Game: Power to the People
Genre: Simulation, Strategy, Indie
System: Steam (Windows)
Developers | Publishers: Hermes Interactive | Crytivo
Controller Support: Full
Price: US $13.49 | UK £10.25 | EU € 11,24
Release Date: February 8th, 2022
Review code used, with many thanks to Crytivo.
Power to the People is the latest resource management game released on Steam by publishers Crytivo and developed by Hermes Interactive.
Manage a Power Grid
In Power to the People, you are tasked with managing a power grid in a constantly growing city and keeping it running for fifty days, literally bringing light into people’s lives. You don’t build a city; instead, the city is already established on the map.
There are three tutorials to play through once you start the game. Each tutorial teaches you a little more about the game. However, they are adequate to get you started on your journey to provide Power to the cities Though, like me, you might have a few questions unanswered once you finish the tutorial, playing the game should answer them for you as it is pretty easy to pick up.
Arcade Management
Power to the People is more of an arcade management game as the challenge in the game is to keep an ever-growing city powered and the customers happy for fifty days. If you fail to do one or the other, it is game over, and you start again. Each level has Perks and Challenges to keep in mind, such as citizens will only become unhappy after an hour without power is one type of perk. On the other hand, not having any spikes in the power usage for restaurants at dinner time would be the challenge.
Depending on the country you are in on the map, you have to think and plan about the type of electricity you supply your customers. You have plenty of choices, from the fossil-fueled coal-powered plant to the choice of Nuclear Power or renewable energy of wind. However, the power plant you decide on will impact the surrounding cities, making unhappy citizens near the power plant. An extensive research tree with thirty perks to discover opens up new buildings to use in your grid.
New Cities Appear
As you manage the city’s power, a new city can appear on the map, which you have to supply power to as well. Another city appearing on the map can mix things up a little as you try and juggle power to it as well as the original city.
Potential disaster lurks everywhere as weather with lightning strikes hitting the cables can make them explode. Also, having too much power flooding through power lines can overload them, failing the line. So there is always plenty to keep your eye on, making sure your power network is running without any hiccups.
Challenging
For me, the game offers a good challenge trying to keep everything running smoothly. But unfortunately, there can be a domino effect as one thing goes wrong; another disaster quickly strikes after that. The game runs on a day cycle, set up your power grid, hit the play button, and watch the power run through the grid line. Then at the end of each day, you are given the results of how your power grid did for that day, and you can improve the grid as needed in line with your citizens’ demands.
Different Modes
Power to the People offers the main Campaign mode with fourteen missions spanning five continents of varying difficulty levels. There are also two different modes for each level, Strategic and high Energy Modes. In strategic mode, the game only pauses at the end of the day, so you can use that time to improve your power grid. On the other hand, time moves much more quickly in high energy mode and never stops, providing a very fast-paced experience.
I much prefered the strategic mode as the high energy mode didn’t give me enough time to think. Not being able to pause the game once you set down the first structure in your network can help and hinder your progress. However, it makes you think quickly about fixing or replacing damage as fast as possible, but it doesn’t help keep the blood pressure down.
In addition, there is a sandbox mode where you are free to set your preferences for the game you want to play. A weekly challenge mode is also on offer, which is unusual for this type of game to have a weekly challenge, but it will keep you returning to the game to play it.
Visuals and Controls
Visually I like the look of the game with its cartoonish graphical style, with appropriate sound effects and music to complete the package. I played the game using a keyboard and mouse and it all works as it should. The game has partial controller support according to the information on Steam but unfortunately, neither of my controllers would work with the game.
Conclusion
Power to the People is an interesting take on the resource management genre. I would have liked to have been able to pause the game when I needed to upgrade or fix a broken power line, without being in a rush to get it replaced. However, aside from that, this is an enjoyable game playing with power grids that just might bring a spark into your life.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot 