New Cycle was featured on my YouTube channel

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3184423702


and now onto the short review





//intro//

Hello, MF Kraven here- and welcome to a less than 10 mins review. A YouTube series where I take a look at niche titles, hidden gems & often overlooked games & tell you whether or not you should buy it, in less than 10 mins. So if that is the type of content that you like, consider subscribing, & liking this video.

Today I take a look at New Cycle, a city building game set in a post apocalyptic world where you must help rebuild society. But will New Cycle be up to the task & help humanity or is it another snoozer? Let's find out



//Graphics, Sound & Artstyle//

Personally the graphics, setting & soundtrack all come together. Combining a beautifully somber tone with a sense of hope. It's dark & gritty & yet sometimes I found the beauty in all the destruction...




//Gameplay//

Set in the near future, a world ravaged by solar flares & unstable weather- New Cycle makes you start building from less than desirable beginning to a bustling work oriented combine. You're given mayor-ship & about 30 people trust you to delegate what to do & where they should live. You're given 3 maps as of now to play with, more on the way. Each map presents it's own difficult micromanagement. Personally before placing the "city hall" I look at Water, Wind, Mining, Fertility & drilling layers- then base where I'm gonna more or less build back society.

Build a gathering hut & assign people to forage, wells to help gather the nectar of life water. A field camp to chop wood & mine for ore + stone. Seriously back to basics type of gameplay. The main difference is that you go through "cycles" upon meeting certain requirements like certain population growth, technologies researched or building requirements met.

The technology tree seems small at first but it becomes robust the more time you spend in game. You can't unlock this without unlocking that, & it felt at times like I just need time to pass by before i progress- same with the cycle mechanic. It's all about trial and error, & at one point I made the mistake of keeping my people so sick i completely relied on the children & foreigners coming into my village.


//Price//

30 USD


//How many hours estimated//

I played about 20 years in game. Thats about 7 hours, I felt like I simultaneously was there for a long time and like i barely dipped my feet.


//Is it Playable on Steamdeck?//

It is, the frame rate is a little wonky, and ultimately it works a LOT better on mouse & keyboard. Id suggest against taking New Cycle on the road- just play it at home


//Final Thoughts//

New Cycle is a deceptive game, initially I felt overwhelmed by everything it had to offer. Most of my people were dying and I didn't know how to help them out. Until I did, by raising their morale and giving them adequate housing, tools, etc it would raise their morale & they'd feel more comfortable having kids, more outsiders would hear of our village and eventually the jigsaw will fall into place... So why deceptive? Well because, when you get the hang of things- it becomes a waiting game... I was excited and I was having fun because I figured the meta... but then it felt like busy work. Oh. more people? need more food, have more hunters, more kitchens. wow, no more power? make a coal power plant because windmill just not enough.


New Cycle feels like the cousin of Frostpunk, and that's not necessarily a bad thing- it just makes me want to boot it up again. I know what you may be thinking, well that's not fair New Cycle is an Early Access game. But when a game that comes out nearly 6 years after and it gets compared to it, I feel like not enough innovation went into it.

That being said, I personally LOVE the aesthetic. The feel, the lore & the overall sense of dread that New Cycle brings. And like I said, I had spurs of fun. I didn't like getting the exact same requests and "events" that happened around the exact same time in two different playthroughs, in different maps, I'd love some variety especially as both were Sandbox games. I love the scouting mechanic & how you can send workers to gather resources if you've depleted yours. But in future updates I'd love to visit those outposts, to see the devastation left behind by solar flares. The game has been out for a month and we've already received 5 patches, with a roadmap ahead as well.



To end this review, New Cycle is a game I want to love but I sort of only like as of now. It has the potential to being an awesome experience, but there's a feeling like there's much of the game missing. So for now, I give New Cycle. A WAIT FOR SALE! At $30 USD, for what you get- I would wait for a few more updates. I'm certain it will be done before the year ends, so if you can- pick it up for $20 before then? I'd say it's worth that much.

