Dawn of Man
Lead prehistoric settlers from the Paleolithic era to the Iron Age.
Dawn of Man is a survival and city-building video game created by Madruga Works. It places players in charge of a prehistoric community, guiding them from the Paleolithic era through to the Iron Age. The goal is to keep settlers alive by hunting animals, gathering plants, and crafting tools from wood, bone, or stone. As resources are collected and structures are built, a technology tree unlocks more advanced tools, food production methods, and sturdier buildings. Eventually, players can shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture and animal domestication. In later stages, raiders appear, requiring the construction of weapons and defensive structures.
The PC version of the game received a score of 74 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on nine critic reviews, which indicates mixed or average reception. Helen Ashcroft of The Gamer rated it 4 out of 5 stars, praising its unusual prehistoric setting—a time period rarely explored in city-building games, which usually focus on the present, future, or recent past. She also appreciated that the game menu starts with only a few sections, gradually introducing more as the player becomes comfortable. She noted the game’s slow pace, which may not suit those accustomed to faster gameplay. The visuals and animations are detailed, and the music is soft and relaxing. However, she pointed out that notifications are too brief and easy to miss, and that manually controlling settlers can sometimes be useful.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Dawn of Man
- Developer
- Madruga Works
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Released
- Windows, macOS · WW · March 1, 2019 · PlayStation 4, Xbox One · WW · December 18, 2019 · NA · January 6, 2020 / (PS4)
- Genre
- City-building, survival
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
In Dawn of Man, the player leads a group of prehistoric settlers to form a settlement and ensure their survival from the Paleolithic era until the Iron Age. Settlers must defend from animal attacks, hunt animals, and gather vegetables to eat, which requires the crafting of tools made from wood, bone, or stone. Getting resources, crafting tools and building structures help to advance through a technology tree, allowing more complex tools and ways to make food and structures more durable. Hunting-gathering can be abandoned with the discovery of agriculture and the domestication of animals. Raiders show up in later stages, requiring the player to build weapons and defense structures.
The closed beta started the week of October 17, 2018, and the game was released on March 1, 2019. The game is slow-paced, which may be unsuitable for players used to fast-paced games. Visuals and animations are detailed, and the soft music is described as relaxing.
Reader's Guide
Dawn of Man occupies a unique niche within the city-building genre by focusing on prehistoric survival, a setting rarely explored in games of this type. The game's structure introduces menu sections gradually, allowing players to acclimate to its systems over time. Its slow pace and detailed visuals contribute to a relaxing atmosphere, though the brief notifications can be easy to miss, and manual control of settlers is sometimes useful. The game received a Metacritic score of 74 out of 100, indicating mixed or average reviews. Helen Ashcroft from The Gamer gave the game 4 out of 5 stars, praising its unexplored setting and gradual introduction of mechanics, while noting its slow pace may not appeal to all players. The game is often compared to titles like Planetbase and Banished, which share similar survival and settlement-building mechanics.
Did You Know?
- The PC version has a Metacritic score of 74 out of 100.
- The game covers the Paleolithic era through the Iron Age.
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