![]() But damned if I didn’t have a good time with Terra Nil. Possibly trying to gamify the real time collapse of the real life global ecosystem is a bit optimistic. Terra Nil is here for a good time, not a long time, and the four levels take maybe an hour each. It’s very have your cake and eat it too, although if COD did the same thing we wouldn’t be so pleased? It’s also quite short. And while I’m always keen to blame capitalism, in this case some profits go to real world ecosystem restoration efforts. Well, Terra Nil is expensive for what it is. I think, after capitalism has buried our species, Earth will bounce back on her own. So Terra Nil’s message of hope that we can repair the damage done to our planet is a hope I don’t share. We could, at any point, choose to fix the plant, and every day we decide not to. Even if we did invent magical toxin scrubbers tomorrow, I don’t think they’d be used hell, all we need to do to stop the current climate crisis is quit fossil fuels and they won’t even do that. Weird thing to announce in a video game review, yes, but relevant. ![]() Side note, I do not share the team’s hope for the future. And it’s nice to see a studio passionate about their hope for the future. If you go in knowing nothing about ecosystem management, you will leave knowing more, and that’s a good job right there. While some of the science is a little lacking, the processes are there, from the importance of humidity and temperature to the roles of coral and predators in the ecosystem. As a teaching tool? Borderline perfection. Or are you? As a game it’s inspired but derivative, free but constricting, fun but insists on holding your hand. However, that’s it, and while slightly remixed versions of levels become available after the credits roll, once you’re done with them you’re possibly done with Terra Nil. First you make the barren wasteland green again, then you tweak until it’s self sustaining, then grab all your junk and move on. If you liked Spore, you’ll also like the three phase approach to restoration here. Showing my age there, eh? Save the ecosystem, save the worldĮach level has its own unique twists and mechanics, be it rainforest canopy protection, geothermal manipulation, or good old fashioned radiation. It’s cute and comes off as the team having a passion for the Encarta interactive encyclopedia. But if they were more polished I don’t think I’d like them so much. Animals, when they arrive, are endearingly poorly rendered, and much of the building in this sim is like, well, the Sims. The graphics are, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, Age of Empires 2 level. It’s also impressively engaging, with my playthrough bringing me comfortably past midnight without my noticing… Might not sound impressive, but I get very sleepy. ![]() ![]() The music and sound design is beautiful and chill I sat listening to a pause menu for a good few minutes. Terra Nil is set on something resembling Earth, with no humans in sight and ruined landscapes galore I’m a former environmental scientist, currently working in conservation, and reviewing a game about ecosystem restoration seemed like something I was uniquely suited to do. When I was offered the chance to play Terra Nil, I was keen.
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