Mountaincore is the new title developed and produced by Rocket Jump Technology for colony management lovers. Mountaincore has been released in early access since May 18 2023, only for PC players.
Mountaincore is a 2D strategic simulation indie sandbox where we will guide a small colony of dwarves in their new settlement, managing everything from water supply to cultivation, mining, and selling materials.
We will have to manage every aspect of this new colony.
Gameplay
The initial tutorial guides the player in creating the first base settlement and familiarizes them with the game mechanics. The controls are well-organized and not overwhelming in number, making them relatively easy to grasp after the tutorial.
The resources around us are limited and require time to regenerate, whether they are trees or animals. This heavily influences the choice of settlement location.
Especially in the early stages, it is advisable to reload the map if it generates with limited or scattered resources.
There are various challenges to overcome, such as collapses, orc raids, hidden monsters in the mines, and dangerous animals that can seriously challenge the player, particularly in the early parts of the game.
We will also receive some form of assistance through immigration, which brings new labor force, and merchant caravans that allow us to sell excess products in exchange for scarce items, buying raw materials to be resold as processed goods.
Electricity and irrigation are among the more advanced mechanics in Mountaincore and are also more challenging to incorporate into the settlement design. Beer production is also considered an advanced mechanic, requiring many materials to build the room and various raw materials for production.
Minerals and ingots play a significant role, with a wide variety of minerals that can be extracted and smelted into ingots. This influences both the selling price and the quality of the produced items. This mechanic forces the player to evaluate which resource to mine first, the order in which to smelt the ingots, and which material to use for building machinery and tools.
The game speed can vary from paused time to whole days passing in a matter of seconds, allowing for careful planning of actions, tasks, and orders, while also accelerating slower moments.
Dwarves have four available slots where different professions can be assigned. The more time a dwarf spends on a specific profession, the more their experience in that profession increases, enhancing the speed and quality of the items they produce.
Advantages:
For fans of strategic simulators, this game effortlessly consumes hours of gameplay.
The game mechanics are engaging, and with the control of time speed, it can vary from slow and relaxing to fast-paced and frenetic.
The controls are accessible, immediate, and intuitive. After the tutorial, players have a clear understanding of the basic mechanics and won’t get lost in a sea of dropdown menus.
The graphics are cartoonish, and while the animations are simple, they provide a pleasant dynamic effect. Load times are practically non-existent, and with just a few clicks, you’re in a new game or continuing an old one. The game is lightweight and doesn’t require high-end machines to offer a satisfying gaming experience.
The developers are actively releasing patches and updates, expanding certain mechanics and fixing bugs.
Disadvantages:
The AI of the dwarves often leads them to get stuck in loops, such as repeatedly loading and unloading the same crate in a room or spinning around like tops in forested areas.
There is a lack of a clear parameter to understand the overall well-being of the dwarves. Sometimes, dwarves can become “depressed” even if there were no differences in happiness or sadness indicators compared to others during the previous check.
There is a lack of a clear ending. The game continues until at least one dwarf is alive, but there comes a point where the colony is so large that it has consumed all the available natural resources, and players end up selling vegetables and beer while importing raw materials in an endless loop.
In conclusion, Mountaincore offers several hours of enjoyment for fans of the genre. Personally, I have played more than 60 hours in a week. The developers frequently update the game, and I haven’t encountered any game-breaking bugs, mostly minor issues like tile colors not changing or dwarves getting stuck on invisible walls.
It’s a title I would recommend even to newcomers to strategic simulators.
Mountaincore
PRO
- The game mechanics are engaging,
- The controls are accessible, immediate, and intuitive.
- The developers are actively releasing patches and updates
CON
- The AI of the dwarves often leads them to get stuck in loops
- There is a lack of a clear parameter to understand the overall well-being of the dwarves.
- There is a lack of a clear ending.
8/10
