Thanks! I hope Ubi pays good money for this outstanding brand managing. ;D
Worst case scenario, I can open a barebones OT and people can send me stuff to post in the OP.
You should. I ore-ordered the game yesterday based on your fast, upfront response on DLC plans :)
Someone should! I'm a new baby here and can't make posts yet.
*Maybe too late, the review thread is already up.
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/04/17/anno-1800-review/After playing through Anno 1800's early game a few times (I'm one of those ghastly bastards who tends to compulsively restart if things aren't going exactly my way), I started writing a very different article to the one you are now reading. The issue was, I hadn't realised I was playing the early game at all. I had the feeling I'd seen the lion's share of what there was to see, and was ready to pack up and write something along the lines of "great fun, but I'm not sure about replayability". Then I played some more. And some more. And around six hours later, like someone who's seen a handful of wasps in their house and so decides to go up into the attic to try to find out why, I was forced to drastically re-evaluate my position. Folks, Anno 1800 is… a lot.
Before I get too heavily into the nuts and bolts, I'll put it plainly: Anno 1800 is the most impressive city-builder I've ever come across. I say that as a serious fan of the city-building genre, too. But I'm going to stop just short of saying it's the best city-builder I've ever played, because I'm not sure yet. It very well might be, but I'm going to have to put in many more hours before I know whether its idiosyncrasies will make me fall hopelessly in love with it, or drive me away entirely. In that sense, it's a bit like a brooding moneylord from a nineteenth century novel. Which is appropriate, because that's pretty much what you play as in Anno 1800.
Anno 1800 is a grind at times, but those moments of "eureka" when I'd figure out production rhythms and layouts that kept me operating in the green were delightful. It toes a difficult line of welcoming strategy gaming novices while also providing gameplay that experienced tacticians can maximize, with a well-crafted story-based campaign adding on to an already tried-and-true sandbox formula. It's a beautiful game to look at as well with only one minor issue that you have to really focus in on to see. Outright newcomers to this type of game will have a tough go at it, as important elements of Anno 1800 aren't given comprehensive tutorials, but diligent gamers will excitedly watch hours fly by once they get settled in.
I really don't want to complain about scores, but i wish a few of the reviews would motivate their scoring better. If you're going to give it 7/10 then throw in some criticism and don't just praise the game. I'm sure the game has bigger flaws than "slightly lacking tutorial" and "not dealing with the politics of the 1800s".
The campaign pretty much is the tutorial. Anno was never about a political statement. At least not the games set in the past. They could have done more with it here, but at least they don't make light of some of the issues back then.
Anno 1800 is arguably the best city builder ever made. It's a beautiful marriage of Anno 1404 and 2070.
I usually never comment on other reviews but 7/10 for this game is madness.
Even if you don't want to "make a political statement", the whole genre of city builder is one of the most relevant when you want to analyse a game with politics or policy in mind. In 2019 it should be something taken into account both in the making of the game and in the review.
That kind of naive statement is really worrying if you're really writing for a website.