Offworld Trading Company Reviews
Not just for economists, Mohawk's precise, focused debut balances the books with panache.
Master its complex systems and Offworld Trading Company is ruthless, immediate and thoroughly rewarding.
Relatively simple in concept but complex in the possible manipulation of the market, Offworld Trading Company manages to make a type of gameplay that’s traditionally slow into something fast and exciting. It’s a tad too easy to trip yourself up before you even begin, but once it gets rolling this multiplayer-friendly cold war of capitalism forces tough, rapid-fire strategic choices.
Offworld Trading Company trades nukes and armies for stocks and commodities--without losing any of the thrill.
Somehow makes the stock market fun.
What you need to know is that Mohawk have made a game that creates tension and ruthless competition out of a screen of ever-changing numbers. Every victory feels hard-earned and every defeat can be traced back to specific twists in the tale, and in each of its half hour sessions, there are as many twists as in Civ’s six thousand years.
Mohawk Games really hit on something special in creating the heart and soul of what makes Offworld Trading Company tick. It’s just a shame they didn’t stretch and twist it far enough to broach the limits of what this brilliant idea can really do.
Offworld Trading Company is by no means a bad game, it’s just difficult to recommend against the existing titans of the genres it borrows from. Still, if you really like the premise you could pick it up during a sale.
Monitoring your growing corporate mining empire is fun, especially at first, with lots of building, expanding, and stockpiling mined resources.
Offworld turns a spreadsheet simulator into a knock-down drag-out scrap for Martian resources and almighty dollars. The pacing is almost breakneck. But with so much transparency in delivering the numbers, it maintains a sense of fairness, even as black market tactics from less-scrupulous rivals threaten to tear down your 30-minute monehy-making empires.
Offworld Trading Company is a futuristic simulation of what would be the economy on Mars: gathering resources, upgrading extraction posts, keeping up with the price fluctuations. Funny, but still complex and demanding at the same time.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Offworld Trading Company is an enjoyable strategy game for those averse to combat, allowing players to become ruthless capitalists taking over Mars. While it has many excellent elements, it's simply lacking that unique spark that would make it a truly stellar game with hours of replay value.
Offworld Trading Company combines economic strategy with innovation and polish, resulting in a game which feels exciting, deep and fun all at once. Not an easy combination to pull off – the developers should be proud, and gamers should be delighted.
I can't imagine a game so fundamentally about number crunching being universally appealing, but the audience it will appeal to will absolutely love it.
Most often you'll feel, at best, looming dread or smug satisfaction and only rarely shock or triumph.
Finally, there’s the simple fact that this is an economic strategy game. As such, it’s automatically going to have a rather niche appeal – but I really do hope people give it a chance. This isn’t a dry and cerebral experience: there’s action, passion and nail-biting tension. Surprisingly accessible and deep as you like, Offworld Trading Company is a standout addition to what’s already been a fantastic year for strategy games.
If you’re into numbers there is much to love about Offworld Trading Company. It is all about the bottom line and getting those figures to add up. The novel use of money not just as a resource but as liquidity for your company allowing you to purchase all the other resources you require is initially confusing, but ultimately rather wonderful when you fully understand it. The trouble is that all these numbers begin to feel rather heartless after a few hours.
If you enjoyed the past Civilization games or happen to be a fan of strategy games, then you can’t go wrong with Offworld Trading Company. This is fast-paced, cutthroat, capitalism distilled into a video game, and one that will keep you entertained for a long time to come.
Offworld Trading Company takes a very unique jab at the RTS genre, focusing almost entirely on financial control, and ignoring combat altogether.
For a RTS where you do not attack the other player with units, there is a lot going on here. The raw amount of things to keep track of and options available, are in some ways overwhelming. The core of it all is great fun, and it is completely novel for a RTS to avoid just massing units and rolling out. The amount of stuff happening takes away some of the enjoyment, as playthroughs quickly get away from players if they are not using every option available to them. Finally, the pace is so fast that there is no enjoyment about surviving on these hostile planets.