Terra Nil Review (Reverse SimCity)
Terra Nil Review (Reverse SimCity)
RTS - REAL TIME SAVING THE PLANET
Terra Nil is a hybrid between city builder and RTS, except in this case you aren’t trying to build a thriving metropolis or conquer your enemy on the battlefield. Instead, you are trying to build vibrant ecosystems from ravaged wastelands. The best way to explain how good Terra Nil is, would to be mention that cozy games and farming sims have never got their hooks in me and Terra Nil did.
Terra Nil is different and this would likely explain why Devolver Digital also stepped outside of their comfort zone of offbeat indie gems. The gameplay starts out fairly simple: convert barren wastelands into thriving ecosystems as you start the process by building some wind turbines to power your toxin scrubbers and irrigators. The way the the land quickly evolves with the decisions you make is immensely satisfying and instantly gratifying. With the click of a button a new river now flows across the landscape, or a vibrant wetland now thrives bringing new wildlife options to your map.
Just like RTS games, you will need to satisfy certain criteria and conditions to move to the next tier of buildings, which is all pretty straight forward as you each goal is usually related to the next building on the toolbar. Upon finishing the main campaign, you unlock an alternate mode for each of the 4 biomes. At only around 6-8 hours, Terra Nil is on the shorter side but similar to games like SimCity, a lot of the fun comes in replaying each biome and building the most efficient and aesthetically pleasing ecosystem. There are also side quests, filling out the handbook, and achievements that will keep you entertained long after you finish your first run.
Pollution
Terra Nil guides the player nicely, but occasionally, it doesn’t explain how you can accomplish certain goals. It explains what end results are needed in the handbook, but figuring out how to get the end result can be tough. Not everyone that plays this game will be an environment specialist and understand exactly how to increase biodiversity.
The other issue that got in the way of the fun was removing everything that you built to create the ecosystem. This is done in two parts with the first being putting down recyclers that remove all the building leaving just one building full of materials. That part was enjoyable but it was getting the drones or the monorails to the recycle stations and removing the monorail itself. Every single rail post needs to be removed one by one and these are 1x1 tiles which can be finicky. If there was a button to completely remove the rail starting from the farthest, it would have eliminated a lot of the frustrations.
Terra Nil is currently only available on PC and Netflix with this review being done on Steam Deck. While the game is more than serviceable on Steam Deck, there is some optimization that could be done for the Valve handheld. The best way to achieve results is with a combination of thumb-stick, mouse touch pad and the touch screen itself, which is too many steps. Terra Nil is a great game to lose yourself in for a few hours but its also perfect if you only have a couple minutes to put down a few buildings then call it a day and with Steam Deck optimization this would really hit it out of the park.
Terra Nil Verdict
With its reverse city builder gameplay to its spa like score that is accented by waves crashing on the beach you just made and wind rustling through the bamboo trees that you just planted in the abandoned skyscraper to completing handbook filled with stunning art, Terra Nil is a breath of fresh air. Even though Terra Nil is on the shorter side, there is plenty to do long after the credits roll.