[b] New Cycle was featured on my YouTube channel[/b] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3184423702 and now onto the short review [h1]TL;DR Review[/h1] //intro// Hello, MF Kraven here- and welcome to a less than 10 mins review. A YouTube series where I take a look at niche titles, hidden gems & often overlooked games & tell you whether or not you should buy it, in less than 10 mins. So if that is the type of content that you like, consider subscribing, & liking this video. Today I take a look at New Cycle, a city building game set in a post apocalyptic world where you must help rebuild society. But will New Cycle be up to the task & help humanity or is it another snoozer? Let's find out //Graphics, Sound & Artstyle// Personally the graphics, setting & soundtrack all come together. Combining a beautifully somber tone with a sense of hope. It's dark & gritty & yet sometimes I found the beauty in all the destruction... //Gameplay// Set in the near future, a world ravaged by solar flares & unstable weather- New Cycle makes you start building from less than desirable beginning to a bustling work oriented combine. You're given mayor-ship & about 30 people trust you to delegate what to do & where they should live. You're given 3 maps as of now to play with, more on the way. Each map presents it's own difficult micromanagement. Personally before placing the "city hall" I look at Water, Wind, Mining, Fertility & drilling layers- then base where I'm gonna more or less build back society. Build a gathering hut & assign people to forage, wells to help gather the nectar of life water. A field camp to chop wood & mine for ore + stone. Seriously back to basics type of gameplay. The main difference is that you go through "cycles" upon meeting certain requirements like certain population growth, technologies researched or building requirements met. The technology tree seems small at first but it becomes robust the more time you spend in game. You can't unlock this without unlocking that, & it felt at times like I just need time to pass by before i progress- same with the cycle mechanic. It's all about trial and error, & at one point I made the mistake of keeping my people so sick i completely relied on the children & foreigners coming into my village. //Price// 30 USD //How many hours estimated// I played about 20 years in game. Thats about 7 hours, I felt like I simultaneously was there for a long time and like i barely dipped my feet. //Is it Playable on Steamdeck?// It is, the frame rate is a little wonky, and ultimately it works a LOT better on mouse & keyboard. Id suggest against taking New Cycle on the road- just play it at home //Final Thoughts// New Cycle is a deceptive game, initially I felt overwhelmed by everything it had to offer. Most of my people were dying and I didn't know how to help them out. Until I did, by raising their morale and giving them adequate housing, tools, etc it would raise their morale & they'd feel more comfortable having kids, more outsiders would hear of our village and eventually the jigsaw will fall into place... So why deceptive? Well because, when you get the hang of things- it becomes a waiting game... I was excited and I was having fun because I figured the meta... but then it felt like busy work. Oh. more people? need more food, have more hunters, more kitchens. wow, no more power? make a coal power plant because windmill just not enough. New Cycle feels like the cousin of Frostpunk, and that's not necessarily a bad thing- it just makes me want to boot it up again. I know what you may be thinking, well that's not fair New Cycle is an Early Access game. But when a game that comes out nearly 6 years after and it gets compared to it, I feel like not enough innovation went into it. That being said, I personally LOVE the aesthetic. The feel, the lore & the overall sense of dread that New Cycle brings. And like I said, I had spurs of fun. I didn't like getting the exact same requests and "events" that happened around the exact same time in two different playthroughs, in different maps, I'd love some variety especially as both were Sandbox games. I love the scouting mechanic & how you can send workers to gather resources if you've depleted yours. But in future updates I'd love to visit those outposts, to see the devastation left behind by solar flares. The game has been out for a month and we've already received 5 patches, with a roadmap ahead as well. To end this review, New Cycle is a game I want to love but I sort of only like as of now. It has the potential to being an awesome experience, but there's a feeling like there's much of the game missing. So for now, I give New Cycle. A WAIT FOR SALE! At $30 USD, for what you get- I would wait for a few more updates. I'm certain it will be done before the year ends, so if you can- pick it up for $20 before then? I'd say it's worth that much. [h1]Wait for Sale[/h1]