Technotopia

Fun game loop! Enjoyable interesting story. Would recommend.

I would let her plan my city.

Clearly unfinished (most QoL is missing), but still highly enjoyable for the about 7 hours it takes to 100% it, 7/10.

This has been one of the best indie games that I have played in the modern city. The art style is wonderful, the music is fantastic (albeit a little loud), and the gameplay is basic enough to learn, yet complicated enough to keep you coming back. The game adds more buildings and shapes over time, and the pacing feels appropriate. The only negative I will give this game is the story, but for $5 at full-price, I cannot complain. I absolutely recommend this game to anyone looking for something a little different to enjoy for a few hours. The story took me about 8 hours, but I kept grinding for the achievements, and had left the game running sometimes to listen to the music around the house. Bravo, Alawar!

Shape using puzzle game, city builder. Great artstyle and maybe even better is the music.

Alawar have quietly released some real 'bang for your buck' games in recent times and this is one of them. A roguelite, deckbuilding citybuilder with politics, factions and a light puzzle element. And it all works. It looks great. A slick, glossy cyberpunk canvas and the cities glow as they grow. It is only at a macro level, there is no 'under the hood' city development and the main aim is to build as far as a node or a campaign progression point. But it works. I enjoyed the different questlines which had some nice turns and not always a happy ending. There is the RNG element to how long a run will last (usually not longer than 30 minutes) and for obtaining the last couple of achievements, but this becoming the new normal. The game doesn't outstay its welcome. Given the unplayed bloat in my library, seven hours of enjoyable gameplay for $7 is a winner for me.