Introduction
Before we get started I'd like go ahead and give a brief description on what a game being in alpha development is. When a game is in it's 'alpha' stage of development, that means that the game itself is nowhere near finished, is likely to drastically change and is frequently updated/worked on. Something players should always note when getting into an alpha game is that it is almost always going to have tons of glitches, bugs and optimization issues.
I'll be breaking down this game's review into four categories;gameplay, graphics/soundtrack, content and finally, if it's worth your money in it's current state.
-Gameplay
Colony Survival at it's roots is a voxel-based real time strategy game where your goal as the player is to build, run and defend a colony against both nature as well the undead threat.
I found that for how early in development this game is, it's actually tons of fun once you get a hold of things. There isn't really any tutorial to help players figure out the game's mechanics, which I found irritating at first, but once you get over the game's early learning curve, things really start to kick off. As a player, your job is to build a settlement and start your own colony, creating colonists who work for you in a variety of different jobs. There is some grinding to be done in the game by you, but majority of it, especially later on is mostly done by your colonist NPCs that you setup and manage. I found that instead of grinding, fighting and so on, with Colony Survival you rather have the NPCs do that all for you, manage them and build/expand your settlement while everything else goes on. If you want a game where you do most the stuff yourself and get tons of action, Colony Survival won't have it, at least in it's current state. If you're looking for a game where you play more around building, managing, and playing an RTS in first person real time, then this is more the game for you.
The combat in Colony Survival is rather bland. The game's only current weapon is a bow and it's not that satisfying to use. You'll also only be fighting the game's current and only enemy, zombies. With lower difficulty settings, the zombies are really easy to deal with and more of a nuisance if anything. If you crank up the difficulty all the way though, the zombies start to become a more consistent and serious threat that can be more fun to deal with.
Currently the game does have a functioning multiplayer but it barely works. If you're looking to play co-op with a friend then it can be fun, but the game currently has no system or way of fighting other players or attacking other colonies which to me is a serious downside. I'd love to be able to wage war on other colonies and watch our armies fight it out. The developers stated that the multiplayer is nowhere near finished which gives me hope that they'll be adding tons more to do.
-Graphics/Soundtrack
Colony Survival has a basic yet unique art-style that I personally thoroughly enjoy. When it comes towards it's soundtrack, well, it's not really there yet but they do have a music volume button which hints at one being added soon, so we'll see.
When you look at Colony Survival's blocky and basic graphics, you'll instantly think Minecraft. To me, that's not a bad thing. The game doesn't try to overdue itself and the art-style really fits the gameplay. The textures for the gear/items are also pretty well done and neat. The map wilderness is kind of green and bland, but that's bound to change as more things are added with the game's frequent incoming updates.
The game in it's current state doesn't have a soundtrack, though one is being added soon. Whenever I play, I just tend to throw on some good ol' Stronghold Kingdoms music which really immerses me in the game. If the soundtrack is anything like that and fits the game's medieval setting, then it'll definitely be a hit in my books.
-Content
For the game's current alpha state, there's quite a bit of content to play around and have fun with in Colony Survival. This includes building, gathering resources, managing your colonists, surviving the undead, expanding your colony and so on. But after a certain point in the game, things start getting 'easy' and there's no real challenge or hierarchy to work towards. The developers though claim to have a lot more in stock, so we'll just have to wait and see about that.
-Should you buy it? Conclusion
Should you buy Colony Survival? Yes, but only if you have extra money laying around. If the developers stay true to their word, a few months down the line and this game will be great.
I'd like to go ahead and thank everyone for reading, if you enjoyed make sure to leave an upvote and follow for more content like this, it'd be greatly appreciated. I plan on starting a series based around my friend and I playing this game together. As always, I hope you all have a great day.
Might have to give this a try! I do love a bit of Minecraft...