by theygamesMaking the commitment to leave early access and mark your game as version 1.0 can be a scary process. While it doesn’t necessarily mean an end to development, it’s a commitment to completeness – a statement that your game is truly ‘ready’ at last. Medieval strategy game Foundation has just done that, with a major update from developer Polymorph Games and the promise of even more to come in the future. So far, it’s been a rousing success – players are arriving in their thousands, and reviews are shaping up strongly.
It’s a good time for medieval games – Manor Lords proved a huge hit in 2024, and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is right around the corner. Before that, however, comes the full launch of Foundation. Polymorph Games first set it loose via Steam Early Access in February 2019, and since then has spent plenty of time honing the city-building game with new features and additional polish.
Foundation’s interface is smart and satisfying. There are no grids to hold you back – its free-form building tools offer a mix of modular, adjustable parts and procedural generation to let you shape your towns and cities exactly as you want them. If you want things to run smoothly, however, you’ll need to think carefully about exactly how roads work. Paths are made by your villagers based on what they’re doing, meaning you’ll start to see your settlement slowly take shape based on how its people live their lives.
Of course, you can take a little more control of things if needed. A special tool allows you to paint out your desired plans, such as where homes should be built, roads that you want paved, and patrol routes to keep order. To help newcomers out, the full release includes an overhauled onboarding system, with improvements to the tutorial quests and visual aids to ensure you’ve got a good grasp of everything at your disposal.
If you’ve played the strategy game during early access, you’ll find plenty that’s new in version 1.0. Newly created games can be customized with a full set of adjustable rules. Progression has been improved, with the ability to set your empire’s aspirations and create its Coat of Arms. Walls and guard towers have been integrated into the building tools to help ensure robust fortifications, and the military system has been enhanced, allowing you to create Companies that can head on excursions abroad in search of resources and wealth.
Several key buildings such as woodcutters and stonemasons can be expanded to improve the likes of their storage and worker capacity, and there’s more customization for buildings in general. There’s been an overhaul to art assets and animations, helping bring your settlements to life, and you can show off your creations more easily with the addition of a photo mode and a day/night toggle.
Foundation’s launch is off to a great start. Its active player count on Steam has already leapt to more than 12,500 at the time of writing – more than triple its previous high of 4,000 set at the launch of early access – and it’s still climbing. User reviews, meanwhile, are very positive, with 87% of players that have submitted a review recommending it.
Polymorph adds that the 1.0 launch “is not the end of the road for Foundation.” Moving forward, you can expect more quality-of-life updates, bug fixes, and other improvements to roll out for free, which will include the addition of modding features and tools. There are also plans for DLC, but you’ll have to wait for a future announcement to learn about that. If you’re ready to jump in, a Steam sale discount means that now is a great time.
Foundation 1.0 is out now on Steam, with a 25% discount available through Friday February 14 meaning you’ll pay just $26.24 / £22.12, down from the usual price of $34.99 / £29.50. Head here if you’re ready to start laying down some roads.
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