Many times in my life, I’ve tried to really get into the genre of civilization development tabletop games. I was never really one for fighting in these games, but I wanted to explore and befriend people along the way. The competitive nature lends itself well to multiplayer, but I’ve always thought the idea of “defeating” another player by researching things faster than them was an odd premise. That’s why I decided to take a slower approach to Pax Nova, and I’m glad I did, because this game, by developer Grey Wolf Entertainment and Publisher Icerberg Interactive, takes colonization and exploration to the extremes.
For a turn-based tabletop game, Pax Nova really felt as fast-paced as I wanted it to be. Perhaps that’s because I was playing with AI, but everything was so new and exciting. The game’s main civilizations, besides one or two recognizable faces, are all new, so discovering a new civilization was less like finding a historical figure I would expect to act in certain ways and more a mystery. I would treat each new leader as a potential new friend of whom I would need to learn the ins and outs. This went on until I had explored the whole planet… and still hadn’t discovered all civilizations. For that, I would need to travel through space. More colonies, enemies, fights, and people lay on other planets in other galaxies. I was in awe at the amount of space to explore. It was more than I expected, but not too much that I was overwhelmed. That being said, I was disappointed I couldn’t explore it all before achieving a hollow science victory, but that’s what happens when you trade research with everybody.
On that note, the gameplay feels very polished for an early access game. All I really see needing work are the non-negligible amount of spelling errors and the yet unfinished mainline quests. The quests themselves that are there do need some work, too – I would sometimes pass 50 turns on a task that would have taken 2 if I just knew where to look. Some more tutorial would be helpful, since as of right now, they only appear after you’ve clicked on something; I want to know what to click on in the first place. The lack of direction did make the world feel novel and mysterious, but I don’t think that was the intended feeling, especially seeing as I just barely finished all 5 of the main quests by the end of my first 250 turn game and there are still more to come.
Besides the gameplay, the music is very peaceful and all the art is aesthetically pleasing. That’s a bit of an understatement, seeing as the quality made my GPU temperature shoot through the roof. Turning down the settings barely hindered the quality except on zoom in, which was better for me, so I would recommend that you keep an eye out for that. By the end of my playthrough, the novelty of the other leaders’ designs made me personally attached to all of my new friends – except King Duosi, who attacked me for seemingly no reason. I guess my scout wandered too close to his borders or something, but whatever it was, he paid with his life.
I have high hopes for this game. My biggest hope is that the quests play a more important role in the gameplay, because that was something that really helped me gain my bearings when it felt like turns were passing too quickly. If you’re looking for a new relaxing strategy game to play to pass the time, here’s a low stakes entry into the market. Maybe if they add a multiplayer mode for more replayability, you’ll even stick around after it’s finished. The developers can decide their own future.
Take a Look at the PAX Nova Trailer:
PAX NOVA is available for $24.99 for Windows PC via Steam Early Access.
I am an aspiring game designer looking to explore the philosophy behind game creation. Some of my favorite games include Overwatch, Super Smash Bros, Portal, and Beat Saber.
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