Terra Nil Reviews

Terra Nil is ranked in the 86th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
5 / 10
Mar 28, 2023

What starts out as a calming restoration simulator, quickly devolves into mundanity: the video game.

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INVEN
Top Critic
7.7 / 10.0
Mar 28, 2023

The positive influence of games related to protecting endangered animals. While the concept of games that restore the natural environment is impressive, the weak interactions, repetitive and short volume make it difficult to immerse and enjoy.

Review in Korean | Read full review

Niche Gamer
bigbear51
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Mar 28, 2023

Terra Nil is good for what it is, but it doesn’t go beyond that in any meaningful way.

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8.5 / 10.0
Mar 28, 2023

Terra Nil is a deftly executed environmental strategy game that flips the script and delivers something unique and quite unlike the city-builders you grew up with. It might be a peaceful experience, but its mission statement is gravely earnest.

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Gamersky
Top Critic
7.8 / 10.0
Mar 27, 2023

Terra Nil successfully communicates its environmental message to players through its meticulously crafted gameplay and levels. It subverts traditional colonial building games by showing players that the process of reconciliation with nature can be enjoyable. Although the game is not very large, there are always new elements to experience as you play through each region. The difficulty options also ensure that different players can enjoy the game in their own way, whether by strategizing or experiencing the game's Zen.

Review in Chinese | Read full review

Mar 27, 2023

Terra Nil is a fun game to enjoy at your own pace. For taking a game genre and flipping it on its head, it’s done well and feels like a natural fit in the city builder genre. It’s also quite peaceful and fits the bill of being what most are now casually calling cozy games. The idea of turning these wastelands into paradises is a great one that also instills a sense of pride in your work.

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Mar 27, 2023

Overall, Terra Nil is a wonderfully relaxing strategy game. Its unique approach to the strategy genre is refreshing when compared to its peers, and although its scope is a little limited, players will still want to revisit to get the optimum outcome of each level.

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8.9 / 10.0
Mar 27, 2023

Terra Nil is not and does not try to be a triple A title with an infinite amount of content that will keep us glued to the screen for months and months; Instead, I found it a product that conveys a very clear message while relaxing us with its beauty-oriented style.

Review in Italian | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Mar 27, 2023

Terra Nil is a creative and quirky interpretation of the building and strategy genre. It's interesting to use different structures to purify areas and restore nature, especially because of the puzzle-like elements and the need to use scarce resources wisely. The setting captivates, investing in minimalist music, lush nature settings and beautifully crafted visuals to create a tranquil and immersive atmosphere. However, sometimes the game goes against this philosophy with unpredictable and frustrating situations, as well as small interface problems. Ingenious and meditative, Terra Nil is recommended for those who want to relax in the middle of nature and for those in search of a unique challenge.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Mar 27, 2023

Terra Nil is an optimistic and well-designed reverse city builder. Its gameplay ideas are easy to understand and each scenario poses specific challenges that take attention and care to solve. Gamers will love the feeling of hope that infuses the painstaking process of taking a barren landscape and getting it to a point where flora and fauna are in harmony and no human presence remains.

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7.5 / 10.0
Mar 27, 2023

There’s something cathartic about Terra Nil‘s gameplay loop. It might not be the most engaging or addictive strategy/puzzle hybrid out there, but I commend Free Lives for making the sole act of wanting to clean up a wasteland fun and engaging. It is not the most realistic eco-friendly game out there, far from it, but I think it manages to deliver its “save the world” message better than most songs, movies, Twitter posts or activists out there.

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8.8 / 10.0
Mar 27, 2023

Terra Nil is a strategy game about the beauty of nature and how terrible it is to lose it. It serves its purpose very well: it is entertaining and relaxing in a way that few other games in the genre are. Its nature and environment theme carries an important message at its core and delivers it in an experience that is accessible to everyone, even players new to the genre. It is a must for wildlife lovers and those who love building and management games.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

8 / 10
Mar 27, 2023

Terra Nil is a a deeply soothing and relaxing game. Very beautiful artistically, we only regret that it is too short.

Review in French | Read full review

Luke Plunkett
Top Critic
Unscored
Mar 27, 2023

As someone prone to bouts of climate doom every time I read anything about carbon levels and ice sheets, Terra Nil was the ultimate form of video game escapism. A little diversion, no matter how unrealistic it is, that rather than asking us to live through the planet’s destruction let us try and recover from one instead.

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Mar 27, 2023

The rewarding environmental restoration game plays like a puzzle and is satisfyingly simple

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Polygon
Top Critic
Unscored
Mar 27, 2023

As I played, I kept thinking, Let me love you, as I built so many pylons and tramway poles just to complete a scenario. I played the demo over and over again when it was first released last year, excited for what would come. Even if some of the gameplay feels unnecessarily rigid, I still have a lot of respect for the way this game emphasizes environmental stewardship, especially within a genre that tends to focus on the exact opposite. Despite the roadblocks, that sense of wonder is enough to bring me back into the game’s world.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 27, 2023

Terra Nil is a relaxing game that will help you wild down. The game’s portability by being available on iOS, Android, and Steam Deck, will make this a great game to bring with you on vacation this summer. Plus its lightweight demand from the hardware will not kill your laptop battery. While the ending may not answer all of your problems, Terra Nill is a fantastic way to wind down. If you have Netflix and have not checked out the games yet, this is a great place to start. Along with a nice way to mix up your game library with something unique.

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80 / 100
Mar 27, 2023

A small but satisfying strategy puzzler that comes, does its job and leaves without fuss.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 27, 2023

Terra Nil proposes a strategic adventure around the environment and allowing us to give the complete power back to nature. The concept is very topical and succeeds in immersing us completely. The challenge remains more difficult than it seems and you should not be afraid to start over in certain phases. On the whole, the adventure remains quite short and it would have been interesting to push the idea even further. Nevertheless, the gameplay and the atmosphere are addictive, making it difficult to let go of the game. If you are looking for an original city builder, the title developed by the Free Lives team is clearly made for you!

Review in French | Read full review

9 / 10
Mar 27, 2023

Beautiful, complex, and captivating, Terra Nil is a delightful strategy game only held back by a smaller amount of content and some difficult-to-fulfill objectives.

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