River Towns is a puzzle game with a city building twist, where you create cities and score points to win.
In this article we dive into the game, giving you all the information you need to know before buying the game.
While light on in the story department, you’ll find an overarching narrative that shapes a lot of the gameplay. The world has been plagued by drought, and with each level you complete, you’ll be bringing life back to the world.
You start each level with a water well to place along a dried out river bed. The placement of the well can actually be key, as you’ll only be able to place buildings alongside it, and it forms the beginnings of your city. The rivers in each level are different, so you’ll need to work around them adding another challenge to the game.
You’re given random city blocks to build with in each level, and each are from different districts featuring different colours and are made up of different shaped city blocks. You score points for each building in the biggest connected district, so you need to get creative with your block placement to ensure the same colours are placed together. The random generation of the city blocks makes each level playthrough unique, and often it can come down to the order you draw the blocks.
You begin with two different districts, but more are added as you progress, so things become increasingly more challenging as you make your way through the different maps. Not only will you be challenged by managing more districts, but you’ll also have some side objective to complete for extra points.
There are trees you can bring back to life, by surrounding them with buildings, gold to dig up by placing building on top, and temples you can restore by building around them, to name a few.
River Towns is one of those games that is easy to pick up, but that doesn’t make it any less challenging. The game has a great pace, the levels aren’t overly long, and you’re able to progress through at your own pace, with no timers or restrictions.
The level structure means that you can play for just a level or two, or play for hours if you like, and it’s got great difficulty progression, adding in new challenges to keep the gameplay fresh. Placing the blocks can be very satisfying when they all match up, and frustrating when they don’t, creating a great balance for a puzzle game.
Overall, River Towns is a great addition to the puzzle space. It feels a lot like tetris with the city block placing, and has great balance and pacing. If you love a good, satisfying puzzle game, this is definitely one well worth picking up.
River Towns is available on Steam now.
Until next time, stay caffeinated!
