At the Gates Reviews
At the Gates tries some ambitious new ideas that, in time, may leave a mark on the 4X genre. But today, it's far too broken to recommend.
The former Civ 5 director's long-running passion project is filled with nice ideas, but they never threaten to pull together.
Passive AI and a flawed economy ruin what could have been a refreshing 4X experiment.
At The Gates' opening hours are vicious, but those who stick with it are rewarded with a satisfying blend of strategy and rogue-like gameplay
At the Gates is badly flawed, and strangely compelling
At The Gates is a fresh, invigorating, more personal take on the grand strategy game, but a lacking late-game holds it back from greatness.
At the Gates has a ton going for it, and this is easily the most addicted I've gotten to a game that I am reviewing. Although the replay value might not be as vast as some of the bigger 4X games on the market, it has enough of a unique and condensed feel that by the time you're getting ready to make moves to win, it hasn't overstayed its welcome by 20 hours.
At The Gates has an impressively complicated set of interlocking systems, but the amount of time and patience it takes to actually get anywhere is ridiculous.
Even with my frustrations with the interface, the game itself made me want to keep going.
Should Jon Shafer's At the Gates be judged for what it is now, or what it has the potential to become? The experience is hamstrung by glitches, oversights, and unfinished systems, but playing a 4X game from the perspective of the barbarians remains a fantastic concept and some of that Civilization “one more turn” allure is still intact. Forgiving types may want to give At the Gates a try now, but most others should probably leave the game out in the cold until a few updates are released.
In spite of having unique mechanics and a fresh take on the 4X and roguelike genres, Jon Shafer's At The Gates falls woefully short of delivering on both counts with frustrating RNG, mechanics, unintuitive design, and bugs.
Jon Shafer's At The Gates delivers great twists to a proven strategy formula, making it a roguelike worth checking out for strategy game fans.
At The Gates is a brutally hardcore strategy game that will keep fans engaged for dozens, if not hundreds of hours. The amount of time it takes to learn even the basics, coupled with its simplistic art style and obtuse menu-based UI, will scare off newcomers.
Jon Shafer's At the Gates is a unique 4X, with tons of fresh ideas, but many of them remain incomplete,
Review in Italian | Read full review
For those who do understand their 4X genre, however, At The Gates will come across as a breath of fresh air. It's a ground-up rethink on how the genre can work, and what the 4X might look like as applied to the many cultures and civilizations out there that didn't have the imperialist intent that most 4X titles assume. For that, it's one of the most interesting strategy games I've played in years.
Decent strategy game with Civilization roots, but only one town and strong character management.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Jon Shafer’s At the Gates has some pretty amazing ideas, but the problem is that those ideas will not reach their true potential. Injecting different features and elements into the game has made the gameplay complicated and the slow process of gameplay makes the game frustrating.
Review in Persian | Read full review
At the Gates is a good and acceptable independent experience (with leniency) that can be enjoyable and satisfying for players who don't have very high expectations from it. Because it's created by lead designer of Civilization V you can expect to see lots similarities with that game, and this might be a great thing for players who are struggling to cope with Civilization VI.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Bursting with ideas on how to revolutionize the 4X Genre, At The Gates demise lies in its poor execution, lackluster AI and what it seems to be an endless list of bugs.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
At the Gates could have an extremely good 4X but as things stand there’s just way too many fundamental oversights to ever recommend it.