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Perfect balance please.
Terra Nil is a relaxing and optimistic strategy game. What if it were possible to repair a destroyed planet? You know, bringing back greenery, biodiversity and animal life? Even if Earth needs a little more work, you can at least fix this small version of the planet. Although it requires a lot of patience, the end result is very beautiful. This world (Earth??) is completely stuck and it’s up to you to fix it. To do this we need to restore the environment. They use green energy to create irrigation, poison cleaners and new rivers. Each new region brings its own challenges. We appreciate the fine balance between relaxing graphics and complex mechanics. It’s great to bring nature back to life, but if you want to succeed you have to be decisive. A single misstep can leave your project forever incomplete. Of course, you can also start from scratch (or with a series of checkpoints) if necessary. The stakes are pretty low, but in a way, right? Starting over requires a significant amount of time, which seemed rather daunting to me. We felt particularly anxious when we were confronted with a soft reset. We knew we had to do something different, but we weren’t always sure what it was. This feeling of discomfort is well balanced by the triumph of success. You also have the opportunity to enjoy your work before moving on, which is great.
The aesthetics of Terra Nil are attractive. The sight of fresh grass growing on barren land is always satisfying. Seeing swamps, tundra and forests grow in an instant is always a pleasure. This is where sound design comes into play. We had our headphones on the whole time. You just don’t want to miss anything. The sound of running water, the crackle of growing trees, and even the crackle of flames are all magnificent. Not to mention the music, which gives you a wonderful picture while you work. Another element of satisfaction is the recycling phase. It’s important to complete each area, but it’s still great. They installed all these self-contained systems to revitalize the already very beautiful site. But then you can tear everything out piece by piece. What remains is a perfect landscape, untouched by any artificial creation. Your ultimate victory is to erase all traces of your journey. I really enjoyed playing this passage, even though it can almost get boring. After all, you can’t leave a single piece behind.
Pack your bags.
Every step becomes more complex. One of the new elements that Terra Nil puts in your way is the search for new forms of animal life. They must find the perfect environment in which each of them can thrive. This is the part of the game I liked the least. We had to scan more than a dozen times to find specific species, with the guesses seeming truly random. Worse, sometimes the environment you create isn’t suitable for certain animals. It only takes three to progress, but you may still find yourself stuck in progress. If you don’t have the right layout for at least three species, it’s time to restart. As you progress, subsequent steps require more detailed designs. The final region required multiple resets before we got there. It is a delicate balance, relaxing and intense at the same time. We loved making everything green and perfect, but you really have to try twice to get it right. However, the end result is worth it. Who wouldn’t want to turn a damn hell into a blooming paradise? Better yet, developer Free Lives is investing a portion of pre-order and post-launch sales into the Endangered Wildlife Trust. In this sense, playing this game is beneficial for the environment.
The port of Terra Nil for Switch clearly capitalized on the media hype surrounding the game’s nomination for the Game Awards. This note, in the opinion of those who write to you, should have turned into a victory. The controls on the console are difficult to understand at first, as you use the right stick to move a cursor and the left stick to pan the camera. While most strategies on Switch focus on fixing the cursor in the center of the screen, Terra Nil’s use of the pointer can lead to some confusing and frustrating moments. Additionally, the game does not support touchscreen controls. There were a few game crashes during our experience, but nothing that future updates couldn’t fix. This precaution is particularly important to maintain immersion and avoid unnecessary frustration during gameplay.
VERDICT
There is something rewarding about Terra Nil. You work to restore a dead world, with tangible results that will keep you occupied. The mechanics get pretty complex after a while, don’t they? And sometimes you feel like your mistakes are indelible even if you start over. But the work seems to be worth it. If you are looking for a peaceful but sometimes stressful gaming experience, you should consider Terra Nil. As a result, you may even rethink our current planet.
#Terra #Nil #Nintendo #Switch