Foundation Review (PC)

Polymorph Games’ laid-back city-building game with a medieval twist, Foundation, has finally emerged from its slumber after six years in Early Access. That’s right, the cozy quarters of the organic sandbox have tapped out their final grains, meaning, if you did happen to miss out on its initial 2019 debut, then you’re in luck — the hotfixes have been installed, and the leftover technical flaws have been ironed out with a stone mallet. With all of these changes in place, the revitalized core is officially ready to entice brand-new curators to join the fold and lay the—you guessed it—foundations for their future settlement.

Having spent a significant portion of time with the Early Access version of Foundation during the post-pandemic period, I sort of knew what to expect from the opening sequences of the campaign. And yet, with the latest fixtures in tow, I felt the sudden urge to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch—a desire that often comes with most, if not all city-building games. Like banishing your Sims and bulldozing the lot to start a new family tree, the impulse to start anew is all too irresistible. And that’s what led me to flip the coin and begin the journey with a fresh perspective: the possibility that I might find myself in a different scenario, or that I might have the chance to develop something new. The question I was yearning to have answered, of course, was whether or not it was worth returning to, to begin with.

Sticks & Stones

Foundation doesn’t adhere to the same rules as the other sandbox creations in its spectrum; in fact, it makes it easier for users to build, maintain, and evolve their bustling ecosystem without having to onboard any drastic modifications or superfluous changes. And by that, I mean that it comes equipped with a lot of hand-holding features—tutorials that allow you the creative power to flex your fundamental skills and propel your ideas forward to extraordinary heights. To say that it’s a complete walk in the park wouldn’t be true; the medieval era is a problematic period, in general, and therefore the basic fulfillment of a sustainable society has its drawbacks and disadvantages. But, thanks to the game’s generous inclusion of a quality collection of to-do lists and difficulty levels, nothing is made to feel out of reach, regardless of how high you’re aiming to jump.

The campaign begins with a familiar setup—a teething phase, of sorts, in which your goals predominantly boil down into two basic steps: building homes for workers and citizens, and laying the foundations for several important structures for future projects. To start, you have a small community to work with—a husk of people who you can use to collect lumber, stone, and other natural resources from nearby settlements and agricultural areas. After this short introductory passage, the world gradually begins to open up to you by providing a series of fresh building opportunities and other useful blueprints to research and eventually fashion out of your accrued assets and wealth. This is all textbook stuff, and a prelude that you might recognize from your previous endeavors as a city-building extraordinaire. Nothing wrong with familiarity though, right?

Foundations for the Future

Foundation isn’t the least bit demanding, and so, naturally, there isn’t a great deal of forward-thinking to be done during the initial phases of development. Saying that, the game does frequently require you to think outside of the box; for example, structures often need an additional layer in order to function, but it doesn’t always tell you which item is necessary to fill the criteria. There’s also the case of having to reroute workers, assign responsibilities, and juggle resources to maximize your chances of being able to thwart the worst possible outcome and devise a successful plan. But again, none of these tasks involve a lot of effort; it’s more the case of persisting with your chosen task and holding out for the next pivotal story beat.

At the heart of this tailorable story lies a heartfelt reminder of how little there is to gain from a lack of participation and tenacity. Sure enough, nothing worth waiting for works in tandem, and the greatest achievements are only surmountable in the long term, provided that you have the mental capacity to make it through the bleeding process. And that’s sort of where Foundation finds it foothold — in the latter segments of the campaign, once you’ve established a genuine connection with your community and developed the model for a self-sustaining society. After that, the possibilities become endless, and the world around you soon begins to transform and bend to your will. That, really, is when Foundation shines.

As Cozy as They Come

It doesn’t take a great deal to see just how much heart and soul went into the formation of Foundation and its picture-perfect, almost idyllic landscapes and outer boroughs. Clearly, there was a lot of love that went into the development of its medieval setting, and while you could still argue that its chosen period piece isn’t quite on par with several of its counterparts, there’s no denying the fact that Foundation is, respectfully, an incredibly beautiful game, and one that evidently had the magical essence of a memorable keepsake.

Of course, Foundation being a sandbox at heart, the number of hours you might pluck out of it pretty much depends on how far you’re willing to travel and explore new modes of play. Either way, I can confidently say that, with my own experience taken into account, there are at least twenty hours or more of quality gameplay to be found here. And even then, that’s neglecting the sheer fact that Foundation also bears witness to countless add-ons and mods, which essentially means that, while there are dozens of ironclad scenarios to sift through, there are also hundreds of alternate routes and modifications to unpack, too. With that in mind, you could say that the sky’s the limit as far as replay value goes. You won’t hear any complaints from us about that.

Verdict

Foundation doesn’t foster the same tough-as-nails blueprint that you might occasionally encounter in other city-building sandboxes, but instead uses that familiar platform to establish the groundwork for an organic ecosystem that’s both pleasantly satisfying to construct and oftentimes more rewarding than it initially lets on. Admittedly, it’s something of a slow burner—the fact you have to persevere in order to find the perfect balance between your citizens’ interests and your own personal values is a long and often grueling process, I’ll say that much—but with each step that you take, you’ll come to realize that the smallest milestones are often the most memorable. And if there’s anything I came to learn from that handful of hours in Foundation, it was that the small things were always worth celebrating.

There’s something truly special about the rags-to-riches stepping-stone process that ties in with most traditional sandbox IPs, and such homely comforts are a common theme in the medieval quarters of Foundation, which goes above and beyond to provide just enough material to keep you coming back for more. While it isn’t mechanically threatening, it doesn’t belittle the fact that even the sincerest rewards are often the result of hard labor and strategic decisions. There’s plenty of that in Foundation, truly — and although it makes a habit of holding your hand a lot, it doesn’t dampen your personal quest for economic growth with forced incentives or silver platter promises. To put it simply, it wants you to succeed, and it has no shame in telling you that.

For the record — yes, you could find a better sandbox game to test your mettle. But, if you’re content with the idea of playing a cozy alternative, then Foundation will surely meet your requirements.