Foundation is a medieval City Builder that was first released 6 years ago into early access but by 2019 had amassed a decent community of players to get feedback from and shape the game. Developed by Polymorph games, a french developer and this is their one and only title and it is currently only available on Steam.
The City Builder Aspect
Unlike other city builders that follow a grid system, villages in this game grow naturally based on where we picked as a starting location and adapting to that area’s terrain. Roads start to form naturally where people walk thus allowing us as the player to set up shops or any other points of interest wherever is the most convenient for our citizens.
Other than the main mechanic of city building it has other polished mechanics as well such as resource allocation and management, management of economy, the ability to design our own buildings and in-depth techniques tree. We even have the option of creating our own army although there isn’t any combat and our city never gets invaded or attacked.
The progression is tracked through states of your kingdom which are labour, Clergy and Kingdom. Each of these states represent the different needs of your society and thus there needs to be a balance between the three in order to progress your village.
A Certain Level Of Freedom
While other city builders sort of hold your hand by trying to keep a checklist of stuff to do, Foundation introduces each of the mechanics incrementally and allows us to decide where we want to focus on next. This level of freedom is a breath of fresh air as it lets us see what impact our decisions have made on the progress of our village.
This is where the customization of the buildings comes in, since we are not bounded by a grid system allowing us to place buildings wherever we want, we can then design the buildings however we want to. From building small cottages for a family of four to huge churches and beautiful castles, we can truly design every little detail however we want.
We can also of course assign jobs, create production toolchains and establish a trade system allowing us to fully decide the economy of our village. All of these complex mechanics come together so seamlessly that it just elevates the experience further.
The Benefits Of Early Access
The game is certainly a worthwhile play for anyone who is a fan of city builders, it was in beta for a staggering 6 years and thus they have made tons of improvements to reach this point. This is a trend that is common among indie development which almost always pays out in the end as now players can enjoy an almost bug free title from the get-go.
Version 1.0 of the game is their biggest update yet with redesigned Menus and rulesets, a new Heraldry system, fixes to the progression system, a new onboarding experience for new players and so much more.
They have also since released minor updates to support the modding community around the game. Another step in the right direction for Polymorph games as modding a game allows a certain level of preservation and introduces a brand new experience for anyone to enjoy such as the case with Baldur’s Gate 3 or Divinity Original Sin 2.
Conclusion
Foundation brings a unique experience to the city builder genre with a level of freedom that is matched with a few other titles. The sense of relaxation that the game provides is also matched by only a few. It is a delightful experience for the casual player but can also provide an intricate and complex experience for those who wish to grind.
Polymorph games is already planning on dropping DLC content, multi language support along with support for new and existing mods so that they can integrate seamlessly with current future versions of the game.
Polymorph games truly have a gem on their hands and it is likely to be considered a unique take on the condensed city builder genre among the sea of other great and iconic titles such as City Skylines, Civilization 8 and Manor lords.
