4. Banished

Banished gameplay trailer

The title alone should tell you one thing: this game won’t go easy on you! Banished by Shining Rock Software tells the story of a handful of villagers who’ve been, well, banished from their home. But instead of crying about it all day, they’ve decided to make their own settlement, survive the elements and then probably rub it in everybody’s faces when they turn their tiny town into a prosperous city. Good for them.

That’s easier said than done, though, as you’ll find out the hard way when you’re the one who’ll have to guide this ragtag band through the entire process. All you start off with is a few—a very few—villagers and just enough tools to quickly lay a foundation. You certainly won’t have enough workers for your comfort, what with the concurrent need for food, housing, making new tools (they don’t last very long) and anything else your desperate band of outcasts might need for immediate survival. And if winter comes before you can get certain basic amenities down—like housing and firewood—you’ll find your already meagre population is easy pickings for the elements. Believe me, you can’t afford to lose even a single villager.

Banished is a constant struggle for survival. If you build up faster than you can feed your population, you’ll be punished for it. If you build up too slow, you’ll be punished for it. Pestilence can decimate your crops. Natural disasters can show up at any time. Your people grow old and die. But if you manage to survive against the odds, the rewards and the sheer satisfaction are well worth it. That’s the kind of exhilarating balance that Banished manages to keep going all game long. The mechanics in-game are very sophisticated, the visuals are good, and you just can’t go wrong by getting yourself a copy of this awesome game.

Half the fun is being able to get from this…

…to this!