The Settlers: New Allies Critic Reviews

The Settlers: New Allies has a good core loop that, unfortunately, lacks a solid connection with the series' history. There’s too much military action and not enough focus on delivering products to citizens. The land-claiming concept is interesting but under-used. Ubisoft could have used the same gameplay and another name and players might be more interested. But the game does not do enough to differentiate itself from better experiences in the genre. The Settlers: New Allies wants to tweak a classic formula but never finds the best way to do that.

Fans of the series will be disappointed by the new game due to its lack of depth. If you're able to look beyond this shortcoming, this is a decently playable and visually appealing game that otherwise doesn't have any major problems.

A game we've waited five years for should be a masterpiece. At the very least, it should have advanced strategy elements. It would be a much better positioning if the game only came to the tablet.

It is still an enjoyable experience where you can build your own frontier with a relatively easy system. However, the entire process to win the game is too long and boring to aim for a shift to a competitive RTS. It is not easy to motivate the frontier exploring since pretty much all activities are for just military buildup.

A game that cannot satisfy City Builders lovers, nor RTS seekers. However it could please the youngest and those who would like to try the genre with something extremely light and undemanding.

The Settlers: New Allies feels confused by its own identity. Is it a live service game? Is it a homage to the great RTS games of the past? Is it The Settlers, or a lesser Age of Empires? The answers seem to dance away the longer you play, and the further your settlements grow. While it houses a gorgeous world that actively encourages you to keep exploring, placing roads, and looking after your flock, a lack of depth and identity makes New Allies feel like a muddled experiment.

The Settlers: New Allies is a solid starting point to reboot the RTS franchise. While its campaign is dull enough to be ignored, the game’s bones are strong enough to support solidly entertaining online play. Despite its issues it has the potential to breathe new life into The Settlers as a franchise, which would be great for all RTS fans.

The core idea for The Settlers: New Allies is evidently a good one, but oversimplification of certain aspects of this famous series - while simultaneously trying to go back to the roots - was a mistake. Apparently, even Ubisoft didn't fully believe in its success as it didn't advertise the game at all.

The Settlers: New Allies may provide decent entertainment for more modest players, but it's not the sequel that fans have been asking for. Although it is visually pleasing. Settlement construction is easy to manage, but lacks more depth, and the same is true with combat. Not a single component is elaborated enough to arouse more interest.

Nice setting, flat economy, boring real-time strategy. The Settlers - New Alliances is not a total catastrophe, but far from "good".

A modern yet also deeply conservative reimagining of good old Settlers. There’s a solid base for a good game drowning under some glaring technical issues. Who is this game actually for? Well, maybe for those of you who miss the old titles – and who don’t hold their games to a particularly high standard.

A slow-paced and overly simplistic take on city building and war waging, but blessed with wholesome looks and a relaxing atmosphere.

New Alliances demolishes everything the series has previously built.

New Allies fails in breathing new life in The Settlers' franchise: the crossover between the classic gameplay and the RTS mechanics feels dull and rushed, leaving the player with the feeling that this is not The Settlers' return they longingly waited for.

The Settlers: New Allies tries to reinvent the series, simplifying its city-builders core mechanics to make room for newcomers more familiar with the RTS genre. Unfortunately, the final shape is a game that struggles to find its identity and that isn't really convincing neither as an RTS nor as a city-builder.

New Allies is pleasing to look at and offers a relaxed experience for newcomers, as long as you keep your expectations in check. But if you are looking for a deep city builder or a long-lasting multiplayer strategy game, by all means, look elsewhere.

The Settlers: New Allies is a frustrating experience that lacks much of the series' fundamentals. This is a streamlined The Settlers game that has been simplified as much as possible, but if the goal was to create a big multiplayer hit by making it easier to get into, it misses the mark.

It's not everyone who gets to create the worst of the series. Give the old games a chance and keep your money in your pocket and your nerves intact.

The Settlers: New Allies isn't quite the return to Settlers that fans of the franchise would want. Shallow across all areas, with basic city-building and very basic strategy elements, held together by an average narrative. It's not a bad game, but it's also not good.

The Settlers: New Allies is a basic and easy RTS. Unfortunately, the game has no complexity for an RTS which hinders advanced strategies and even “cheese” mechanics. The campaign is forgettable, and the skirmish mode offers little in variety, not to mention the horrible multiplayer stability. I was very hopeful for a new Settlers game but got a “Babies first RTS” instead.