Dawn of Man
Take control of a settlement of the first modern humans, guide them through the ages in their struggle for survival. Dawn of Man is a survival/city-builder from the creators of Planetbase. The game starts in the Stone Age, and takes you up to the Iron Age, spanning more than 10,000 years of human prehistory. You will have to get your people to survive, expand and evolve, just like our ancestors, facing the challenges that the environment will throw at you. Hunt Animals were a vital source of food and resources for ancient humans. Use their meat to feed your people and their skin and bones to make clothing and craft the tools you will need to stay alive. Confront Mammoths, Woolly Rhinos, Ancient Bison, Megaloceros, Cave Lions and other species that roamed the earth at the time. Gather Collect a variety resources from the environment: fruit, berries, water, wood, flint, stone, ores. Use them to prepare food, to make tools and to build structures in your settlement.
Game Discussion
Steam User 74
My steam account is over 14 years old and this game is in the top three I've most played. The achievements added hundreds of hours of game play for me. A DLC would be freakin' awesome for this game if it added new scenarios and achievements. Hands down its in my top 5 games of all time.
Steam User 133
This is okay as long as you buy on sale. The AI is fairly retarded and the devs have abandoned it.
Edit: After many more hours spent playing this I still say that it is a pretty okay game. I think I got my money's worth. With that said the dev abandonment becomes extremely apparent in the later game. There is an obvious point where they quit.
Edit2: Some people are really upset with this review. If this game is finished why do knowledge points rack up despite there being nothing left to unlock? Why are walls essentially pointless? I could go on. This is still a fun game and you should play it. But I think I'm done with allowing comments on this review.
Steam User 39
Very relaxing game. There is nothing annoying about its interface, the tech tree, or random events. Quite contrary.
Somehow, it manages to stay in the Goldilocks zone, between being boring and inducing a dopamine overload.
This game is a good choice if you're in the mood to kick back and enjoy a few hours of base building, turtling FTW of the civilization.
Steam User 42
It breaks my heart that these two great games (DoM and planetbase) are no longer supported because they were on to something great here!! Please, guys!! Pick it up again??
Steam User 43
needs updates! and more content
Steam User 34
100% recommend picking this up during a sale if you're into early human history or more easygoing sims.
I really enjoy city builder sims but I often get overwhelmed as they get too complex. Dawn of Man has a great "take it slow" approach, especially on standard difficulty. It hits a nice balance between big picture and micromanaging. While it's not particularly hard to succeed in the freeplay scenarios, some of the achievements are genuinely challenging and the scenarios pack a bit more of a punch. I'm also a big anthropology nerd, so I find progressing through the skill tree very fun. The game cuts off in terms of technology right where I usually start to lose interest in other games with tech trees, so I am happy with that. I've had this game for about 5 years now and I still come back and play it regularly.
Steam User 29
Colony builders are my favorite kind of game. And Dawn of Man is my favorite colony builder as of today.
That is saying a lot, after having spent hundreds of hours playing Banished, Anno 1800, Surviving Mars, The Wandering Village, Before We Leave, Outlanders, MicroTown, Endzone, Foundation, Nebuchadnezzar, Ostriv and Timberborn. Only Captain of Industry may be equally engaging.
If you have enjoyed any of these games, give Dawn of Man a try as well. You won't regret it.
Dawn of Man is best described as Banished 2, to be honest. A similar chill vibe and the same setting. Tasks are mostly automated, which I prefer. Your villagers will simply switch between tasks, whatever is on the to-do list. The worker AI is clever enough and the UI displays the current workload. Villagers die of old age but there is no death spiral, like in Banished. You progress by unlocking upgrades and new features, which you earn by reaching goals, like crafting 10 swords or building your first warehouse.
One thing that I love about Dawn of Man is the wildlife. You need to hunt animals for food and hides. But you can also tame them and put them to work. Sheep give wool for warm clothes. Donkeys carry your goods. And cows help you plow the land. The animations are so cute and the utility so useful.
Expect raiders to plunder your village and attack your people every other year. Violence in colony builders is usually a red flag for me. I want a chill experience. Luckily, Dawn of Man tuned the challenge perfectly. Once raiders are spotted on the horizon, press a button and your villagers will pick up their armor and weapons. Fights are easily won. Build walls to protect your essential buildings and erect watchtowers to give archers a superior vantage point.
I cannot wait to sink my teeth in the more challenging maps next. And I will also try the sandbox maps for a more casual playthrough or crazy creative builds.
Go ahead and support this magnificent game by the incredibly talented indie dev Madruga Works.