The Rally Point: Ostriv, Workers & Resources, and where town builders ought to go next
Let's be clear about one thing: whatever else I say today doesn't deny that building games are in a great state right now. Within just the last few years, we've not only had many releases, but an impressive proportion of well-designed, enjoyable games made with obvious care and enthusiasm. Things, in a word, are good. And yet I keep coming back to Ostriv, and Workers & Resources. Neither are out of early access yet. But they've had me contemplating the nature of a settlement, and the complex relationships between people, leaders, and the land itself, where so many of their peers feel like a dispassionate excercise in placing tokens.
Building games are doing well. But they could be doing more.