What can I say, its an early access game.

There are bugs.

The combat system has a ton of potential but the unit AI can be...special.

But...

The tech tree's are awesome, the game is beautiful, and as it sits right now it is more complete than any Civ game that has launched (you know, release 1/4 of the game and then publish the rest in 3 "expansions" that are just features that the core game should have had from the beginning)

If the devs don't fix the bugs (specifically the game breakingly derpy combat AI) by release i will regret paying $24 for it and would recommend it for $10ish instead and i will change my review appropriately.

EDIT: Not sure how I missed this from the devs--Why Early Access?

“Oriental Empires is almost complete, lacking only the multiplayer feature. Since many players will only be interested in single player, we are making it available early for them. The early access period will also serve as a final shakedown period for the game, to help uncover any remaining significant bugs or balance issues that still remain, and allow to us make final tweaks based on feedback from a larger group of players than the beta team.”

This game is nowhere near complete. I have yet to be able to finish a game without it randomly hanging between moves. The City combat is nonsensical--a single broken unit can take your fully garrisoned city for some reason? Do not buy.

What can I say, its an early access game. There are bugs. The combat system has a ton of potential but the unit AI can be...special. But... The tech tree's are awesome, the game is beautiful, and as it sits right now it is more complete than any Civ game that has launched (you know, release 1/4 of the game and then publish the rest in 3 "expansions" that are just features that the core game should have had from the beginning) If the devs don't fix the bugs (specifically the game breakingly derpy combat AI) by release i will regret paying $24 for it and would recommend it for $10ish instead and i will change my review appropriately. EDIT: Not sure how I missed this from the devs--Why Early Access? “Oriental Empires is almost complete, lacking only the multiplayer feature. Since many players will only be interested in single player, we are making it available early for them. The early access period will also serve as a final shakedown period for the game, to help uncover any remaining significant bugs or balance issues that still remain, and allow to us make final tweaks based on feedback from a larger group of players than the beta team.” This game is nowhere near complete. I have yet to be able to finish a game without it randomly hanging between moves. The City combat is nonsensical--a single broken unit can take your fully garrisoned city for some reason? Do not buy.