Banished

Lore & Background

Banished revolves around guiding citizens of a remote community of outcasts to grow and maintain a settlement through a command economy. The player assigns citizens to jobs such as building or fishing, and the citizens perform the work without specific direction. Citizens have needs like food and housing, and new citizens come from births or wandering nomads. The player must order structures such as houses, blacksmith shops, hospitals, farms, and schools while balancing resource production against town growth. Hazards include harsh weather, fires, depression, starvation, and an aging population.

Development began in August 2011 by Luke Hodorowicz as Shining Rock Software, a sole proprietorship. In a September 2013 interview, Hodorowicz cited the Anno series as a big inspiration, influencing his decision not to include combat in the initial release. He noted putting over 5500 hours into development and hoped to release the game by January 2014. The game was announced for a February 18, 2014 release on January 9, 2014. Support for mods was announced in July 2014 and introduced in November 2014.

On September 19, 2018, Hodorowicz announced he was developing a successor. The last blog post on his website was made on April 17, 2022, suggesting development of the sequel ceased due to 'code rot' causing issues. Since then, the developer has been silent and his current condition remains unknown.

Reader's Guide

Banished received 'mixed or average' reviews upon release, with a Metacritic score of 73 based on 32 reviews. Critics noted that the game felt more like a survival simulation than a traditional city-builder, praising its graphics, animations, and difficulty, but pointing out a lack of solid feedback on player actions and a struggle to convey information. Reviewers from Polygon, Eurogamer, PC Gamer, GameSpot, Game Informer, IGN, and The Escapist offered scores ranging from 6/10 to 8.3/10. Common criticisms included a strict grid-like building pattern, a lack of progression, and diminished survival focus as the population grew, with no proper end-game goal beyond achievements. Positive remarks highlighted the interlocking mechanics of structures, the difficulty created by the absence of a money resource, and the game's accessibility compared to titles like Dwarf Fortress. In 2020, Rock, Paper, Shotgun included Banished in its top ten management games for PC. The game's legacy includes its influence as a survival-oriented city-builder and the subsequent announcement of a sequel that appears to have been halted.

Did You Know?

• Banished was developed by a single person, Luke Hodorowicz, under the sole proprietorship Shining Rock Software.
• The game's development began in August 2011 and involved over 5500 hours of work.
• Banished does not include combat in its initial release, a design choice influenced by the Anno series.
• A sequel was announced in September 2018, but development appears to have ceased due to 'code rot' as of April 2022.