YonanClanfolk is a survival city-builder that wears its similarity to Rimworld on its sleeve. Launching the game on Steam early access on July 14, 2022, MinMax Games Ltd is happy to praise Rimworld and mention the obvious similarities, as Rimworld does many things in an ideal way already – doing something differently would just make it worse. There are many things that are different however, and some that are substantially superior, so it’s clear to see the developers have put a lot of thought into the fundamentals which clearly comes through in the smooth and rich play experience. Having over 1,000 hours each in Rimworld, and then hundreds more in Songs of Syx and Dwarf Fortress, my father and I are obviously fans of the genre so seeing a new entry to it is always a day to celebrate. The questions will be, can this game compete for our time when we already love those games and aren’t sick of them, and can this game be a good option for people not into the genre yet? I think the answer is a definite yes, largely for the same reason.
Clanfolk offers something different at a basic level by focusing on the atmosphere instead of combat which is a more lenient selling point for new players in a genre renowned for being somewhat difficult, and a unique reason for veterans to play the game instead of one of their old favourites. This different focus should definitely entertain any sim enjoyer for long enough to be worth the entry price. For those that enjoy the focus on surviving against nature rather than against enemies, it will easily become a game to enjoy for years to come, especially considering the roadmap that has been laid out in early access. The lack of combat makes it more of a niche enjoyment for me that won’t replace my other sims, but it will be a good addition to the roster for a more relaxing, atmospheric, tartan experience.
Gameplay
The basic gameplay is very easy to pick up for a genre veteran with the usual colonists, tasks, priorities, buildings, and stockpiles all behaving as expected. There is an excellent tutorial that walks you through everything as it becomes available, making it a smooth transition for veterans and an easy learning curve for new players. The interface also helps make it easy as it’s very logically laid out with easy and clear controls for every action. Want to harvest some mushrooms? Select the harvest mushroom job from the menu, or you can just click the patch of mushrooms and a context menu will popup letting you click harvest on that. Changing priorities is easy, from either the screen with all family members or from each individual family member themselves, with an extra “strict priorities” option for even better control if you don’t want the AI to try to balance things out, both of which are very useful.
The core gameplay loop is to get resources and turn said resources into new items or buildings which either enable survival or help unlock further resources and items or buildings. You’ll go from a log you sit on while shaving wood, to a blacksmith and furnace for creating iron products. From a patch of dirt, you thresh your grass at to make hay, to a spinning wheel you process your flax and a loom you spin it into thread and then a tailor’s bench where you craft it into linen clothes. Over time this will have you spread out new buildings and stockpiles as you prepare for your first winter and try to make the lives of your folk safer and more comfortable.
There are sliders for customising the map you live on where you can increase or decrease the number of forests, mountains, lakes and so on, which has a significant impact on your gameplay as resources are biome dependent. You won’t be building a log house in the middle of a huge patch of grassland, or stone buildings in the middle of a forest. You can also customise your folk by selecting from some presets or creating your own, though you cannot “prepare carefully” and design them completely. Your folk age which means you can have seniors, adults, children and babies and this matters to gameplay in a lot of ways. My main hunter was also the primary caregiver of her baby, which really slowed her down as she trekked over the map. Children learn at 4x the rate, so you’re pushed towards training them in what you think you’ll need them to do rather than what’s most efficient currently. Though you might have to sacrifice the future potential with urgent winter preparations or if there’s a calamity. It all makes for interesting gameplay choices though I doubt you’ll want to make the choice of a hay roof over your cooking fire.
Graphics and sound are both highlights and show a clear focus on the atmosphere in the game. Sitting and watching your folk going about their daily lives is a relaxing experience where you’ll often choose to play at a slower speed to enjoy the ambience of it. This is aided by a smooth and well-functioning interface with some solid improvements for what is an interface-heavy genre. There are always menus within menus and stats within stats, so a good interface is much desired, even if technically it *is* possible to play the pre-steam Dwarf Fortress…
Winter is the primary challenge in Clanfolk currently and you likely won’t survive your first. You need to prepare the structures, resources, and food to get through it or the freezing Scottish winter will be your end. Or even worse, your poor cute little chickens end – no one wants to see that happen – again. When in the midst of winter if things are going well, you’ll try to keep your people undercover at least, and indoors if possible. Getting sick and dying is a real possibility and while unlikely, it’s a lot less likely if you let them have the winter off from their grueling labour in the subzero temperature and driving snow and rain. The other primary challenge is the nemesis of farmers, nay, all humanity…. rats. The little bastards run into your base in the middle of the night and then good luck getting rid of them, no matter how many you trap! Not even winter seems to put a dent in their population but hey, protein and crafting small patchwork leather hats can tide you through the winter too. It’s not a survival sim if you can’t turn your most despised enemy into a hat.
Updates and Roadmap
- Apr 12: Update 10: Hunters and Hunted!
- Jan 18, 2023: Update 9: Idea Points!
- Oct 08: Update 8: Bogs and Bagpipes!
- Sep 09: Update 7: Cats and Rats!
- Aug 10: Update 6: Performance BOOST!
- Aug 02: Update 5: Better Priorities!
- Jul 27: Update 4: Reliable Beds + Auto Burial
- Jul 22: Update 3: Fire Tending and Babies!
- Jul 20: Update 2 Bunny Hauling and Improved Winter Survival
- Jul 18: Update 1 Fire Tending and Bunny Hauling fixes
- Jul 14, 2022: Early access release
For an Early Access game, a history of updates showing developer support, and a roadmap to indicate the future is very important shows a solid pace of development in early access which bodes well for the game. These are important factors to consider when buying an early access game when so many games are abandoned, and every dollar has a lot competing for it. The developer has this to say on the roadmap ahead:
“After 2 years, if your Clan survives, your homestead will be in very good shape, and I want to start adding more events to the world to modify day-to-day life. Here is a current list of ideas that I am sure will be expanded on. I would love to hear your ideas on this too.”
- Taxes
- Theft/Hiding Assets
- Clan Diplomacy
- Plagues
- Crop Blight
- Rustlers
- Refugees
- Conscription
These should all add a suitable amount of depth to keep the game fun long-term, especially when combined with modding which is confirmed to be coming “after the code base settles” – a very reasonable reason to delay it. Modders were driven insane in Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord by the constant code changes which seriously hampered their development until release, so it is probably better to wait until there are fewer disruptive changes.
The focus for Clanfolk on atmosphere and survival leads to a unique entry to a genre that otherwise splits its focus between combat and survival, where the minute-to-minute gameplay is very relaxing, but you still have things you need to get done. The game can be harsh but the lack of a constant worry about Randy throwing some fun at you is a very nice change of pace. The main thing that might turn people off is the lack of combat, but that is an intentional choice and very unlikely to be changed it seems, so if that is essential for you this should be a pass. Other than that, this is an easy recommendation for any fan of the colony sim games like Dwarf Fortress of Rimworld that should entertain any sim enjoyer for long enough to be worth the entry price at a bare minimum. For those that enjoy the focus on surviving against nature rather than against enemies, it will easily become a game to enjoy for years to come, especially considering the update history and roadmap that has been laid out in Early Access. This is probably the best entry to the genre for new players so it’s a definite recommend for them too.
This review utilised a key provided by Hooded Horse and Clanfolk is available on Steam in Early Access now.
#roundtablecoop
Chris Inglis
Johnny