Laying down roads and placing buildings has an innate satisfaction to it, as does watching the game's intricate logistics simulation play out. Then I saw the titular oasis, and thought "Damn, that's a pretty good oasis."īuilding settlements among this gorgeous scenery is fun to begin with. One level in the campaign is called "Oasis", which made me laugh because so much of the game takes place in paradisial climes. Its many islands are frocked by crystalline waters and cream-coloured beaches, while island interiors vary from lush grassland to rich ochre desert. New Allies' setting is a timeless tropical archipelago that bursts with colour and cheery vibes. I'll get to why New Allies fails in this momentarily, but first, let's talk about what it does well, because it isn't wholly devoid of merit. New Allies takes that core idea and tries to squeeze it into an Age of Empires mould, featuring a linear campaign and round-based skirmishes and multiplayer where you build a settlement, recruit an army, then use the latter to smash up your opponent's former. But Anno 1800 is a contiguous city-builder, where you take one pre-industrial settlement and grow it into a modern metropolis. They share some DNA, with both revolving heavily around production chains that take base resources and transform them into useful items via multiple processes. Now, to be clear, New Allies is not aiming to be a successor to Anno 1800. The Settlers: New Allies is a dismal strategy affair, confused, anaemic, and achingly dull. I'm not sure what has gone wrong in the last five years, but Blue Byte clearly left whatever magic Anno 1800 had in the nineteenth century.
The answer, unfortunately, is a big bowl of strategy gruel. With an evocative depiction of its simulated industrial revolution, including some delightfully chewy production-line wrangling, Anno 1800 was a treat, and I was keen to see what the Dusseldorf-based studio would cook up next. Not so much because it's the first Settlers game in thirteen years, but because the last game by developer Ubisoft Blue Byte was Anno 1800, the best city-builder this side of Cities: Skylines. I was excited to play The Settlers: New Allies. But its hallmark production systems sorely lack depth, while its RTS combat adds little of value. The Settlers: New Allies begins promisingly, with a lush new setting and satisfying construction.
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