As I've seen many a time, people would like something inbetween a "Yes and No" rating on steam.

The short version is, The game is excellent, BUT it definitely has some major issues in it's current state. How deal breaking these issues will be to you greatly depends on who you are and how patient you are. This game is made by a single developer and at the moment they're making frequent updates fixing some of the more problematic bugs. Hopefully they continue to support their game and really help it shine.

The game is heavily inspired by Impression Games/Sierra's Pharaoh game from 1999. So much so that at least in it's current state it feels like the game almost expects you to have prior knowledge of the systems that made that game work. There are tutorials which are definitely helpful, but it lacks the absolutely amazing 270 page manual that came with that game. With more documentation, I feel the current reviews would be a lot more kind!

The game follows a timeline from early Egyptian settlement, to the building of the first Mastabas, stepped pyramids, and then onto the fully fledged pyramids that Egypt is famous for today. The first four missions all have a tutorial section where you're expected to build things in a confined area, before moving you to another region of the map and telling you to build a bit more. Once the tutorial on each of those levels is done you will get free reign of what you do over the entire map., with limited option at first, before getting more options as you progress.

You start each level with a certain amount of bread, which is the currency in the game. And because your only source of income is trading in early levels is bread, it's very important to look at what other cities around you are interested in buying, importing the materials if you need them, then exporting the goods as soon as you can. If you build too much too fast, you will find yourself in spiralling debt which can be stopped if you're savvy enough but the game does precious little to hold your hand or help you out of these situations. Also, as only one trader from each city can exist at one time it's important to ensure that you set up your stockpiles so you're only trading from places near the entrance point to the map, else you risk having the trader walk all the way across the city which can definitely stifle your income. Later on you gain access to other means of increasing income, but in the first early levels this can be quite tough if you don't go in prepared. You can also restart a mission at any point.

One other source of frustration I've seen a lot of people struggle with are things like the "Where's my wife?" missions and such. There's a number of them that pop up, and all these do is ask you to find their wife/husband/treasure/cow/priest etc. With these, you are looking for another person in the game with a blue glow around them that looks the same as the quest giver. If you zoom out enough they're usually very obvious.

When you do get to build the giant monuments and build cities around them it feels fantastic. The great big monuments look amazing in game, and it's really lovely seeing all the NPC characters cart huge blocks all the way across the city to take them to the monument. I'd love to see more decorative features in the game too , gardens, statues etc. At this moment of time I'm only 6 missions in so it could be that more get unlocked along the way.

But yes, I recommend this game, but only to those who have the patience to delve into what it has to offer. The patience to deal with a few bugs and issues. It's worth remembering that this game is made by a single person, and that is extremely impressive, and I definitely do cut them some slack because of that. I do hope that they're able to improve some of the features that have caused folks to be disappointed by it, and I look forward to playing more of the game!

Has potential but no where ready for release at this time..

Menu buttons are very glitchy and performance is just not there yet.

It has potential due to the setting alone, I hope the devs give the game the love it deserves and make it at least playable.

The game is an interesting take on historical city builders. And while there are noticeable issues (Bugs, Graphical LOD issues and some design choices) that kind of make the game not very fun from time to time, this game certainly has a solid foundation.

My only issues so far with this game has been some of the self-imposed limits by the developer. Workplaces have a limited range to find workers, which makes city planning difficult without spreading all over the place.
I've also been hitting a wall with routinely finding myself not really having much to work towards.
This is largely because I tend to be a city builder who focuses on city design and aesthetic.
But with games like this I tend to want goals. Which once you've build the only monument you can build, you kind of run out of goals.

My only asks for this game are,

1. Option for More than 1 Monument
   
2. More Decoratives, 1x1, 1x2, 1x3, 2x2 etc for Gardens, Plants, Statues, Plazas etc
   
3. Obelisks either as decorations or to celebrate milestone achievements
   
4. Increased employment range
   
5. Reworked Water System? (Houses don't always recognise if they have access to water without a well first, even if a water carrier is covering them)
   
6. More Gods?
   
7. Reworked early game economy, it's too focused on trade.