Imagine Earth | PS5 Review

Since it was announced that the console release of Cities: Skylines II would be indefinitely delayed, I’ve been on a quest, of sorts, to find suitable alternatives to fill the void. It’s within this quest that I happened upon Imagine Earth, a sci-fi colony builder combined with environmental management. Developed and published by Serious Brothers, Imagine Earth challenges its players to balance economic growth with ecological stability, sharing more in common with Sid Meier’s Civilization franchise than with SimCity. While it stands out as an engaging strategy sim, it still doesn’t fully satisfy my craving for a traditional city-building experience, and thus it didn’t quite hold my attention.

Imagine Earth, Ltd.

Some time in the future, the Earth has been left uninhabitable. As a result of unchecked resource depletion and environmental degradation, humanity has been forced to seek new homes amongst the stars. The game has you step into the role of a colony manager hired by an interstellar corporation “Imagine Earth, Ltd” to establish and develop colonies on distant planets. Your mission is to build thriving settlements balancing economic prosperity with ecological sustainability. How you manage your settlements is entirely up to you: will you perpetuate the cycle of environmental destruction and resource depletion, or will you break it and build a thriving, sustainable colony?

The game includes a story campaign with scenarios on diverse planets and biomes, each presenting their own sets of challenges. However, I preferred sandbox mode, where I could play without restrictions or set objectives. This open-ended gameplay has always been my style, ever since my early days with SimCity. That’s not to say I completely ignored the campaign. I paid particular attention to the tutorial, which is set on a new planet aptly named “Planet Tuto.” Get it?!? Cuz it’s the TUTOrial? Yea, anyways, it was essential to get a feel for the game’s mechanics, menus, and user interface. Once I did, I set out forging my own interstellar manifest destiny.

Intergalactic, Planetary

Imagine Earth merges city-building with environmental management. At the start, you choose where to land your initial spacecraft, which then becomes the colony’s city center. Upon touchdown, you’re given a small radius of land to start with, which you can expand one plot of land at a time. Selecting a resource-rich landing site is crucial, as it lays the foundation for your colony’s growth and sustainability. Players must construct and expand colonies by managing resources like energy, food, and materials, while also addressing environmental challenges such as pollution, deforestation, and climate change. Trade and diplomacy are key as you communicate with rival colonies and compete in the galactic economy. Advancing through technological research unlocks new buildings and sustainable solutions.

Interestingly, Imagine Earth features a fascinating twist on technological advancement within the game’s narrative. It is explained within the lore that all essential technologies for achieving sustainability are readily available from the outset. While players can still invest time and resources with the traditional tech tree, an alternative avenue exists: licensing. This unique mechanic allows colonies to bypass the usual R&D process by purchasing technologies from rival factions for a premium. I appreciated the inclusion of this mechanic. Unlike games like Civilization and Age of Empires, its technology licensing feature enhances the realism. Throughout history, settlers and trade ships didn’t just exchange goods—they also shared technology with the indigenous peoples they encountered, so I’m glad the game thought to address this.

Imagine Earth diverges from traditional conquests with armies and swords, opting instead for conquests through litigation and business suits. Emphasizing economic competition and environmental management over warfare, the game challenges players to carefully balance resource exploitation with ecological sustainability. Coupled with its innovative tech licensing mechanic, the game stands out from other strategy sims by offering a strategic and environmentally conscious gameplay experience.

Planetary, Intergalactic

The graphics and presentation are perhaps the biggest strengths of Imagine Earth, with its vibrant and detailed visual style. In addition to the various biomes and environments you encounter, the planets themselves are represented as condensed, spherical worlds. This allows you to navigate around quickly, achieving a sense of completeness but not feeling overwhelmed. This design choice keeps the gameplay manageable and focused so you can concentrate on your colony without feeling lost in a massive map, which I appreciated. The game uses a triangular grid system for expansion and colony building, much like the iconic hexagonal configuration from the Civilization series, providing a familiar yet distinct twist to the gameplay. 

Despite its strengths, Imagine Earth falters in some areas of sound design and technical stability. Throughout my playthrough, I experienced frequent crashes that would abruptly boot me back to my home screen. These crashes often occurred when I rotated the planet too quickly, indicating the game struggled to keep up with rapid navigation. This issue became particularly problematic later in the game when I was managing large colonies or multiple colonies on opposite sides of the globe. During emergencies or urgent situations, the need to quickly address issues exacerbated the frequency of these crashes, disrupting the otherwise immersive experience. 

The voice acting is quite limited and could use more depth. While it adds some character, it often feels lacking and doesn’t fully engage the player. More dynamic voice work would enhance the game’s overall impact. There was plenty of voice acting during the tutorial, but as the campaign progressed, the frequency of voices diminished significantly. This drop-off, especially in sandbox mode, made the game feeling less engaging and dynamic thus the overall experience felt somewhat inconsistent.

The Final Frontier?

Overall, Imagine Earth is a commendable effort. The unique approach to technology advancement through licensing and its focus on ecological sustainability sets it apart from other strategy sims. However, despite its many strengths, the game didn’t fully capture my attention. This is primarily because it didn’t satisfy that specific itch I have for a traditional city-building experience, which I’m seeking as a replacement for Cities: Skylines. This is not a fault of the game by any stretch, it’s well-crafted and innovative, but it wasn’t what I was expecting.

The technical issues, particularly the frequent crashes when navigating the planet, can be frustrating and detract from the overall experience. Despite these shortcomings, Imagine Earth offers a solid and engaging experience for those interested in strategy games with an environmental twist, while others may find the message preachy. In a nutshell, the best way to describe this game would be: Space Civilization, Sponsored by Greenpeace.

To hear me talk more about Imagine Earth, be sure to listen to the May 8, 2024 episode of The Gaming Outsider podcast around the 1:35:55 time stamp.

This review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy of Imagine Earth provided by Uber Strategist for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation 4, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and the Humble Store.