Empluna Preview: A Cityline You Define

Ever wanted to play God but can’t be bothered with all the faffing about with the people and just create a cityscape in your image? How about automating it without overly complicated controls? Empluna might be the playground you’re looking for, though I will admit the controls were a little complicated for me and felt like dabbling with something like Blender to begin with.

Probably not the best example, but having been wooed by the visuals and concept, I dived right in but had to jump through a few hoops first. Realising there would be a bit of hard graft with the controls was initially challenging, and then remembering the automation side put me off a tad as those types of games never appealed to me, often being overly complex. However, the simulation side of things and the sandbox aspect are tickety-boo.

Empluna is like dry land for sea monkeys as you’re creating your own culture. There are no drag-and-drop buildings with a handful of colour palettes to contemplate, and instead, an opportunity to be the architect. Like The Sims, you can craft a building and tinker with a variety of industrial, commercial and residential structures and have a say on the overall design. By design, we’re not talking about things being pretty, but about being able to place functional structures and a road system that actually works and isn’t about you dumping everything because it’s symmetrical.

Before you know it, the little folk move in (not a slur), and citizens start strolling along your perfectly placed streets, giving it a very lived feel. Naturally, buildings have the same needs as people; well, Cheetos isn’t a thing, but you need to apply energy supplies and whatnot. If it weren’t for the appealing visuals, it would be more off-putting, as the game isn’t that intuitive, but the results are worth it as you fumble. Perhaps what is so welcoming about Empluna is the flexibility to change things around after you’ve placed them.

Usually with this sort of game, you place all your structures, but one sort of sticks out and rather than reposition it, you have to destroy it and plan again. Not here. There’s plenty of autonomy, and it truly feels like a sandbox. It doesn’t have the same warmth and immediate creativity as something like ShantyTown, which I enjoyed quite a bit, though this game – even in a demo state- doesn’t feel so restrictive. My biggest criticism is mostly the learning curve, but the demo should give you ample time to tinker with that. Go check it out for yourself.