Crossroads Inn
Crossroads Inn is a real-time management sim with role-playing games elements. The game consists of two unique modes offering totally different experiences. In Sandbox mode gamers will focus solely on managing their business and economy – to build their very own tavern, hire and oversee staff, manage the supply chains and create new dish recipes. In Campaign mode, micromanagement is just a prelude to a rich story as the kingdom is in turmoil and a shift of power is expected. Your Inn will soon attract the attention of important political and military figures, who are desperately trying to hold on to the reins of power. Gamers will become part of a large-scale drama full of political intrigues, vivid characters, treacherous NPC’s and dangerous quests inspired by RPG games – You will even have a damsel in distress to save!
Steam User 15
It's a janky mess of a game, lots of bugs, but most have work arounds plus many 'bugs' are due to poor or no in game feedback (like employee skill and levels).
Avoid the scenarios, play in sandbox. If a character gets stuck use the hand to move them.
It's the best tavern simulator out there, and yes it's my opinion, and yes I've tried all the latest ones. This one is fun and has character, the others are boring management sims with tavern graphics pasted on top.
BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK, but I give it a thumbs up for chaos and character. Want to see a fun playthrough? Yea, I made a couple of videos but Dave at Wee Hours Games has one of the best series, both scenario and sandbox mode. It's playable, the videos are the proof.
Steam User 4
I want this game to be good, but it just is not finished...
Good:
- Great basic concept (at least very appealing to me)
- glimpses of what would be possible are very intriguing
- management aspects with recipes, drinks etc
Bad:
- EVERYTHING HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A GAME BREAKING BUG
- 3 of my 5 runs were bugged out to the point where I could not continue with the save games (e.g. my f**** bar bugged out, the one main object you need in your Inn)
- the wasted potential of this game
Conclusion:
- If you get it for a couple of bucks (below 5€) I think it has some value
- don't expect a properly developed game
- Would give it a neutral review, but got to go with recommend (played it north of 70h so i cant say i don't recommend it at all)
Steam User 4
I recommend this game so much that after years using Steam, this is the first time I've felt compelled to write a review. Especially as I find many of these more recent reviews unfair. City building/management games are my favorite genre with Sierra's Pharaoh being my all-time favorite game and Frostpunk my favorite modern game. Crossroads Inn has leaped high into my favorite recent games, scratching just that right itch. Especially because it is not just largely a sandbox builder like Going Medieval or Banished, but rather the game has a very legit and enjoyable character-focused campaign that is reminiscent of Pharoah, AoE, and Frostpunk.
Also notable, one of the things I love most is something that I see hated on in negative reviews here, this game does not hold your hand. For example, there is a review here that complains about servers not serving. I had this problem twice. First time, took a bit to realize you need to routinely order fresh plates and mugs as even with a dishwasher, they wear down and need replacement. There is no wiki or any "?" in-game tip that explains this. Second time I had servers not serving, I looked at them and realized they had a -100 buff for not being paid (oops). Once I took out a loan to get them paid, they were happy as a clam and people were buying beer and dishes from them once again. In other words, this is not just plug and play.
There are also connections you have to learn, such as bards will cause you to earn tons of money (nothing really explains this in-game, you just see it happen), but in order to get bards, you need to upgrade influence in a variety of cities. Also not explicitly written anywhere. You likewise may find yourself needing to close your inn in order to advance certain things, or to find people as your place can get busy. There is some real balancing and tinkering to play around with here, which seems to annoy some people like crazy, but hey, journey not destination!
In the end, I am very happy I bought this guy. I will most certainly be buying Crossroads Inn 2 when it comes out. Developers, if you're reading this, while I enjoyed the trial and error of things here, you might find reviews to be more favorable if you hire on a writer to go through and build a more explicit guide.
Steam User 2
I bought this game on a very steep sale after reading some mixed/leaning negative reviews. I have played 20-ish hours of the campaign and have had a lot of fun. I can see some of the buggy-ness but nothing has been game breaking for me at this point. I really enjoy the mix of daily tasks, larger goals and story line. I like the freedom of choices within the story line as well. I had to google some game play mechanics because I didn't feel like some aspects of it were ever explained.
As a frequent life-sim player, I had to let go of my expectations of being able to actually control anyone's actions directly. I felt frustrated at times when I just needed someone to put wood in the goddamn oven but there wasn't actually any control to make anyone do it... but at the same time... my kitchen hand was stumbling around drunk and petting the stray cats outside so it gave me a laugh despite the frustration.
I think being annoyed I can't control everyone's actions is a personal preference and also a topic for my therapist.
So, for spending $10 for 20 hours of engaging gameplay was worth it.
Steam User 10
Be aware that this game never made it out of beta. Also know that development has stopped.
Errors you get, objects that don't work right, missing resources, workers you have to pick up and move because they can't path, those will never get better.
Still, I have about 100 hours messing around with it and another 126 hours letting it sit minimized in a tray.
I just won't buy a beta game from the developer again.
Steam User 1
Its hard to talk about this game. Because its an amazing management sim.
The good:
Food is highly realized and even has real recipes
the inn mechanics too and there is tons to decorate from
You can even hire different "heroes" that offer different services
The bad:
Buggy, unpolished, and at times kinda ugly
The bones of this game is a masterpiece, but the wrapping around it is falling apart and needs more time squashing bugs. I recommand it only on deep sales.
Steam User 1
Get it on a sale, its a fun game, but my god the bugs. Sometimes the game simply doesn't even wanna load, and gotta crank it like an old poorly greased engine. And even if you manage to get it going, and can be quite fun to play. I cant tell if its intentional or not, but half the time employees don't wanna do their jobs which is very immersive. Sometimes they like to stare at walls like a cat. The game is abandoned I believe, they claim to fix a few bugs, and some they have. But those fixes seem to have created more, It is a fun game when it works. Definitely get this on a big sale, not really worth the full price, especially since they have basically abandoned the game and is now working on the second installment of the game.
Honestly, I really struggle giving this a thumbs up . Because I love the concept and there is a lot of promise. If the game was still receiving updates (this is subject to change I suppose but I have doubts at the time of this review).But for like 5 bucks or so I would recommend it. And hope they get a better programmer for the 2nd installment coming.
I would put this game at 5.5/10.