Godus

Godus is a mobile game where the player gets to basically 'play God'. Yes, I know that my blog is focused on music and animation, but seeing that this game employs both, I don't see why I can't review it.

Anyway, as aforementioned, in this game you play as a God. The game starts with you assisting a couple of people to a 'promised land'. To be honest, I started this game a while ago and don't fully remember how it starts. When the people get to the so-called Promised Land, the game instructs you to sculpt the land and inspire them to build housing, known as abodes within the game.

The rest of the game involves you sculpting the land, literally using your finger to change the way the  land looks. You can do just about anything your heart desires. You are also trying to gain as many followers as possible, through telling your people to build more abodes. They then offer you belief, which is the currency in the game, mainly spent towards sculpting the land and by using your powers, which consist of both good and bad things. You can even start a meteor shower!

As the game progresses, you unlock both farming and mining, which create essential resources. You may also start to notice other people- noisy, mask-donning people called Astari. They mostly stand outside your civilization and harass your Followers, but every 24 hours, their village throws a celebration. If they are happier, your Followers join them, and vice-versa. Therefore, the happiness of your Followers is perhaps one of the most important aspects of the game.

All in all, Godus is a well-made game that I have noticed only a few flaws in. For example, the biggest bug is in the loading of the game- the game is played landscape and sometimes loads portrait style and won't auto rotate. I discovered a trick to overcome this- shut out of almost everything else that you aren't using, including Godus. Then reload the game, being sure to keep it portrait but flip it once the white screen appears. If that doesn't work, restart your device.

Of course, what's a review without my honest opinion and interpretation of the game? 

My first remarks are that the gameplay is really innovative and original, unlike anything I've seen before. The way that the game is set up, where you become more powerful as you go, keeps players playing out of a need for more power. That sounds like a bad thing, but it is a game where you literally play God.

Another aspect of the game that is pretty well done is the graphics. While they aren't as incredible as some other Indie games (Godus is an Indie game), as the gameplay is the focus of the game, they are unique and kind of cute. I especially love how the land is presented in layers: it is a cool way to look at the land and makes for some pretty spectacular geographic features, in the form of rivers, oceans, cliffs, and mountains.

The way that the Astari are presented is kind of cool as well. They aren't truly evil, they just want to convert people to their own religion. Also, when you play the game, new features are unlocked through cards and stickers, with the stickers being found in treasure chests hidden throughout your land. But, this relates to the Astari in that through opening some of the chests, you get a narration piece by piece, a story if you will, that tells the origin of the Astari. I think that this aspect of the game is one of the best.

Overall, Godus is a great game with unique gameplay that keeps you playing.