Peter Molyneux’s Masters Of Albion Out Now On Steam Early Access
I loved Populous. I played it on the Mega Drive, and it ignited, in me and millions of others, a love of god games. I also enjoyed Fable, and I fell in love with Fable 2. Its world was incredible, its morality system was excellent, and the voice cast, led by Zoe Wannamaker as Theresa, was next level.
Those games, along with Black and White and Theme Park, were designed by iconic developer Peter Molyneux.
Masters Of Albion Early Access
Nearly 40 years after the initial launch of Populous, Molyneux’s latest game, Masters of Albion, has been released in early access on Steam.
Molyneux has described the game as a return to his roots, and it certainly contains elements of both Fable and Black & White. In the game, players are tasked with building settlements during the day and defending them at night.
While most god games have the player control the world or large groups of societies, Masters of Albion also lets you step in and control individual characters. Players also take control of mighty Heroes, who defend settlements by warding off the monsters of the night.
On the surface, Masters of Albion seems excellent. An amalgamation of Molyneux’s greatest hits.
Early Access Hit And Miss
As is the way with modern games, Masters Of Albion has only launched in early access. Which means there are some teething problems. The game is crying out for much-needed quality of life improvements and optimisation.
It is an intentional design choice that the game doesn’t hold your hand. Which is great, until it isn’t.
Sometimes, it’s impossible to know what to do without just guessing. This is a problem when making items for faction orders – the principal means of earning money and faction favour. You don’t know what the order demands and, if you get it wrong, there’s a risk you won’t successfully fulfil the order.
With that said, if you like god games, especially mobile ones, you are likely to find enjoyment in Masters. If you’re into min-maxing production, you’ll find it lacking.
If you want to specifically choose exactly what buildings go where in your settlement, you’ll turn off. If you enjoy spending hours redesigning existing buildings and giving them a lick of paint, head to Steam now.
Masters of Albion is available on Steam, in early access, with plans to bring it to consoles at an undisclosed later date. It costs just over £20, and, so far, it has mixed reviews from buyers. Although it has only been out for a few hours.
Molyneux’s Swan Song
As well as describing the game as a “return to his roots”, the game’s lead designer and head of the 22cans studio, Peter Molyneux, has said it will be his last. He isn’t retiring, but the 66-year-old said he doesn’t have the energy to design another game from the ground up.
