At the Gates Reviews
A different take on the genre makes Jon Shafer's At The Gates well worth checking out. This game is a labour of love for Jon Shafer, and it really shows.
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 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.
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.
It's take on managing clans, professions, and resources very clearly distinguish it from similar titles such Civilization. It has a couple of weak points I'd like to see improved, the AI in particular. But If you like titles that make you think and plan. You will probably enjoy At The Gates.
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.
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 attempt at slow-burn strategy has been mixed with rogue-like elements to give the game an original feel, and, overall, it works. At the Gates’s randomly generated land, clans, and enemies allow for hours of replayability The clans and personality features give the game an edge against its competitors and forces the player to strategically look at every move they make. At the Gates is a game that strategy lovers will enjoy and holds just enough depth and content to keep players entertained, but it can also be difficult to players new to the genre.
Decent strategy game with Civilization roots, but only one town and strong character management.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
The former Civ 5 director's long-running passion project is filled with nice ideas, but they never threaten to pull together.
At the Gates is badly flawed, and strangely compelling
Jon Shafer’s At the Gates is a great 4X game that is promising and will keep you coming back for more. It’s beautiful, it has deep engaging systems and it’s flexible enough for players to experiment and optimize their playstyle and builds. Hopefully, At the Gates minor flaws can be worked out with post-launch support or by the time the next installment comes along.
At the Gates is a definite core 4X experience that any fan of the genre should, at the very least, take a look at, if not play through with at least one tribe.
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
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
So my final verdict on At The Gates is that it’s a 4X brimming with potential, but in its current state is certainly not a game I can recommend to everyone. The story of the development and of Jon Shafer himself is a hell of a tale, and I always hate sounding negative about projects like this but ultimately there some pretty big flaws holding the gates closed. Unless you’re a die-hard 4X consider waiting a while for this one.
Even with my frustrations with the interface, the game itself made me want to keep going.