. You’ll expand your settlement by unlocking new buildings, which are introduced gradually to avoid overwhelming newcomers. Also, there’s no day-night cycle yet, which slightly flattens the sense of progression, but the roadmap suggests this might be added.

The lack of a deep narrative means replayability hinges on experimenting with different layouts and strategies. Overall, the gameplay is accessible and engaging, with enough depth to keep you hooked for hours but occasionally feels constrained by its Early Access scope. The developers are active, incorporating community feedback, which bodes well for future updates. Yet it’s baffling how the game still lacks fundamental mechanics like hunting or different biomes, features that feel essential at this stage.

Visually Stunning Pixel Art 

Folklands embraces a retro, isometric 2D art style that prioritizes charm over flashiness. The visuals are clean and functional, with pixel-art-inspired sprites for buildings, citizens, and landscapes. The color palette is soft and earthy, reinforcing the cozy atmosphere, though there’s a lack of cohesion in certain elements, like inconsistent shadows or NPC animations. For example, citizens occasionally appear to walk over buildings, which can break immersion.

The UI is straightforward, with menus that are easy to navigate, though tooltips could be more informative. However, the current visuals are divisive, some will love the nostalgic simplicity, while others might find them dated or lacking polish. Planned updates promise graphic improvements, including more building variety and animations, which could address these things.

That said, the game desperately needs better information accessibility. Critical alerts should be impossible to miss, flashing red warnings for various resources or clear notifications when new citizens arrive with their availability. Why bury essential data in menus when it could be displayed prominently on-screen? These quality-of-life improvements would make the experience infinitely more enjoyable.

If You’re Into Cozy Games

Folklands is a promising settlement builder that nails the cozy, retro vibe while offering solid gameplay foundations. Its resource management and citizen simulation are engaging, though the Early Access build feels light on content and polish. The graphics are charmingly simple but occasionally inconsistent, appealing more to fans of classic aesthetics than those seeking modern visuals. With active development and a clear roadmap, it has the potential to become a standout in the genre, but it’s not fully there yet. If you enjoy relaxed city builders and don’t mind a work-in-progress, Folklands is worth a look, otherwise, it may be wise to wait for further updates.

Recenzentski primjerak ustupio izdavač

3.6