The Universim in the test: Be a creator for once

As is well known, expectations are always somewhat low when it comes to indie games. The fear of expecting too much from small developers is too great. With The Universim, Crytivo, the makers of the game, have made quite a banger. A strategic simulation game that offers a depth that some AAA developers can learn a lot from. Anyone interested in the evolution of human history will not be able to keep their hands off The Universim anytime soon.

Rewind evolution again and redesign it according to your own wishes? While at first glance this may sound like just the wet dream of many historians, with The Universim it can become (at least a little bit) real. Numerous options and a unique attention to detail characterize this game. During this game you are accompanied by a sarcastic background voice, which definitely takes the game to a new level of humor.

Driving evolution with Cupid's arrow

The game begins, how could it be otherwise, with two little creatures. A man and a woman. Although these creatures each have their own name, they are collectively referred to as “nuggets”. Why? Only the developers themselves probably know that. You don't have time to question it anyway, since as the creator of this species you have to do some tasks right from the start. Logically, the Nuggets don't know what to do with themselves.

Since the game starts with only two nuggets, the gameplay is very manageable. Except for building smaller buildings, it is no longer possible for now. What if you only have four hands at your disposal? It would be pretty practical if you could get “little” helpers. To do this, however, men and women first have to love each other very much and of course that is not always the case.

If the Nuggets don't want to, sometimes you have to help. As a creator, it is your job to ensure that humanity continues to evolve. You learn how this works when you reach puberty at the latest. However, since you're dealing with somewhat, well, more "primitive" creatures at the beginning, a little help doesn't hurt. With the help of your divine powers you can influence the behavior of the individual nuggets and can possibly make two nuggets fall in love with each other.

If the nuggets have mated successfully, the resulting result can be admired directly. Two little mini nuggets that don't have a lot of power at the beginning, but enough to get involved right away and advance civilization. After all, the required waterworks and shelter do not build themselves.

Research to make progress

The Nuggets are capable of learning, thank God. Otherwise it would probably not be possible to make any progress in terms of evolution. Building buildings is probably one of the cornerstones of our existence, as without them civilized life would hardly be possible, neither today nor 2,5 million years ago. But for this to be successful, certain conditions must be met. In The Universim, not all buildings and systems can be built directly, but must be “unlocked”. And depending on your playing style, this can take quite a while.

That makes sense somewhere, because how is a nugget supposed to build a battery if it doesn't know anything about electricity. The aim here is to work through the individual skills bit by bit and thus bring evolution forward, even if only very, very slowly. The right strategy and approach are crucial for this.

Arrive against the tide

As is well known, a year has a total of four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. This is also the case in The Universe. Each of these tides brings its own challenges. While the warm seasons like spring or summer are relatively relaxed, winter can turn into a real mammoth task. Lakes are frozen over, nuggets are freezing because they can't handle the cold and things can get difficult when it comes to electricity.

And just when you think you've survived the winter, the next environmental disasters are just around the corner. Rainstorms, tornadoes and forest fires pose an immense danger to “your” species and should be fought with all our might, right?

Well, after all, you are the creator of the whole thing here and have influence on pretty much everything you can influence. Environmental disasters and other events do not always have to be based on chance. As a player you can also consciously summon them. A quick scroll through the creator menu and boom, earthquake! So if you turn out to be a little sadist during the game, that's no problem at all, in-game, of course.

With all the options that The Universim offers you, you quickly forget to concentrate on what's important: the further development of the world and its inhabitants. As a player you should always keep a close eye on all possible events. Buildings need to be regularly repaired, nuggets need to be healed, and aliens need to be fought. Moment? Aliens? Yes, there are those too and they don't always come in peace.

Not alone

As if the game didn't already offer enough sensory overload, there are now also visitors from outside who pay the player a visit in their flying saucers. However, if you think they are well disposed towards you and just want to have a little gossip about space junk or rising rental prices, you are completely wrong.

Instead, they come with a request, and it often has to do with their own population, the Nuggets. They want to take these with them for their own “experiments”. The developers give you the choice here. Do you avoid the confrontations and leave large parts of your own species to the aliens or do you reject their offer? If you choose the latter, the otherwise quiet planet can turn into a pretty big battlefield.

The Universim has a knack for keeping players hooked for several hours, as there are always new things to explore and the village or town always needs to be kept on their toes. Then there are the nuggets, who all have their own worries and problems. You feel somehow responsible for your own species, whether you like it or not.

The freedom you get as a player is what defines The Universim. It's just fun to create your own ecosystem and continue to expand it. The little side quests that keep popping up on the edge of the screen are also a blessing and a curse. On the one hand they keep you entertained, on the other hand they make it difficult to put the game down. You could say it's a win-win situation for the developers. Things like bugs or graphical errors hardly ever creep into the game. Apart from a few lags in the loading screen, the game runs smoothly.

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Conclusion

If you had to describe The Universim in one word, it would probably be “attention to detail”. The game is so limitless in its possibilities that you'll feel dizzy just clicking through the various building options or the creator menu.

Although the aim of the game is so clear and “predictable”, it does not skimp on surprises and twists that will make you despair more than once. Be it the environmental disasters, the tides, the aliens or even the nuggets themselves, which make the game difficult. While all of these things can be frustrating, they are exactly what make The Universim what it is: simply an awesome game!

The Universim is so good that you keep forgetting that it is “just” an indie game. A few minutes are enough to realize that this is a special game. It has humor, structure, difficult and easy phases. It is therefore a little different from other simulation games. These are often too monotonous and boring in the long run, offer little variety and seem repetitive. For tactics and strategy foxes who like things a little more action-packed and exciting, The Universim seems like the long-awaited cold drink that is waiting for you after a long dry spell through the otherwise empty simulation Sahara.