They Are Billions
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''They Are Billions'' is a
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...
steampunk
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to p ...
survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed and published by Numantian Games. Available on Microsoft Windows, it was released onto Steam's
Early Access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release development cycles, such as pre-alph ...
program with a survival mode in December 2017. The game was released with a campaign titled "New Empire" on June 18, 2019. PlayStation 4 and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
versions were published by
BlitWorks BlitWorks is a Spanish video game developer based in Barcelona, Spain. Founded in 2012, the company is best known for porting several games such as ''Fez'', ''Sonic CD'', ''Jet Set Radio'', '' Super Meat Boy'', ''Bastion'', ''Spelunky'' and ...
on July 1, 2019.


Gameplay

''They Are Billions'' pits the player in a randomly generated steampunk themed, zombie-infested world. The player's goal is to build a base to protect themselves, by planning the layout and defenses, exploring the map, collecting resources and expanding while fighting the local zombie population at the same time. Infected villages, called Villages of Doom, can be pillaged for resources, although a backlash of zombie swarms can result. There are eight resources that the player must manage: gold, food, workers, wood, stone, iron, oil, and energy. Structures and units, many of different variations and following a tech-tree, will require different materials to be made. Zombies will attack the player's base at random intervals in small numbers, and larger hordes will appear at set times over the course of gameplay, culminating in a very large "final horde". The player must keep zombies from breaching base defenses and infecting non-defensive structures, especially in tight or overdeveloped areas where a
domino effect A domino effect or chain reaction is the cumulative effect generated when a particular event triggers a chain of similar events. This term is best known as a mechanical effect and is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes. It typically ...
outbreak can occur. Much like the player has access to different unit types, zombie types are also varied, ranging between slow, decrepit ones, extremely fast zombies called "Harpies", highly-resistant ones known as "Butchers" and others, including a massive "infected giant" that has high health, speed, and damage that is also highlighted on a minimap, requiring the player to not only have a strong defensive perimeter (with walls, turrets, towers and traps), but also adapt tactics accordingly. While it is a
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to p ...
game, players can pause at any time in order to plan future actions and give simultaneous orders.


Plot

In late 22nd century North America, a world-wide
rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, ...
-like pandemic caused by a mutated strain of rabies called Rabies Z has triggered a
zombie apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack huma ...
, especially in the world's megacities. While initially the survivors attempted to establish villages and even fortresses to stave off the zombie hordes, eventually these fall with their technology failing them. However, a few thousand humans survive, united under the leadership of General-turned-Emperor Quintus Crane, and build and shelter themselves in Empire City, built within a crater that the zombies cannot reach. The apocalypse, on the other hand, has caused a severe technological regression. The campaign begins 13 years after Crane announced his intent to expand beyond the crater and create a new human empire. The player is a colony administrator and military commander under Crane, who aspires to conquer new territory and build well-managed fortified colonies, all connected by a railway network. Across the campaign, which extends from the northern Western Seaboard to the fallen megacity of Mega York (former
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
), the player builds a personal army composed of mercenaries, renegades, and convicted criminals to handle the zombie swarms. Meanwhile, with the aid of one of two special operatives, Caelus and Calliope, the player recovers lost technology to restore technological advancement back to pre-apocalypse time and gradually learns about the origins of the infection. The virus was the byproduct of an attempt by the world's leading scientists to use recycled meat from deceased people in an attempt to stave off an ever-increasing feeding crisis brought by overpopulation. The resulting infection - which also provoked mutations such as never-ending adrenal surges and overgrowth - and irresponsible worldwide distribution resulted in a pandemic that the world's governments failed to control. An experimental vaccine to cure the virus, V9, resulted in the creation of a special zombie type called Harpies. Abandoning any attempt to find the cure, scientists turned to create bio-engineered soldiers called Mutants armed with sharpened claws to fight off the zombie hordes. The campaign ends in Mega York with the player conquering the collapsed Statue of Liberty - now named the Goddess of Destiny - earning Crane's respect and securing the Empire's dominance across North America. Crane then reminds the Player that there will be more conquests in the future.


Development

''They Are Billions'' was announced by Numantian Games on May 30, 2017. It was released on December 13, 2017 on Steam's
Early Access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release development cycles, such as pre-alph ...
program with survival mode. The game quickly rose to the top selling charts on both Steam and the
Humble Bundle Humble Bundle, Inc. is a digital storefront for video games, which grew out of its original offering of Humble Bundles, collections of games sold at a price determined by the purchaser and with a portion of the price going towards charity and t ...
storefront.


Reception

The PC version of ''They Are Billions'' has 77/100 on
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
. David Wildgoose, writing for Gamessport, referred to the game as " ..a tight and compelling strategy game".


Sales

The PlayStation 4 version of ''They Are Billions'' was the twentieth bestselling retail game during its first week of release in Japan, with 3,046 copies being sold.


Awards

The game was nominated for "Best Spanish Development" at the 2019 Titanium Awards.


References


External links

*{{Official website, http://www.numantiangames.com/theyarebillions/ 2019 video games Indie video games Early access video games Real-time strategy video games Single-player video games Survival video games Video games developed in Spain Windows games Steampunk video games PlayStation 4 games Xbox One games Video games about zombies BlitWorks games