14 DAY TRIAL //
I have one settler assigned to the water pump at all times, making sure that the distiller is working overtime to make sure everyone has enough to drink and all the buildings that can benefit from freshwater are topped up.
Meanwhile, I am checking the birdhouses and the traps, adding more variety of produce for my farms, turning wood into charcoal, and then using that to power three smelters for higher quality materials. My fellow castaways, now saved and housed, are mining resources from the seafloor, cooking meals, and hitting the dance floor to keep their happiness levels up.
The plan is to get more bricks, which will upgrade buildings and increase their efficiency, while the stone will give me more bridge-building options. The research tree is also asking me for a variety of resources, as I try to expand my island-based settlement and save more people from the seas.
Havendock is developed by YYZ, a solo developer, and published by Different Tales. I played a preview version of the game on Steam. The title mixes classic colony building and management concepts with a nautical theme.
The setup is classic for the genre: the player character wakes up on a small island, forced to salvage resources from the sea. From these humble beginnings, players will need to build a few decks, get more wood, and then seek more ways to expand and get other lost sailors to join them. The writing is decent but the English language version is auto-translated and might have some mistakes.
That doesn’t matter too much because the focus of Havendock is on gameplay. At first, it’s all about the player character moving around, shifting resources from building to building, and making sure there’s water and food, before setting up an all-important research station.
Soon after, new characters start showing up, ready to contribute to the plank island city. They will only stay if their basic needs are taken care of and will soon need more buildings, like a dance floor, to remain happy and productive.
In turn, they can be assigned to buildings, creating supply chains that will deliver ever more complex materials. As with other titles in this genre, gamers need to balance the need to keep everybody happy and working with the desire to expand and unlock new options via the research tree.
Havendock executes these ideas well and introduces variety by using its island chain setting in interesting ways. The fact that farms can grow burger meat doesn’t make a ton of sense but feels right inside the title’s universe. Always keep an eye on freshwater production and use.
Havendock mixes its theme and a somewhat stylized look well, offering a game that is cute but doesn’t aim for realism. The various characters you will manage have clearly defined looks, while the interface does a solid job of presenting info to make good management decisions. The soundtrack fits the rest of the presentation well but needs more tunes.
Conclusion
The building and management elements are familiar and the main innovation is the fact that everything takes place in an archipelago, with resource extraction and expansion limited by the environment. Havendock could take a few more risks with its mechanics but it has a solid mechanical foundation and will satisfy fans of its genre.
A preview key was provided by the publisher.
