Originally released into Early Access on Steam back in April 2024, Laysara: Summit Kingdom has now launched it’s 1.0 version! As well the PC version, Laysara is also available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
When researching the game, I found out that the developer, Quite OK Games, is actually a three-person team. Well, three people and a yak, according to their website! Right away that struck me as impressive, as the trailers showcase something that’s not only very beautiful, but also looks really fun to play. But, is that truly the case?
Onwards and Upwards in Laysara: Summit Kingdom
City building games typically see the player expand outward, transforming a humble town into a multi-district city. In Laysara, things are a little bit different! It’s hard to build too far horizontally (y’know, being on a mountain and all); instead, you’ll need to build vertically! It’s an interesting concept, and one that intrigued me to see how well it worked!
The kingdom of Laysara is in turmoil. A mysterious mist has enveloped the lowlands, destroying crops, stopping cattle from producing milk, and making people sick. Thus, the premise is simple: build new settlements on various mountains, and start a new life high above the mist! The ultimate goal is to build a temple at the highest point of the mountains, as an offering to the Gods. Hopefully, they’ll be so impressed that they’ll get rid of the mist. Optimistic! Things still aren’t completely safe up high, though, as you’ll need to contend with avalanches and create a network of trade routes in order for your towns to flourish.
Upon starting, the game gives you the option of five different modes. Campaign is a series of 15 missions that sees you saving the kingdom of Laysara. Scenario allows you to choose from various mountains to build on, with specific objectives for each. Sandbox does away with objectives and instead tasks you with establishing towns on multiple mountains. Challenge is a mode with shorter, more difficult missions that are best left until you have a full grasp of the game’s mechanics. Finally, Free Build gives you free rein with no monetary limitations. Simply build to your heart’s content!
Gameplay
Getting to the summit to build your temple is no simple task. It requires slow, yet steady, progression and carefully managing both your population’s needs and the workflow of your industries. Buildings shouldn’t just be erected anywhere; you’ll need to take into account the terrain and distance from things like resources or other buildings. Different terrain provides both positives and negatives, and when you start factoring in elevation, things can get quite complex! Shipping goods a long distance will require the use of transport buildings as a sort of rest point, for example. But, these need to be easy accessible, and have the right resources going to the right places!
Your population, split into lowlanders, artisans, and monks, all have needs. Starting from food and a place to pray, all the way to more lavish products and better quality resources. Yaks act as a sort of fourth population type, and have their own set of needs and vary in terms of effectiveness depending on the terrain they’re on. Yaks are crucial to your supply chain, although if you have too many, that quickly leads to a waste of resources!
To keep people happy and production flowing smoothly, you’ll need gold! Things like taxes and trading contribute to an increase in wealth. Raise taxes too much, though, and you’ll find that the villagers aren’t too happy about it (who’d have guessed?). It’s a balancing act that requires careful planning and forward thinking to sustain your settlements. It never feels overwhelmingly bleak, and isn’t as difficult as a game like Frostpunk, but there is still a challenge. A few times I opted to just restart due to poor planning. But, with the knowledge gained from those previous failures, it made me plan and strategise better the second time round!
I Stepped into an Avalanche
When not struggling with enough resources, grumpy villagers, and unproductive yaks, you’ll have to contend with avalanches! They are inevitable, but damage can be mitigated by building walls or trees to break up the rushing white waves. It can even be beneficial to trigger them early by blowing a horn, rather than waiting for snow to pile up before it all comes tumbling down. It’s a fun mechanic that doesn’t mean an instant game over, but planning ahead will save a lot of headaches. And some chilly villagers.
I was surprised to see that Laysara isn’t your typical city builder, instead often feeling more like a puzzle game. It’s all about the flow of production and managing your limited space wisely. It makes for a great videogame, and changed the way I typically play city builders, as the environment really isn’t your friend here!
Using a controller is thankfully very intuitive, thanks to the clever use of UI and radial menus. It’s a simple button press to open the build menu, for example. It’s a very clean heads-up display that isn’t bogged down with a million and one different statistics. Instead, you can open up submenus that go into more detail on whatever information you need. Starting production chains is also simple. It’s as easy as selecting a production building, and dragging a line over to the building you want it to send goods to. No complex menus required, and this streamlined way of setting up chains works wonders on a DualSense!
Graphics & Audio
I think it’s fair to say that Laysara is a stunning title when it comes to aesthetics. The views when zoomed out are gorgeous! Watching trees sway in the breeze, clouds billowing around the mountains, and villagers wandering around from home to workplace is all very relaxing. Perhaps not as relaxing is seeing an avalanche come hurtling towards your settlement. But, thanks to the excellent particle effects and the way the snow remains on the ground and your buildings, it stings a little less!
The only true downside is a lack of variety when it comes to the builders. Sure, there are plenty of different choices in terms of building types, but visually, they all look the same. It would have been nice to see some differences in things like housing for each population type. Even being able to rotate structures would help in making the villages feel more unique from one another. Whilst not a dealbreaker, having settlements look more varied would have been nice.
It genuinely is a joy to take in all the sights. Even the buildings are highly detailed when viewed from up close. Despite the imposing nature of the mountains, I couldn’t help but feel at peace, even if my villagers were in a spot of bother. The audio is another reason for this, as the tranquil music really helped immerse me into the experience. This, plus ambient sounds such as chiming bells in the distance or the wind howling during bad weather, was enough to make me want to drift off to sleep! Perhaps not ideal when I have people to take care of on the side of a mountain, but I’m sure they’ll be fine if I just close my eyes for five minutes…
Longevity
With five different game modes to play through, Laysara has plenty to keep you busy for a good while. In addition to these, completed challenges also let you revisit them with a new boosted difficulty, which can really prove troublesome!
For Platinum Trophy hunters, the list here shouldn’t be too taxing, although there are some that may prove difficult to acquire. A solid list overall, and a game that’s definitely worth playing in order to snag that Platinum!
Final Thoughts
Laysara: Summit Kingdom is incredibly engaging and visually stunning. It feels like a refreshing change from the usual city builders, focusing more on production chains and careful planning. There’s a great balance of challenge and a chilled-out experience that seems rare for the genre. I’d highly recommend giving this a try; even console players that may struggle with these types of games on a controller may be pleasantly surprised!
Therefore, Laysara: Summit Kingdom receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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