Gods and Idols

Life seems to be something unique to our planet at the moment, but the truth is that we haven’t really checked anywhere else thoroughly enough. On top of that, the universe is big enough for that to never happen, and old enough for life to have existed and died out many times until now. On the other hand, we can easily imagine a variety of interesting scenarios using our meager simulators.

Gods and Idols is a multiplayer 4x strategy game in which the goal is to spread life around the universe planet-by-planet, using your godly powers and a bit of a strategical approach. Obviously, competition enters the equation as well, given the fact that you share the universe with all the other players in the game. In short, it’s all about who has the most territory and the most efficient strategy.

You begin by looking for a suitable system, although the only impediment is the fact that some of the systems are already occupied by other players. In fact, it can be a bit of a bother, since there’s no way to see which one is taken and which one isn’t until you visit the system in question and click on an asteroid belt. The navigation is pretty sloppy, so it’s quite annoying to wander aimlessly until you find something suitable.

Although your first task is to deflect useless asteroids and letting the ones full of good elements get through, the gameplay changes later on. Thus, civilization evolves at a steady pace, and you can start erecting structures on your planets not long after that. The goal is to advance your technology and start gaining the upper hand in the battle for supremacy.

It’s important to note that the interface is not quite streamlined yet, so you are going to struggle when it comes to finding buttons or functions. There’s a tutorial in place at the beginning, but it only covers the basics about settling down on a planet and kick-starting life. However, the game is still in early access at the moment, so it has enough time to improve in this regard in the following months.

In the end, Gods and Idols is a bit basic and rough when it comes to movement and interface, but everything else appears to be on the right track. Thus, it’s a project worth keeping an eye on, especially since there are not many like it out there at the moment.