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0 Open-world survival crafting games are relatively commonplace in today’s gaming market. That said, I’m always excited to try any new ones, especially when they look as intriguing as Oppidum!
Created by developer EP Games, Oppidum is a story-driven adventure for one to four players, with a charming art style and simple yet rewarding combat and crafting mechanics. Recently released for PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One & Series X|S, and PC, a Switch version of the game is coming soon. I’ll be playing the PlayStation 5 version for this review. Could this be my next gaming obsession? Or will it be just one of many underwhelming titles in the genre? Let’s have a look!
Cats and Crafting and Co-op, oh my!
Oppidum opens with a relatively robust character creator, with more than enough options to create a suitable avatar. You won’t be able to make anything as cursed as what you might see in Oblivion, let’s say, but there was much more than what I was expecting.
Afterwards, a short scene plays that gives you a little backstory as to why the island of Insule has become corrupted. After being summoned through a portal, your character (who is apparently a scout or park ranger based on their clothing?) arrives on Insule thanks to Kay, an adorable cat-like creature. Kay will then teach you the basics of collecting resources and building a camp.
Perhaps not too surprising — considering this is a survival game first and foremost — Oppidum doesn’t have too much in the way of a story. Yes, the main objective is to return Insule to its former glory, but don’t expect any deep, meaningful narratives along the way. It’s a serviceable tale, though, and has more to it than a lot of other games in the genre.
Gameplay
If you’ve played a survival crafting game before, then you’ll know the basic gameplay loop already. Gather materials from the environment or by slaying monsters; use them to construct new tools and upgrade your base; rinse, and repeat. Obviously, there’s much more to Oppidum than that, but that’s the gist of things.
Constructing areas for your camp, such as a forge or lumbermill lets you refine materials for decorating or improving certain aspects of it. You’ll start with a few basic recipes, with more to unlock the further you progress. Farming and cooking play a big role in progression. Animals you raise can give you both food and materials to upgrade your armour. Food not only fills your hunger metre, but grants characters temporary buffs. Any surplus items you’ve grown or made can also be traded with NPCs for rarer items. Everything revolving around your camp has a distinct cosy feel to it. It’s a safe haven from enemies, and raising farm animals and watering crops is always a stress-free time.
Combat plays a surprisingly big part in Oppidum. Though it’s simple in its mechanics, it’s still fun and often quite challenging. You’ve got one button to attack and chain combos, one to block, and one to dodge roll. Wandering too far away from your camp early on will undoubtedly end in a game over, as some higher-level enemies can take you down quickly! Like I said, it’s not a deep combat system, but its fast, fluid momentum gives it an arcade-like feel, rather than a constant management of stamina. Although, weapons can break, so make sure to keep an eye on their durability metre!
Graphics & Audio
Oppidum‘s visuals immediately charmed me. The cartoonish style melds well with the magical fantasy world EP Games has created. At a push, I’d compare it to something like Fortnite. It’s a genuinely lovely-looking title, with lots of eye-catching effects that help brighten what is already a very vibrant world. Something in particular that caught my attention was after a resource has been farmed (be it a tree, rock, etc.), a pinkish, ethereal version of the item will take its place as it slowly regenerates. It’s a small graphical touch, but one that showcases the type of mystical world you’re playing in.
Keeping with the fantasy theme, the game’s soundtrack has a good few tracks that set the mood fairly well. My biggest gripe is that there just isn’t enough variation. I heard the same few songs played, whilst other times there was no background music at all. Plus, with no voice acting — other than the occasional grunts — the audio design was slightly underwhelming when compared to the graphics. Voiced characters aren’t a huge issue, but with the game being so quiet at times, a bit more audio would have been nice.
One additional thing to note: the number of accessibility options available is quite impressive. When first booting up the game, you’ll get some prompts that allow you to instantly customise certain settings. Things like disabling camera shake for motion sickness or swapping holding down buttons to a single press. This extends further when setting up your Realm; everything from difficulty, to the duration of each day, to disabling enemies attacking you first. These Realm options can also be adjusted in-game, alleviating the worry of having to restart if things get difficult!
Longevity
Oppidum isn’t a huge game by genre standards. But it’s also one that’s over and done with too soon. You’re able to create up to three characters, so starting afresh is always an option. Aside from the main objective, there’s a good amount of optional quests that too. Whilst these often boil down to farming resources or killing mobs, the rewards are worth seeing them through. Being able to join some friends online also adds much more life to the game, naturally! As a bonus, playing with friends also reduces the potential tedium of resource gathering.
Building your base and tearing it all down to reposition everything after deciding the feng shui is wrong (just me?) also adds more to the game’s length. You could just place things anywhere and everywhere and be done with it. But there’s certainly some joy to be had in perfectly constructing your own personal utopia!
Final Thoughts
As a survival crafting game, Oppidum doesn’t do all that much to separate itself from the pack. However, I couldn’t help but be charmed by this vibrant, magical world. There’s a rewarding progression system that made me want to carry on playing just a little longer. Boss encounters are also a highlight, and having to plan my strategies to defeat each one was a lot of fun.
If you’re a fan of the genre, chances are you’ll find a lot to love here. Therefore, I’m giving Oppidum a Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
If you enjoyed this review, why not check out our review for another survival title: Forever Skies
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