Fantasy Map Simulator reminds me of games like SimEarth and SimAnt. There are probably a few others, but my mind went to the Sim family of games. This game is less involved than the SimCity games.
There is something compelling about this game. It feels like Pandemic or Crusader Kings. You don’t have to do anything in this game aside from letting the simulation run. The countries all act independently.
There are limited options for you to have an impact on the game. You act as this world’s god and can change the fortunes of any country on the map. It is an interesting game, but it isn’t for everyone.
TLDR: A Fun but Limited Simulation Game.
Narrative
There isn’t a story in this game. It might be fun to use the game to create a story. I can see this being used as the basis for some kind of creative work.
Gameplay
There isn’t too much interactivity in this game. Fantasy Map Simulator doesn’t have a win condition in the game. All you do is watch these countries wage war with each other.
What can you do in this game? You can do quite a few things to try and have an impact on the world. Here is a short list:
- Change a country’s Government
- Make a government more or less corrupt
- Change a country’s Religion
- Change the fighting ability of the military
- Start a rebellion in a country
- Have them go to war
- Have them make an alliance
- End a war
- Randomly expand their boundaries
There are a few more things you can do, but those don’t impact the game that much. In some ways, you act as the world’s god. It would be nice if there was more for you to do, though.
It would be great if you could mess with the weather, create a plague, or do something crazy like have aliens invade. The game limits you to military and light diplomacy.
You can’t impact the economies of these countries. This is a little strange, but the game is still in early access. What I’m getting at is that I would like to be able to mess with the fantasy world in more ways than the player is currently allowed.
In its current state, the game is a fun military simulation game. Fantasy Map Simulator lacks many of the interactive features that you might expect to see. It is like a military version of Plague, Inc. The gameplay isn’t bad, but it is limited now.
Visuals
For a game like this, the graphics are fine. It looks similar to a board game in many ways. The armies are little more than colored squares. It looks like a game of Risk.
N/A. This is an early-access game, but more than that, I’m not sure how to score it.
Pros
- Creative
- Open Ended
- Looks good
Cons
- No Story
- Limited Gameplay
- Few interactive options
Conclusion
There isn’t too much to Fantasy Map Simulator. It is fun to mess around with, but there isn’t much to it at this point. It will be fun to see where the game goes from here.
If you liked this, check out my posts on other indie games, such as Grizzly Man and Fields of Mysteria.