''Reus'' is an

indie game An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...

produced by independent game studio Abbey Games. ''Reus'' is a god game in which the player controls giants who can modify the nature of the planet through terraforming, creating life, and altering genes. The game was released for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

on May 16, 2013.

Gameplay

''Reus'' involves guiding four elemental giants who have the ability to shape the two-dimensional planet. The giants can provide resources on each "patch" of land, such as animals, plants, or minerals. The goal is to provide support to the planet's humans, who act on their own and cannot be directly controlled. The actions of the player can influence the humans' behavior; for example, providing humans with too many resources can cause them to be greedy and wage wars with each other.

Development

Abbey Games was supported by the

Dutch Game Garden The Dutch Game Garden is a video game studio incubator which was launched in Utrecht, The Netherlands in 2008 using funding from the European Regional Development Fund. The organisation is the largest such program in the Netherlands. History T ...

, an EU funded studio incubation program. ''Reus'' ( Dutch for " giant") was announced by Abbey Games in a blog post on their website on June 21, 2012. On January 14, 2013, Abbey Games released an in-game trailer on YouTube outlining the game and revealing gameplay. On April 16, 2013, Abbey Games released another video on YouTube, which revealed a release day of May 16, 2013, one month later. The game is available on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

, Desura,

GOG.com GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through its ...

, and

GamersGate GamersGate AB (formerly Gamer's Gate) is a Sweden-based online video game store offering electronic strategy guides and games for Windows, macOS, and Linux via direct download. It is a competitor to online video game services such as Steam, GOG ...

. The game was made available to purchasers of the Humble Indie Bundle X who spent more than the average price.

Reception

''Reus'' received generally favorable reviews. '' GameSpot'' awarded the game with an 8.0 out of 10 score, citing that "''Reus'' grows into a game that presents complex challenges, a great deal of flexibility, and the freedom to determine your own standards of success, or to simply enjoy experimenting with the landscape and toying with humans." ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' gave the game a lower score, awarding the game with a 6.8 out of 10. The game's art style was praised, but its repetitiveness along with its "needlessly complex and unintuitive system of synergies and transmutations" were cause for criticism. '' Destructoid'' praised ''Reus'' and gave it a score of 9 out of 10; while flaws were mentioned, the game was cited as being "a delight to play at every turn, and it strikes the perfect balance between providing new content and not overloading players."

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.reusgame.com/ 2013 video games God games Indie games Linux games MacOS games Microsoft XNA games PlayStation 4 games Video games developed in the Netherlands Windows games Xbox One games Single-player video games